"A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice.[2] A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as the singing voices of the main characters Aladdin and Jasmine, the ballad serves as both the film's love and theme song. Lyrically, "A Whole New World" describes Aladdin showing the confined princess a life of freedom and the pair's acknowledgment of their love for each other while riding on a magic carpet. The song garnered an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 65th Academy Awards[3][4] and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 50th Golden Globe Awards.[5] "A Whole New World" also won the Grammy Awards for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as Song of the Year, the only Disney song to do so (as of 2023).[6][7] In the same year, the pop version sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals, winning the latter.[6][7][8]
| "A Whole New World" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga | |
| from the album Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| Released | October 31, 1992 |
| Recorded | 1991[1] |
| Genre | Show tune |
| Length | 2:40 (soundtrack version) |
| Label | Walt Disney |
| Composer(s) | Alan Menken |
| Lyricist(s) | Tim Rice |
| Producer(s) |
|
Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott performed the song in the live-action version of Aladdin (2019).[9] Zayn Malik and Zhavia Ward did their version of the song for the end credits. The music video featuring Zayn Malik and Zhavia Ward was directed by Philip Andelman, photographed by David Devlin and supported the successful release of the 2019 live-action feature film Aladdin directed by Guy Ritchie.
Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle pop duet version
| "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle | ||||
| from the album Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Passion, and Through the Fire | ||||
| B-side | "After the Kiss" (instrumental) | |||
| Released | November 5, 1992 | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | [10] | |||
| Composer(s) | Alan Menken | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Tim Rice[2] | |||
| Producer(s) | Walter Afanasieff | |||
| Peabo Bryson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Regina Belle singles chronology | ||||
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| Licensed audio | ||||
| "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" on YouTube | ||||
A single version of the song was released that same year and was performed by American recording artists Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. This version is played over the film's end credits and is referred on the soundtrack as "Aladdin's Theme".[2] The version peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for a week, ending on March 6, 1993,[11] replacing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which had spent a then-record 14 weeks at the top of the chart. It went gold and sold 600,000 copies domestically.[12][13] The track peaked at number 12 in the UK Singles Chart in 1993.[14] The song is the first song from a Disney animated film to top the US Billboard Hot 100. It was the only Disney song to achieve this feat until "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from Encanto reached the summit in 2022. The single version was later included on Belle's studio album Passion (1993) and on Bryson's studio album Through the Fire (1994).[15][16]
Critical reception
Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song five out of five. He wrote, "The theme from Aladdin is a huge appealing big ballad duet. A melodic tour de force with wide ranging appeal, it is wisely tipped as the Christmas number one."[17]
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (1993) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[35] | 50 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[36] | 56 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[37] | 6 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] | 37 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[39] | 18 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[40] | 6 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[41] | 98 |
| Chart (1994) | Position |
|---|---|
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[42] | 34 |
Certifications
Kane and Salonga version
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[43] digital | Gold | 100,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[44] physical | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[45] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[46] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Bryson and Belle version
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[47] digital | Gold | 100,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[48] physical | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[49] physical | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Massoud and Scott version
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[50] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Cover versions
Jose Mari Chan version
| "A Whole New World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jose Mari Chan | ||||
| from the album Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | "A Whole New World" | |||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composer(s) | Alan Menken | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Tim Rice[2] | |||
| Producer(s) | Rey Magtoto | |||
| Jose Mari Chan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In the Philippines, a version of the song performed by Jose Mari Chan, a Filipino recording artist, was released as a single through Bell Films (a subsidiary of Universal Records) in 1993, coinciding with the Philippine theatrical release of Aladdin on April 30, 1993.[51]
Then-SM Rookies member Jaehyun, who later debuted as a member of boy group NCT and former member Seo Herin performed the song in Disney Channel Korea show Mickey Mouse Club in December 2015.
Other notable cover versions
- In 1993, French singers Karine Costa and Daniel Lévi released a French-language version of the song titled "Ce rêve bleu" (English: "This Blue Dream"). This version peaked at number three on the French SNEP Singles Chart in January 1994, ending the year as the country's 21st-most-successful single.[52][53]
- In 2007, Pixar employee Nick Pitera uploaded a video to YouTube where he performs both the male and female characters.[54]
- In 2018, Riff Raff and Jonathan Hay created a hip-hop cover of the song for the album The Hoodlum Ball.[55]
- Zayn were also used for two English-Spanish versions of the song, "Un mundo ideal". The Spanish parts were sung for the Latin American market by American singer Becky G and for the Spanish market by Spanish singer Aitana.[56][57][58]
- In 2020, Ben Platt and Idina Menzel performed it as part of the TV special The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II.[59]