Janelle Monae is set to provide new music for the live-action remake of a Disney classic.
The 33-year-old singer and actress already has a voice acting role as a Pekingese dog named Peg in the upcoming reboot of the 1955 Lady and the Tramp animated movie, but it has now been revealed she will lend her voice to the production’s soundtrack too.
According to Variety magazine, Monae will perform two original songs for the film, and her artist collective Wondaland is also “reinventing” the “Siamese Cat Song” from the original movie.
The song – which features the refrain “We are Siamese if you please / We are Siamese if you don’t please” – has long been considered an offensive representation of Asian culture, and will be reworked by Wondaland contributors Nate “Rocket” Wonder and Roman GianArthur for the remake.
Kaylin Frank, a vice president in Creative Music and Soundtracks at Disney, told Variety: “We’re dealing with Wondaland, her team of incredibly creative writers and producers that she works with. So our director has engaged with her in terms of what the storytelling [of] the song needs to be.”
She then added that although the film is set in 1910 and has a blues-ragtime vibe, Monae’s personal sound will be represented.
Lady and the Tramp is set to star Tessa Thompson as Lady and Justin Theroux as Tramp, as well as Yvette Nicole Brown, Benedict Wong, Kiersey Clemons, Ashley Jensen, Thomas Mann and Sam Elliott.
The movie will be available exclusively on Disney’s streaming service Disney Plus, shortly after the platform launches in mid-November.
