Our newest Ariel is taking the world by storm with advice from her mentor, Queen Bey.
Halle Bailey, the singer of R&B duo Chloe x Halle, recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about the “beautiful advice” she received after taking her crown as Disney’s trendsetting Ariel.
From none other than Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, the most-awarded and most- nominated (tied alongside her husband Jay-Z) artist in Grammy history, the advice solidified to Bailey what it means to be inspired and resilient.
“She’s always been very, very complimentary and proud of me, and that means the world coming from her, somebody that’s been one of my biggest inspirations since I was 3,” Bailey recalled in EW’s cover story.
Before Chloe x Halle became big stars, it was Bey that was the first of her caliber to recognize the duo’s talent and ended up taking them under her wing. After the sisters posted themselves singing a cover of the diva’s “Pretty Hurts,” it prompted Bey herself to sign them to her label, Parkwood Entertainment. The rest is history.
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Now, as the premiere of The Little Mermaid gets closer, Bailey is celebrating the release of her own Little Mermaid Ariel doll and reminiscing on what Bey said:
“She just told me to stand in my power and to not give up and to know that I can do this and believe in myself.”
Bailey is doing just that.
Bey’s words of wisdom may have followed after the drop of the first trailer of the live-action film last year. The highly-anticipated debut not only accumulated praising supporters but also racist trolls who had an opinion about the casting decision. Bailey decided to block out all negativity and focus on the positive, including all the Black girls who expressed their excitement to see her as Ariel.
In a 2022 interview with People, the actress shared that she cried at the conclusion of filming for the movie.
“I remember at the end of filming, wrap day, I was just sobbing because I truly felt like I had come out of this cocoon with Ariel,” Bailey said.