Top 20 Best Songs from The Little Mermaid

It’s hard to come up with a good finale song. So hard, in fact, that a lot of musicals will just repurpose earlier songs and take the audience out on a high note. But in “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,” composer Danny Troob went the extra mile and came up with a brand new song to take us home. “Here on the Land and Sea (Finale)” is sung by Sebastian as the land and sea kingdom come together for the first time. That little red crab has an energy that’s incredibly contagious, and he definitely has us tapping our toes to this one. Sebastian supremacy!

When “The Little Mermaid” hit the Broadway stage in 2008, it only made sense that some of the characters with more minor roles would get some new unique numbers. Scuttle, the seagull, is one of those characters in the movie who’s certainly beloved, but doesn’t get much of an opportunity to partake in the musicality of it all. In the play, however, he has a couple of chances to shine. He gets us bobbing our heads to the wonderful “Positoovity,” and he obviously has a ton of fun in “Human Stuff”. We all remember Scuttle’s… “expertise” of human artefacts. This adaptation gives that scene rhythm and catchiness in a topsy-turvy number with a driving beat and plenty of silly antics.

From “The Little Mermaid” movie musical to “The Little Mermaid” on-stage musical, we get a plethora of great new songs. While the reprise of “Sweet Child” is certainly something to write home about, the main version just can’t be beat. Flotsam and Jetsam are Ursula’s eel henchmen and, in the movie, they don’t have a ton to do other than be eerie as heck. But on the stage, they get to sing this very scary, very slippery little number. The harmonies in “Sweet Child” are some of the creepiest we’ve ever heard, but they’re also strangely enticing. It’s no wonder Ariel got herself caught up in all of this.

Sometimes you write a new song, but sometimes, the old one does just fine. Or the melody does, at least. The “Finale” for “The Little Mermaid” musical mostly rests on the laurels of “Part of Your World,” which we’ll come back to later. The lyrics are repurposed to reflect Eric and Ariel’s happy ending rather than Ariel’s dream to leave the sea. What’s more, the song is arranged for a chorus, and an Eric and Ariel duet, rather than a solo. It’s a lovely spin on the song. While “Part of Your World” has always been hopeful, this “Finale” trades in its melancholic undertones for joy.

Ever wonder why King Triton was a bit of a stick in the mud at the beginning of “The Little Mermaid?” Well, “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning,” reveals the king’s tragic backstory. King Triton’s wife Athena loved music, and used to sing a beautiful song. But when she died suddenly, Triton banished all music from the kingdom. However, that didn’t stop Ariel. After happening upon a secret band of fish, Ariel remembers her mother’s love for music. She begins to sing a song called “I Remember.” The song is both an uplifting exaltation of music as well as a way for Ariel to feel closer to her mother.

When it comes down to it, in the original “The Little Mermaid” movie, Ariel doesn’t have that many songs to sing. She does lose her voice early on in the film, after all. However, in the play adaptation, Ariel is able to sing when she’s alone, giving voice to her thoughts for the audience. This gave us ballads like “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” and of course the beautiful “The World Above” and its reprise. “The World Above” is the first of Ariel’s solos in the musical, and although it borrows some motifs from “Part of Your World,” it stands on its own and helps set the stage for the character’s love of the human world.

When you’ve got an opener like “Fathoms Below” to live up to, you better put in the work. Luckily for us, composer Danny Troob undeniably did. “Down to the Sea” opens up the sequel movie with the birth of Eric and Ariel’s daughter, Melody. From the outset, it has an ethereal, loving tone as Ariel sings quietly to her daughter. But then, the real fun starts. The opening number has a driving, jumpy rhythm to it that will have you smiling from ear to ear. Plus, there’s an entire Sebastian solo that’s more than worth the price of entry.

As far as villains go, Ursula is one of the best. And, she gets one of the greatest villain songs of all time with “Poor Unfortunate Souls” in “The Little Mermaid”. But, in the musical adaptation, she gets even more opportunities to show off her chops. One of our favorite Ursula songs from the stage is “I Want the Good Times Back” and its reprise. Ursula sings this one with all the gusto of Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” and it’s liable to make you want to jump out of your seat and dance. There have been so many actors who have sung their hearts out on this one, but listening to Sherie Rene Scott on the original cast album? Doesn’t get much better than that!

In the original “The Little Mermaid,” Eric doesn’t sing at all. In fact, he’s the only official Disney prince to date who doesn’t carry a tune. He does play a mean flute, though. All the same, Broadway musicals are a different animal, and it would be rather strange for a character as prominent as the protagonist’s love interest not to join in on the lyrical fun. One of his greatest songs is a ballad called “Her Voice.” The prince sings it just after Ariel has saved his life, but before she turns human. Once again, the song borrows quite a bit from “Part of Your World’s” opening motif. But after that beginning, it settles into a gorgeous melody of its own, and allows the actor to belt their heart out.

One human activity Ariel mentions while she fawns over the human world is dancing. Lucky for her, Broadway Eric is more than a capable teacher. As the two spend more time together, Eric decides to try and teach Ariel how to express herself through the art of dance. He does so with a song called “One Step Closer.” The musical number features wonderful dancing from both actors with plenty of personality, and the melody itself is one of the more beautiful tunes from the crop of new songs written for the play. Even when there’s no words, the music’s expressiveness puts forth everything you need to know.

Sixteen-year-old Ariel was no walk in the park, parent-wise. So it only makes sense that her own daughter would inherit her fiery stubbornness. In “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea,” Ariel’s daughter Melody has the opposite desire her mother did, which is to be a mermaid. Against her mother’s wishes, she becomes one and sings “For a Moment” while she prances around the sea. It’s an upbeat and buoyant song, but one tinged with melancholy. The song is not just a solo, but is sung by both Melody and Ariel. Ariel’s sadder melodies merge beautifully with her daughter’s happier ones for a super moving duet.

In the first two installments of “The Little Mermaid,” we don’t learn too much about Ariel’s sisters. When you think about it, that’s kind of odd, seeing as she has six of them. But, there is one moment in the original film that the girls have to shine, and boy do they take it. Conducted by none other than Sebastian himself, the girls sing “Daughters of Triton” at the beginning of the 1989 film. It’s a short number, and one that’s ruined by a certain someone not showing up. Still, in that short amount of time, the sisters show us that they’re all absolutely stellar musicians. We wish we got a little more of them!

It’s one of the most iconic openings in Disney history. We can picture it now; a few dolphins and a seagull, frolicing in the ocean waves. And then, a massive ship rolls onto the scene and strapping young sailors begin to sing about their days on the open sea. “Fathoms Below” is one of the best sea shanties we’ve ever heard, and holds a special place in our hearts. It marks the first time we see Prince Eric, and it marks the official start of the Disney Renaissance years. That’s pretty special if you ask us.

There’s no doubt that Sebastian is one of our favorite characters in all of “The Little Mermaid.” What is a little surprising is how much we also love the French chef who keeps trying to cook him. The musical added a very fun reprise for “Les Poissons,” but, for this list, we’ve got to stick with the original. The song features Chef Louis, played by the iconic René Auberjonois, singing delightedly about chopping up fish as Sebastian looks on in horror. Auberjonois’ performance is hysterical, and the interplay between Sebastian and Chef Louis is some of the most dynamic in the film.

While Ariel’s sisters might not have too many songs to sing in the 1989 movie, that all changed when the stage reimagining came along. Ariel spends so much of her time underwater in the film pining after Eric, it just implausible that her sisters would have missed out on that. The musical remedied that small blunder from the movie with “She’s In Love.” This pop song dream features Ariel’s sisters singing their hearts out in perfect harmony about how gaga their sister is over some guy. Plus, the song has an absolutely unforgettable showing from Flounder, who we think deserves way more love in every adaptation!

Sebastian is probably the most musically inclined character in all of “The Little Mermaid,” so it makes sense that he gets to sing so many of the songs in the original movie. He even takes the love ballad between Ariel and Eric, which you might expect to be sung by the lovebirds themselves. There’s just no competition, though, Samuel E. Wright’s deep, soothing vocals are perfect for “Kiss the Girl”. The tune has such a smooth, island rhythm to it, it’s hard not to immediately fall in love. Wright turns up the charm as Sebastian, with charisma to eleven and enough suggestion to push any dithering couple closer.