Halle Bailey Soaks up Good Vibes for Ariel Role in ‘Little Mermaid’ 

This image released by Disney shows Halle Bailey as Ariel, left, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in "The Little Mermaid." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows Halle Bailey as Ariel, left, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in "The Little Mermaid." (Disney via AP)
TT
20

Halle Bailey Soaks up Good Vibes for Ariel Role in ‘Little Mermaid’ 

This image released by Disney shows Halle Bailey as Ariel, left, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in "The Little Mermaid." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows Halle Bailey as Ariel, left, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in "The Little Mermaid." (Disney via AP)

As the second Black Disney princess in history, Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel in the new "The Little Mermaid" movie, says she has been moved by videos of Black children and parents delighted by her history-making role.

And then there was the video that hit closer to home, sent by her mother, of her grandparents viewing the film's trailer and her grandfather crying as he watched it on repeat.

"Special moments like that make me feel like I'm in the right place because they have been through so much," Bailey told Reuters. "My grandmother remembers seeing her family members in the cotton fields."

When the 23-year-old American singer was cast as Ariel, it was a moment of both celebration and struggle, as she became the target of a racist backlash on social media.

Bailey chose to embrace her historical casting by reading the book "The Little Mermaid: Make a Splash" to children at the White House in April and soaking up the good vibes from her little fans' videos.

"I just focus on the positivity and the beautiful reactions from these babies and realize the greater meaning and purpose in all of this is for them to be able to see themselves and know that they're worthy," the "Grown-ish" actor said.

The movie splashes into theaters on Friday.

Based on the animated 1989 film and the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of the same name, the new movie directed by Rob Marshall follows the mermaid Ariel, who makes a deal with a cruel sea witch, Ursula, in which Ariel trades her voice to become human and reunite with Prince Eric after rescuing him from a shipwreck.

The cast includes Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Javier Bardem as King Triton. Among the voice actors, Daveed Diggs plays the crab Sebastian, Awkwafina is the diving bird Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay is the fish Flounder.

With encouragement from loved ones, Bailey dove into her role, literally, by taking mermaid lessons.

"I had these amazing synchronized swimming coaches," she said. "They would come over to my house every Sunday and they would just teach me how to swim."

Acting veteran McCarthy also embraced the opportunity to play Ursula, a character she felt attached to long ago.

"I absolutely remember thinking Ursula is my gal," McCarthy said, recalling the original animated film she first saw at the movie theater when she was 20 years old.

McCarthy appreciated being able to explore Ursula's fears and loneliness.

"I think you start to kind of develop this full three-dimensional version of who she really was and I really quite fell for her," she said.



Lady Gaga to Rock Copacabana Beach with a Free Concert for More than 1 Million Fans

American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)
American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Lady Gaga to Rock Copacabana Beach with a Free Concert for More than 1 Million Fans

American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)
American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)

Lady Gaga will give a free concert on Copacabana Beach Saturday night, the second such show in as many years organized by Rio de Janeiro's City Hall.

The show will be the biggest of the pop star’s career, as it was for Madonna who also turned the expansive stretch of sand into a massive dance floor last year.

The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.

“It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars, restaurants, and retail, generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima, the city’s secretary of economic development, in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month.

Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028.

Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday. The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since, as it geared up to welcome the Mother Monster for her first show in the country since 2012.

Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song “LoveGame” and gave instructions for Saturday in a video. A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out. And “Little Monsters,” as her fans are known, sang and danced in front of Copacabana Palace where the pop star is staying, in the hope of catching a glimpse of her.

Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that around 1.6 million people are expected to attend and that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (some $106 million) into Rio’s economy, nearly 30% more than Madonna’s show.

While the vast majority of attendees will be from Rio, the event is expected to attract Brazilians from across the country and international visitors.

Ingrid Serrano, a 30-year-old engineer, made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show.

“I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano, who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years.

For her, the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression - being who one wants without shame.”

Lady Gaga's more than 2-hour performance is scheduled to start at 9:45 p.m. local time. Sixteen sound towers have been spread along the beach to ensure the hits resonate across the vast space.

Rio state’s security plan includes the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers, and 400 military firefighters.

Rio officials have a history of organizing huge concerts on Copacabana Beach.

Madonna's show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the biggest free rock concert in history.