Pop punk and rock covers of popular Disney songs are not necessarily new, but Disney shocked everyone when it announced its own full-fledged pop punk album re-imagining some of its classic hit songs. So far, Disney has teased three singles from the album: Simple Plan's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (from The Lion King), Magnolia Park's "I2" (from A Goof Movie) and, most recently, New Found Glory's "Part of Your World (from The Little Mermaid).
All three tracks have been absolute bangers and I think sound better than anyone could've even imagined. While I was previously familiar with the talent of Simple Plan and New Found Glory, Magnolia Park was new to me and I was pleasantly surprised with their music chops re-imagining what is one of my favorite Disney songs.
On the heels of dropping New Found Glory's cover of "Part of Your World," Disney has officially revealed the full tracklist and the bands who will be covering the songs. Anyone who grew up in the '90s or early 2000s are definitely going to be excited as the album features renditions from Yellowcard, Mayday Parade, We The Kings, Plain White T's, Boys Like Girls, and Bolwing for Soup. Admittedly, there are some bands I'm not too familiar with, but excited to hear nonetheless, including The Altar, Tokio Hotel, and LØLØ.
As for the songs that will be covered, it spans Disney's vast catalog of films. From animated classics like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid to more recent CG-animated hits like Frozen and Encanto, this album will have covers from decades of Disney musical hits.
Here's the full tracklist for A Whole New Sound:
- “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid by New Found Glory
- “Remember Me” from Coco by Mayday Parade
- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King by Simple Plan
- “I2I” from A Goofy Movie by Magnolia Park
- “A Whole New World” from Aladdin by Yellowcard
- “Go the Distance” from Hercules by We The Kings
- “Surface Pressure” from Encanto by Plain White T’s
- “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story by Meet Me @ The Altar
- “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan by Boys Like Girls
- “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas by Tokio Hotel
- “Let It Go” from Frozen by LØLØ
- “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin by Bowling For Soup
There is definitely something for everyone on this album. I'm particularly looking forward to Yellowcard's re-imagining of "A Whole New World." And after hearing Disney's Broadway rendition of "Go the Distance" from its Herculues show, I'm eager to see the twist that We The Kings puts on it. That's one of my favorite Disney songs, so to see it finally get some love these days warms my heart.
In addition to revealing the full tracklist, Disney also announced when "A Whole New Sound" will release, and it's just a few weeks away. The album will release on September 6 with a vinyl planned for October 4. Pre-orders for the vinyl will kick off on September 6 as well.