Well, this is now a thing that is part of our world. Ahead of the May 26 release of the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, Disney has dropped the live-action movie’s official soundtrack. It features several new songs that were not in the 1989 classic, including one called “The Scuttlebutt.” On it, Awkwafina sings/raps/squawks as Scuttle the seabird, who is urgently reporting the gossip (a.k.a. the “who-said-what-who-does-that, yeah, the Scuttlebutt!”) that Ursula has apparently convinced Prince Eric to marry her. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the lyrics, not that you need us to tell you that — you can hear his unmistakable flow when Awkwafina delivers bars like “Okay, now huddle up, buttercup / From the women who wash all the clothes to the hunter who arrows the bows / The chatter all over the palace is that your Prince Eric is gonna propose.” Daveed Diggs, voicing a delicious-looking Sebastian, also joins forces with Awkwafina for the song, which ends with a fast-paced verse where they rap together. Thoughts and prayers for all the poor unfortunate souls who will inevitably get this song’s hook stuck in their head.
