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"Part of Your World" is a song written and composed by the songwriting duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It was originally featured in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid, and is also featured in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film. The song is sung by Ariel, the title character, while in her hidden cavern which holds all of her treasures, most of which are human objects. It reveals how Ariel longs to be human and live among their culture, and how she's tired of being a mermaid living under the sea. In the film the song was performed by Jodi Benson.

Writing and recording [link]

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Howard Ashman wrote the song with the belief that, in a musical, it is necessary for the heroine to sit down and sing about what she wants, referring to it as the "I Want" song.^[1][2] After reviewing Ashman's lyrics, co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker suggested some rewrites, as Ashman had included terms that would be unfamiliar to someone who gets their "information [about the human world] from a seagull."^[2] Ashman complied and replaced his previous lyrics with more off-beat terminology.^[2] During recording, Jodi Benson asked that the lights in the studio be dimmed to give the correct atmosphere.^[3] Howard Ashman stood by Benson, giving suggestions to benefit her performance.^[1]

During production of The Little Mermaid it was suggested by some that the "Part of Your World" song slowed down the story and should have been deleted from the final cut, but Howard Ashman insisted that it be kept in.^[3]

Critical reception [link]

This section requires expansion.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the song the "first musical bull's-eye" among a half-dozen in the film.^[4]

Cover versions [link]

Other Disney renditions of the song include one by Jessica Simpson on DisneyMania. The song has also been performed by Olivia Newton-John, Miley Cyrus, Brenda Song, Faith Hill, Skye Sweetnam, Chely Wright, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Darren Criss and Esmee Denters. The Broadway musical version of the song is sung by Sierra Boggess, which is on the Original Broadway Cast album. The pirate-themed rock band Captain Bogg and Salty also recorded a hard rock version of the song in 2006, facetiously claiming it to be a "mermaid lullaby" which was used to lure helpless sailors to their deaths.

• A Japanese language version of the song was recorded by Mayumi Suzuki.
• The Thai version featured in the Little Mermaid cartoon was covered by Tata Young
• American country music singer Faith Hill covered the song for the 1996 compilation album The Best of Country Sing the Best of Disney, the song was then featured again for the album Country Sings Disney in 2008.
• Michelle Nicastro sang this song for her album Toonful, which was released in 1993.
• In 2005, the song appeared in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts II, which featured The Little Mermaid as one of the many Disney movies in the game. Other songs from the movie were featured.
• LOVEBEAT Disney, a 2007 album consisting of covers of Disney songs by Japanese electro artists and DJs, contained a version of the song by Q;indivi as its first track.
• In 2008, Blind Ferret Entertainment recorded a version of the song for the fan-based animation feature Looking for Group, with alternative lyrics.
• "Part of Your World" is instrumentally heard in the Disney movie Enchanted.
• "Part of Your World" is often covered by Darren Criss during his live performances.

References [link]