Listen to 'Beyond,' the first full-length song released from “Moana 2”
The voice inside sings a different song...
Moana 2 is only weeks away and Disney is teasing what it sounds like beyond its release date.
On Thursday, Disney Music dropped the first full-length song from the upcoming sequel, Moana's new ballad/"I Want" song, titled "Beyond." The version they shared is the end credits rendition as performed by the film's star, Auli'i Cravalho.
Do you hear the call of the ocean? 🌊🐚
"Beyond," performed by Auli'i Cravalho and written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, from @DisneyAnimation's Moana 2 is out now.
Listen: https://t.co/YgrqAgWqmq
Disney's #Moana2 is only in theaters on November 27. pic.twitter.com/Tg7C9WV8VC— Disney Music (@DisneyMusic) November 7, 2024
"Do you hear the call of the ocean?" a post announcing the release reads. "'Beyond,' performed by Auli'i Cravalho and written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, from @DisneyAnimation's Moana 2 is out now."
The post also included a link to stream and listen to the song.
The track marks the first song that audiences can hear from new composers Barlow and Bear, who took over for Lin-Manuel Miranda after he composed the soundtrack for the first film. They join returning musical masterminds, Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina, for this sequel to the 2016 film.
Moana 2, which hits theaters on Nov. 27, will pick up with the titular heroine three years after the events of the first movie. Now a more established wayfinder, Moana has a greater responsibility to her people (and her new little sister) as a leader of Motunui. A call from the ancestors sends her back to sea, this time with a crew (and rooster Heihei and pig Pua!), to search for other island communities to connect with to prevent the destruction of their way of life.
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"Beyond" is what Barlow and Bear have crafted as a successor to Moana's "How Far I'll Go" in the first film, emphasizing her expanded worldview and increased pressure as a community leader. "Moana's personal journey is huge in this one," Bear, who wrote the music, previously told Entertainment Weekly. "The last movie was more about finding her own self-identity within herself, and now it's much bigger because it's about community and how you connect with others and what it means to be a leader and how she feels being responsible for everyone. 'Beyond' lives in a similar place to 'How Far I'll Go,' yet the context is entirely different."
Added Barlow, who wrote the lyrics: "She says it in the lyrics, but it's bigger than before. It's bigger than just her personal journey...This journey that she's about to go on, it's life or death for their people. So, how important that was to the story was really what grounded and anchored us for that song."
Related: Meet Simea, Moana's little sister and a feisty addition to Moana 2 (exclusive)
Additionally, the songwriting duo hoped that "Beyond" could convey the deeper degree of intensity of the film and Moana's journey. "We also wanted her to be more vulnerable," said Bear. "'Beyond' is a little bit darker than 'How Far I'll Go' because the stakes are suddenly so much higher. She has her little sister, who is her everything, and she's suddenly about to make a big decision that will affect the rest of her life. She's older and a little bit less naive, and she knows more of the world and what's out there."
Listen to the full song above.