When Brian McKnight hit the stage with Céline Dion to sing “Beauty and the Beast,” the magic started from the first note! Brian opened up the Disney classic with a creamy tenor, and Céline’s reaction said it all. She smiled knowingly and turned around to the audience, as if to say, “Did y’all just hear that?” The vocal fireworks and chemistry were really cooking all throughout the 73 million view duet.
Céline made no secret of how much of a fan she was of the soul legend throughout the performance, and he was so honored by it. At the end Céline told Brian “I love you so much,” and he humbly held his hands up to his face, not sure what to do after getting such high praise from The Queen of Pop. The Music Man has to say, while plenty of the best voices in the biz have sung “Beauty and the Beast,” no one can do it like Céline and Brian!
Céline and Brian’s duet became the most viewed live cut of “Beauty and the Beast” on YouTube when a fan channel uploaded the performance. Fans were loving it and added comments such as “This is the best version of Beauty and the Beast!!! Brian McKnight has an amazing voice! Celine’s voice is priceless!” and “Brian McKnight is one of the most beautiful male voices I’ve ever heard! His voice just cuts through you like butter.”
There’s something about “Beauty and the Beast” that brings out the best duets. One of the most memorable performances of the tune came when Josh Groban and H.E.R. sang it at Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration. Josh, naturally, sounded absolutely delectable singing those timeless melodies. H.E.R. matched the classical crossover star with heartfelt harmonies before stealing the show with a fiery guitar solo – talk about a change of pace!
“Beauty and the Beast” was penned by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who provided the lyrics and music respectively. The pair wrote it for the 1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that the film version of the song was recorded by actress Angela Lansbury, as part of her role playing Mrs. Potts. Céline Dion recorded her own version of “Beauty and the Beast,” performing it as a duet with American R&B singer Peabo Bryson. Céline’s version was issued as the sole single from the film’s soundtrack. The duet peaked at number nine on both the UK and US charts and went Gold in the latter market.