Hi Abigail and Emily! So we’ve obviously heard ‘Beyond’ and fans are going wild over it. What other Moana 2 songs do you think fans will really lean towards?

E: I think ‘Chee Hoo’

A: Yeah

E: ‘Can I Get a Chee Hoo’ and from what we’ve heard, the kids love that one. And Dwayne is just so good in that.

A: An icon. We also love the villainess character. She’s a goddess, A diva goddess and she sings a bop of a song.

E: Yeah, I think that one’s going to be good too. But I also feel like ‘What Could Be Better Than This’, which is one that we don’t talk about much, is going to be a sleeper.

A: I concur. It’s like an ensemble number.

Emily (left) and Abigail (right) 

What was the process like for creating the soundtrack? How do you get that balance of there needs to be this many bops, there needs to be this many ballads?

E: I think it’s just whatever serves the moment. Of course you want to zoom out and take a look at the whole soundtrack and be like do we have the right mix of everything? All monotonous or not. But I think every song is different and figuring out exactly what the right tone is and what the character should sound like was one of the most creatively fun parts I feel like.

A: It was a big conversation with the creative team as well. We had producers, directors, and writers, and then we would have big story trust meetings with the entire Disney animation.

E: I feel like that was some of the coolest. We would have these internal screenings and after all these screenings, they would get all the filmmakers from all Disney animation projects in a room and – because we’re so close to the project and they’re not but they understand what it’s like to make something like this. And they would – it was like watching the smartest people you know, tear things apart and put them back together and poke holes and figure out what the nuggets of the story. It was just the coolest thing to watch.

A: Yeah. And everytime that happened, you know, there would be notes on the music, the music would evolve with the story, and so it was like the process was long but also it was fun and challenging and a dream come true.

E: Disney’s a very special place I wiII say.

What kind of research did you have to do to make sure that Moana’s culture and spirit was captured?

E: Disney takes sure care with that aspect of it. Everything is so thoroughly researched down to the etchings down the side of the boat to the way Moana’s hair is parted. And so the first day that we got there, we got a huge binder of research to go through but also we listened to a lot of music, a lot of Pacific music, and when you listen to a lot of music, you start to figure out the pattern. You hear what chord structures they naturally go for. Or what melodies are reoccurring, what the grooves are. And so that impacted our music because once you figure those out, you can put them in your own songs and you can choose, plus we had Opetaia (Foa‘iand) and Mark (Mancina), which was amazing. They were a huge part of crafting the sound for the first movie and they were the best resource we could have ever possibly asked for.

A: Yeah, and we also had access to the Oceania Cultural Trust, which was amazing and we got to speak to real life wayfinders, which inspired full songs so we were very well taken care of.

What advice would you give to TGs who are interested in songwriting?

A: Keep going. Learn an instrument. You’re not gonna write a hit the first time you write a song, so just have fun. It’s like a muscle like anything else and the more you do it, the better you get at it.

E: And I would say, it all takes time. Be patient with yourself. You never figure out where you want to go and who you want to be the first time you try anything. And also figure out what inspires you, learn what about it you like and figure out how to incorporate that into your own music.

🎵 Listen to Barlow and Bear's incredible work in Moana 2! 🌊

🎤 What's your favourite song from Moana 2? Let us know in the comments! 🌀

💙🩵Check out more of our chat with Barlow and Bear in the new February/March 2025 'Highlight Her' issue of Total Girl, out now in Australia (February 10 in NZ). Plus, check out our online channels for more with these talented ladies! 👀

Watch the extended video interview here.