Review: Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack

Ever since it was released, I've been listening to nothing but the Beauty and the Beast live action soundtrack (okay, well that and Ed Sheeran's latest album). After being quite disappointed by the music of La La Land, I was pleasantly surprised by how lovely everyone sounds on this album. I'm so looking forward to seeing how the new songs from Alan Menken are integrated into the storyline!



Emma Watson has a sweet pleasing voice as Belle. Obviously, she's not a trained singer, but she pulls off the songs well and I love her spunky attitude, especially in "Belle (Reprise)." Dan Stevens sounds remarkably like the original voice of the Beast in "Something There" and sounds wonderful in "Evermore." Both of them carry a lot of emotion within their voices and I think that acting through singing is one of the most important things an actor can do in a movie-musical.

I was also especially pleased with Ewan McGregor as Lumière. Of course, I adore Ewan as Christian in Moulin Rouge so he's one of the people I'm most looking forward to seeing in the film. His "Be Our Guest" is hilarious, as is his French accent. Luke Evans sounds wonderful as Gaston, which isn't surprising considering he started out his career in the West End in shows like Miss Saigon and Avenue Q. Naturally, I'm most excited about Audra McDonald as the Wardrobe and she sounds stunning (like always) on the "Aria."

I was skeptical at first about the new songs being added to the film, particularly as I love the songs that they added to the Broadway musical so much, I didn't think I could like others. I was definitely proven wrong! While I love the Enchanted Objects singing "Days in the Sun," "Evermore" is by far my favorite of the new ones. Both Dan Stevens and Josh Groban (on the special track) sound beautiful singing it and I think the story could use a song at that point of the plot. Anyone else a bit confused about how "How Does a Moment Last Forever (Montmartre)" fits into the film though?

Overall, I highly recommend checking out this cast album either before or after the film releases this Friday, March 17. It has made me even more excited to see the movie (I already have my tickets to see it Sunday!), which I wasn't sure was possible. The album is available on iTunes and Spotify. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to listening to "Evermore" on repeat.
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