Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear are trading ballrooms and breeches for boats and beaches.
After the viral success of theirBridgertonproject, the duo landed a dream gig: writing music for aDisneyprincess.
“It is a passing of the baton to this younger generation,” she gushes of the change-up.
Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow during an orchestra recording session for ‘Moana 2’.Chris Loupos/Disney
To use some of Lin’s words, they’re young, scrappy, and hungry."
Cravalho says their music pushed her to places she wasn’t even aware she was capable of going.
“Those songs required a lot more homework for me.
Moana in ‘Moana 2’.Disney
There’s a lot of deeper layers to these songs.”
It was more of, ‘Does this evoke the right emotions from you?'"
Cravalho says of her process.
Moana in ‘Moana 2’.Disney
“I’m getting the full breadth of emotion through pitch, but also through vocal quality.
There are portions where I’m crying while singing.
It’s a full meal.
Clockwise from top: Moni, Loto, Moana, and Kele in ‘Moana 2’.Disney
By the time you’ve gotten to the end of a record, I’ve hit every possible riff.
I’ve hit the note and I’ve missed the note.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did this project come your way?
Maui in ‘Moana 2’.Disney
Did people reach out after theBridgerton Unofficial Musical?
Then, a year later we got an email about aMoanasequel.
We really connected with her on a personal and deep level.
Pua the pig and Heihei the rooster in ‘Moana 2’.Disney
And a few months later we got the job.
We felt like our story, our journey was mirroring the adventure that Moana goes on in this film.
It happened organically, and it was a right place, right time, lightning in a bottle situation.
Moana and Simea in ‘Moana 2’.Disney
BEAR:It’s a little bit of both.
But the confines are freeing in a weird way.
Disney
Disney has an amazing history of songwriting and iconic songs.
How much is the work of a team likeHoward AshmanandAlan Menkenfoundational to the way you write music?
BARLOW:It’s everything.
It laid the groundwork for how to tell a great story through music.
Great musical theater is when words aren’t enough and you must sing.
BEAR:To even be a part of that group is an insane thing to say out loud.
It doesn’t feel real.
We’re still pinching ourselves.
Are there particular songwriting teams or even solo composers who have really influenced both of you?
Howard Ashman, Stephen Sondheim, the greats.
Speaking of great lyricists, Lin-Manuel Miranda did the songs for the firstMoana.
How daunting is it to be following him in this task?
BARLOW:I mean, big shoes to fill.
But we are so grateful to be part of this music team.
He already laid the groundwork for this world, and it’s so lush and welcoming.
Without a goal that was high, we would’ve never written the music that we wrote.
What was it like collaborating with them?
How did you mesh and bring your own sound into a space that’s already so established?
BARLOW:We were given lots of information and research when we first started on this project.
We found the way to stay in this world, but also add our little Barlow and Bear flare.
We’re done."
Abigail, you mentioned your “Barlow and Bear flare.”
How do describe what that is?
BARLOW:In this film, Moana is a little older.
She’s grown as a human, but also as a leader.
We wanted to allow that to be reflected in her melodies.
And there’s a lot of pop influence on our top lines and our lyrics.
BEAR:We love a good hook.
Also, the world has grown immensely.
We wanted the music to reflect that as well.
So,Moana 2is a very epic sonic world, even bigger than the first one.
Plus, we had some new characters that we could create songs for.
BEAR:Whenever we get a project, I listen a lot.
This was no different.
I feel like that really influenced the way we wrote our songs.
We also got to meet with a lot of researchers, anthropologists, and linguists.
BARLOW:They set us up for success.
Abigail, as a lyricist, were learning a lot of Polynesian words or dialect?
How did that impact your process?
“Beyond” is Moana’s big song in this one.
It feels like such a spiritual successor to “How Far I’ll Go.”
BEAR:Moana’s personal journey is huge in this one.
That was really important for us to put in the lyrics to show how different it is.
BARLOW:She says it in the lyrics, but it’s bigger than before.
It’s bigger than just her personal journey.
The filmmaking team was so supportive and helpful in steering us and striking that balance.
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.
BEAR:We also wanted her to be more vulnerable.
That was a big part of what prompted us to write this song too.
I have to assume that Maui (Dwayne Johnson) gets another song.
“You’re Welcome” has become almost a catchphrase for Dwayne at this point.
So how do you follow that up?
BARLOW:That song was hard to write.
I’m not going to lie.
BEAR:Because we were waiting to hear what his first thoughts were.
BARLOW:Thank goodness he loved it and said he got chills.
All we wanted was for him to have fun and to enjoy performing it.
The other thing Disney excels at is villain songs.
Did you get to write one of those for the film?
BEAR:We did.
Our new villain is very multifaceted.
BARLOW:It’s interesting because there are a few ways that you could interpret this character.
Is she a villain?
We don’t know.
You’ll have to decide yourself.
BEAR:That was the one that locked the quickest.
Can you tease any other songs you’re excited for fans to hear?
Getting to develop new voices and how they sound in music was so exciting.
I’m like, how does your mouth move that fast?
BARLOW:It’ll certainly be a TikTok moment.
If so, do you think their vocal world has inspired you as songwriters?
BARLOW:I love Ariel [fromThe Little Mermaid].
BEAR:Beauty and the Beastfor me, writing-wise.
Also,Mulanis so underrated.
She is similar to Moana with their strength and not being defined by anyone other than themselves.
Because it’s been a minute since she voiced Moana, and she was a teenager then.
And Auli’i absolutely killed it.
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You are the first Disney songwriters to have grown up in this modern Disney generation.
What does that mean to you in terms of your approach?
BEAR:We are living every songwriter’s dream, including our own.
It was a soundtrack of our lives, like everyone else our age.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
