Music can truly feel like magic sometimes, especially when someone has the voice of an angel—or perhaps a wistful, land-loving mermaid.
Reviews of Halle Bailey’s performance in Disney’s new live-action “The Little Mermaid” have been overwhelmingly positive, which isn’t too surprising considering her vocal talents. But according to co-start Melissa McCarthy, who plays the wicked sea witch Ursula in the film, Bailey’s siren-like appeal didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling.
In a press interview for the movie, McCarthy shared that Bailey had an endearing habit of quietly humming all the time, sometimes without even realizing that she was doing it. McCarthy’s description of the way she and even members of the sound crew reacted to Bailey’s constant lovely humming is a testament to the heartwarming, wholesome magic of music.
“Halle is, at all times, incredibly quietly humming. There is always this beautiful…it’s a different melody…it’s so quietly,” said McCarthy. She explained that the actors were mic’d so they could hear one another when they were far away from each other on set, and the mics were so powerful they could even hear if they whispered. And McCarthy would always hear her humming through her earpiece.
“There’s always music generating,” the actor said. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the world.”
McCarthy described how the sound guy with the boom mic would watch her with a look of tender awe. She asked him if he could hear her humming, and he whispered, “I can always hear it. It’s my favorite thing.”
Watch McCarthy describe the “divine” experience of hearing Halle Bailey’s natural musicality on set:
@triplejradio melissa mccarthy shares one of her favourite moments from the little mermaid set 🥹 #hallebailey #melissamccarthy #thelittlemermaid
The way McCarthy describes it, it almost sounds as if Halle Bailey were a real-life Disney princess. Perhaps the magic is real after all…
If you haven’t seen “The Little Mermaid” yet, check out two of our writers’ spoiler-free thoughts on the film here and here.