Okay, let me just take a moment here. How on earth have I been alive for 20 (give-or-take 7) years and I’ve only just discovered that ’00s royalty, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, once put out a cover of A Whole New World?
Regardless, now that Disney’s Aladdin is finally in cinemas, what better way to bask in the glory of the live-action blockbuster than to listen to a bunch of celebs cover tunes from the classic tale of a street rat and a princess. Keep in mind, Z-grade celebs also count.
Please enjoy these questionable renditions of some of your faves below.
1. JESSICA SIMPSON & NICK LACHEY – A WHOLE NEW WORLD
I’ve seen this vid approximately 49 times and everything about it makes me giddier at every watch.
The deep stares, the painfully 00s wardrobe, the Ashlee Simpson-esque lip syncing – it’s all there and it’s all glorious.
I’m more than tempted to get a group together to dissect this perfect cover once a week. Strike that – twice a week.
2. PEABO BRYSON & REGINA BELLE – A WHOLE NEW WORLD
Yonks before Simpson & Lachey produced a truly memorable rendition of A Whole New World, Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle did a cover of the same song with a classic ’90s music vid to boot.
Can you compare the two? Well, both music videos have Aladdin montages and both covers feature artists that anyone born later than 1999 would struggle to place so let’s just leave it at that.
3. NE-YO – FRIEND LIKE ME
Everything about this Friend Like Me cover is perfectly fine, I just have a personal vendetta against fedoras or anything that resembles a fedora.
Someone actually offered me a free fedora recently and I was so offended that I forgot how to breathe. And look I get that hating on fedoras was cool back in 2016 but I don’t see why people thought it was a fad – the hate was warranted.
Top song, though.
4. PELLEK – FRIEND LIKE ME
I really shouldn’t dismiss genres of music (even if some genres seem to attack my ears just to be spiteful) because sometimes I stumble upon gems like this and I hate myself for being so negative.
I’m still on the fence about metal but this cover of Friend Like Me by Pellek? This I can get around. Slap on, Pellek.
5. ZAYN & ZHAVIA WARD – A WHOLE NEW WORLD
If Mena Massoud wasn’t already perfectly cast as the titular role for Disney’s Aladdin, I’d campaign hard for Zayn to snag the gig.
As it turns out we get the next best thing – Zayn absolutely belting out an Aladdin tune with newcomer Zhavia Ward. The Disney gods were clearly listening.
To round out your Aladdin experience, give the trailer a watch below:
If that wasn’t enough, you can watch the entire flick in cinemas right now.
