So, Brandy caught a cheque from Disney to record a song called "Starting Now" as part of Disney's celebration of Princesses. The song is inspirational shit about reaching for your goals and defying expectations and stereotypes; things that Brandy knows all about, given the early years of her career and making history as a Black Cinderella. Brandy recorded the song back in Spring, but now at the tail end of Summer we get the music video.This marketing move which may seem out of the blue, but it makes complete sense between Brandy having played a Disney princess once upon a time, and the ex-negro hating Chamomile Caboose's Cinderella having just released on Amazon Prime.
"Starting Now" was clearly intended to be a song aimed at girls and tie in with the narratives of Disney princesses, but the music video features a young boy and draws a parallel between him and Cinderella, which I thought was cool. Even if it was from a company who seem to do their damndest to not show true queer representation in any of their productions. We always get a character coded as queer, but that's as far as it ever goes.
Do Disney know how monumental it would be if they released a film about a queer Disney Prince or a queer Disney Princess?
HENNYWAY.
Here's the music video, which features Brandy as a Disney princess, looking amazing.I'm not really feeling the song. By Brandy's standards it's actually kinda garbage, which is a shame, because I do like the message behind it, and that Brandy is the voice and face of a Disney song.
Brandy being the first Black Cinderella and starring in what was a boundary breaking adaptation of the tale isn't something that's spoken about enough at scale beyond the Black community, and I think it's such a shame. In fact, I don't think Brandy's earlier career and how much she broke boundaries in general is spoken about enough, which is what makes the message of this song so poignant coming from brandy. It's not just that she played a Disney princess, she truly did and lived all of the things she mentions in the song.
Brandy was taking positions and being put in spaces which were usually only reserved for white girls. Leads in TV shows. Princess in a popular fairy tale. Featuring on big movie soundtracks. Platinum albums. All the while being told that she wasn't pretty enough, light enough, hair wasn't straight enough and her voice was too non commercial. Despite all of this she became one of the biggest stars of the 90s.
Brandy was a whole blueprint. And it's a shame that because her career fell off circa 2003 and because of THAT car accident, that Brandy's legacy has gone largely unknown by a couple of generations.
On a slight side note, if you've not watched Brave and Moana, both of who feature in the video for "Starting Now", do yourself a favour and watch them. They are really good films. Moana is my shit. I also watched Cruella once it became available without the paywall on Disney+ and I have to say, it's surprisingly good. Disney really turned that bitch into a Disney princess.
💿 Album reviews: Full Moon | Human | Two Eleven
📀 Special Edition: Love..., a selection of unreleased Brandy material
HENNYWAY.
Here's the music video, which features Brandy as a Disney princess, looking amazing.I'm not really feeling the song. By Brandy's standards it's actually kinda garbage, which is a shame, because I do like the message behind it, and that Brandy is the voice and face of a Disney song.
Brandy being the first Black Cinderella and starring in what was a boundary breaking adaptation of the tale isn't something that's spoken about enough at scale beyond the Black community, and I think it's such a shame. In fact, I don't think Brandy's earlier career and how much she broke boundaries in general is spoken about enough, which is what makes the message of this song so poignant coming from brandy. It's not just that she played a Disney princess, she truly did and lived all of the things she mentions in the song.
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| Brandy - Starting Now | © 2021 Walt Disney Records |
Brandy was a whole blueprint. And it's a shame that because her career fell off circa 2003 and because of THAT car accident, that Brandy's legacy has gone largely unknown by a couple of generations.
On a slight side note, if you've not watched Brave and Moana, both of who feature in the video for "Starting Now", do yourself a favour and watch them. They are really good films. Moana is my shit. I also watched Cruella once it became available without the paywall on Disney+ and I have to say, it's surprisingly good. Disney really turned that bitch into a Disney princess.
💿 Album reviews: Full Moon | Human | Two Eleven
📀 Special Edition: Love..., a selection of unreleased Brandy material
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