by Beth Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
May 9, 2020
If you enjoyed the first Disney Family Singalong, you weren’t alone. According to Variety, nearly 13 million viewers tuned in to belt their way through the evening with Disney stars including Auli’i Cravalho (Moana; Little Mermaid Live); Luke Evans (live action Beauty and the Beast); Josh Gad (Frozen); and Donny Osmond (Mulan, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). Michael Bublé, Christina Aguilera, Ariana Grande, Thomas Rhett, and Little Big Town were also among dozens of the night’s performers, singing along with their own families from their living rooms, kitchens and front porches. Oh, and a good number of the wildcats from the High School Musical team showed up, too!
The Disney Family Singalong was the second most viewed show during the week of April 16th. According to Forbes, it topped its Thursday evening showing, enjoying a 2.6 rating in the adult 18-49 demographic, almost double the second ranked show for that night. The singalong posted 10.3 million viewers live, with the live+7 rating at nearly 13 million sets of eyes. And, for good measure, the viewership numbers don’t even include those families who watched the replays on Disney+ over the past two-and-a-half weeks.
The evening was so successful that Disney has choreographed the Disney Family Singalong Volume II. Set to air on May 10th (a treat for Moms that evening?), the Singalong will once again be hosted by Ryan Seacrest on ABC at 7 PM EST, and will feature the bouncing Mickey icon so you can sing along (though we’re pretty sure your family already knows most of the words by heart.) The first Singalong version is still available on Disney+ in case you missed it in its original airing on April 16th.
Singalong Volume II will feature return appearances by Josh Gad, with “When I Am Older” from Frozen 2, and Derek Hough and Julianne Hough, who, with Hayley Erbert, will perform “Step in Time” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins. (Seriously, did they just have those costumes hanging around their house for the first singalong?)
The sequel event will also include performances by Idina Menzel and Ben Platt (“A Whole New World” from Aladdin); Chloe x Halle and Anika Noni Rose (“Almost There” from The Princess and The Frog); Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover and Walter Russell III (“Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King); Katy Perry (“Baby Mine” from Dumbo); Halsey (“Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid); Rebel Wilson (“Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid); Miguel and Christina Aguilera (“Remember Me” from Coco); Shakira (“Try Everything” from Zootopia); John Legend and Jennifer Hudson (“Beauty and the Beast” from Beauty and the Beast); Sabrina Carpenter and Lang Lang (“Your Mother and Mine” from Peter Pan); Disney on Broadway stars Merle Dandridge, Heather Headley, Adam Jacobs, Caissie Levy, Kara Lindsay, Kevin Massey, and Josh Strickland (“You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan); and Keke Palmer (“Zero to Hero” from Hercules), with “Dancing with the Stars” performers Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson, Sasha Farber and Emma Slater. The Muppets will also lend a hand to the evening’s festivities. Additional guests continue to be announced.
Along with musical presentations, the event will offer public service announcements for the Feeding America network, helping to make viewers aware of resources in their area.
Settle in with the family for an evening of song, and feel free to dance along if you’d like. Costumes optional. It’s your living room. No one else will know!
Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.
