“I didn’t even know I had to sing”

Tiffany Boone says it was only through “therapy and a lot of coaching” that she was able to overcome her severe fear of singing, for which, like her “Mufasa: The Lion King” co-star Aaron Pierre, she had little background had.

“Intimidating – just because I’m afraid of singing in front of people. I didn’t have the phobia anymore,” Boone, who plays Sarabi in the film, told TheWrap. “When I started auditioning, I didn’t even know I had to sing. Like, “Oh, one of those roles where you don’t have to sing,” and then at the last minute they said, “Okay, now sing something.” And I said, ‘Excuse me?’ So I was very scared about it, but through therapy and a lot of coaching and the incredible team.”

Boone continued, “Lin-Manuel Miranda’s team was really supportive. I was able to jump in and have some fun, and it’s certainly still a lot of pressure, but I think as long as you’re focused on serving the work and the music and you’re taking, we have to head out of there about the legacy stuff . For now we can focus on the old things, but for now we are just trying to serve the work. And I think that’s what we ended up doing and what was fun.”

Co-signing Boone’s remarks, Pierre also thanked Miranda’s crew and shared his hope that none of the behind-the-scenes footage of them singing will be aired at any time.

“I had a lot of nerves. I never really sang out of context in my house. I was nervous and like Tiffany said, a big thank you and a big shout out to Lin-Manuel Miranda and his team because without them I wouldn’t have been able to honor the beautiful, beautiful music that he wrote and to serve her. said Pierre. “I really hope no BTS footage comes out because I’m using all the singing techniques to hit those high notes and that looks embarrassing.”

Although Pierre and Boone’s nerves were frayed, their co-star Kelvin Harrison Jr. compared them to two legendary singers.

“This is Jill Scott and Maxwell from the Pride Lands,” Harrison said.

Pierre sings three songs on the original soundtrack to “Mufasa,” written and co-produced by Miranda, including “I Always Wanted a Brother,” “We Go Together,” and “Tell Me It’s You.” Boone also sings on “We Got Together” and “Tell Me It’s You”.