Meryl Streep flaunts her rapping skills (!) in the end-credits song “Wear Your Crown” from Netflix’s adaptation of the Broadway musical The Prom.
A new version of the original song, written by Adam Anders, Peer Astrom, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, was released on Friday (Nov. 20) ahead of the Netflix film’s Dec. 4 release. “Wear Your Crown” is sung by all the actresses in the film, including Streep, Nicole Kidman, Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman. But the 71-year-old Oscar-winning actress finds a different kind of flow in the show tune while nodding to former first lady Michelle Obama.
“Gotta wear your crown or your tiara/ Now is the time to bust out the mascara/ Who needs shade? There’s nothing duller/ We living life in full technicolor/ But if your sparkle starts to fade/ Go out and start your own parade/ And if somebody starts in with new drama/ Just go high like Michelle Obama!” she raps.
Anders told USA Today that the female-empowering song would “encompass all of the emotions of the film, but wrap it all in an uptempo banger you can dance to…. And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to see Meryl Streep rap? That’s next-level awesome.”
The original Broadway musical from 2018 was nominated for seven Tony Awards. Television producer Ryan Murphy announced in April 2019 that he would be adapting the project, which follows a group of self-obsessed theater stars who travel to a small conservative town in Indiana to support a high school girl who wants to bring her girlfriend to the prom. Murphy also tapped James Corden, Awkwafina, Keegan Michael-Key, Andrew Rannells and more for the star-studded cast.
Listen to Streep and the gang polish off “Crown” for the upcoming Netflix film below.
