'It's not magical': Peabo Bryson on new 'Beauty and the Beast' song
The original singer and Céline Dion's duet partner on the Ariana Grande, John Legend version
Read CBC Music's oral history on the 1991 Beauty and the Beast theme song here.
The original Beauty and the Beast sits close to a lot of hearts, so when Disney announced a live-action remake, reactions were hesitant. With the new version out today, we know a bit more: Ariana Grande and John Legend re-recorded the hit theme song, Emma Watson is playing Belle and Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens fills the role of Beast.
But reception is still mixed. In a recent interview with CBC Music, Peabo Bryson — who sang the original theme song with Céline Dion and cracked the Billboard Hot 100's top 10 in the early '90s — said exactly what he thought of it.
"It's a good rendition, it's just you can't — the thing not to do is not to compare it to its original. And [it's] falling short. Way short," he said. "It's not magical."
Angela Lansbury also spoke to CBC Music recently, and while she hadn't listened to the new single, her thoughts on the film itself were clear.
"No I don't [think we need a new Beauty and the Beast]," she said, laughing. "To be quite honest. I really don't. I don't know why they're doing it. I really don't. Do you?"
Read CBC Music's full story with Lansbury and Bryson, including the latter's candid critique of the new song, right here.
— Holly Gordon, q digital staff