After conquering the seven seas as Princess Ariel in the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey is ready to make her formal solo debut. “Angel,” the official debut solo single from Halle, has arrived. “Black girl with the Black girl hair,” she croons over a plaintive piano-backed arrangement.
Halle posted a teaser for “Angel” to her YouTube channel and social media on Monday (July 31). The short clip featured a montage of childhood home videos and clips of recent solo performances set to the track’s instrumental. The teaser closed with the quote, “Angels make a way somehow.”
While this is Halle’s formal solo debut, she lent her gorgeous voice to the soundtrack for The Little Mermaid (2023), which topped Top Soundtracks and peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200. She delivered a stunning rendition of the classic “Part of Your World,” which topped out at No. 19 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, as well as the new original song “For the First Time,” which made Billboard’s ranking of the 50 best songs of 2023 so far.
As a member of the five-time Grammy-nominated R&B duo Chloe x Halle, Halle has earned earned two entries on the Billboard 200: 2018’s The Kids Are Alright (No. 139) and 2020’s Ungodly Hour (No. 16). The duo has also earned one entry on the Billboard Hot 100: “Do It” (No. 63), the lead single from Ungodly Hour.
2023 has been a banner year for Bailey. In addition to starring in The Little Mermaid, which grossed more than $118 million during its opening weekend, Bailey is also set to star in another movie musical later this year: Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple, which is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day.
Stream “Angel” here:
