Music Fridays # 144: Proud of Your Boy

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. And if you are wondering, where the Poll Results are. Well, chalk that up to being a failed experiment.  So, we won't be doing that anymore. Now, I'll still include the Polls for you to vote on as I love hearing your opinions but the whole Music Fridays thing is no more with the polls.   Today, instead we turn to one of my favorite Disney songs that was originally cut from Aladdin and well, be taking a look at some different versions of it.  This is Proud of Your Boy.

Proud of Your Boy Demo






The first time I heard the demo  of this song, I was in tears.  This is one of the most heartbreaking songs ever  and  my heart just breaks  hearing Aladdin put himself  down  like that but this is something that I think any child can relate to as we want our parents to be proud of his but there is always that lingering fear that  our effort  isn't just enough and we will never measure up




Proud Of Your Boy - Clay Aiken






For one of the DVD re releases of Aladdin,  Clay Aiken  did a cover of Proud of Your Boy and he does quite a good job.  His voice really seems to suit the song quite well and  it  is  just such a fantastic listen hearing him sing it.



Proud of Your Boy  (Broadway)






In the new Broadway musical,  Proud of Your Boy was worked back into the story and  Adam Jacobs (Aladdin on Broadway really sells  it and delivers what is in my opinion  one of the best performances of this song out there.  This  song  hits  on all of the right notes that you need to sell this song to understand that Aladdin  doesn't believe he will ever be the perfect child that he expects his parents want him to be.


Proud of Your Boy (Reprise (Broadway)


I like this short little reprise  as you hear Aladdin come clean  and knows that  his parents  wouldn't be happy with the decisions that he has made and that he needs to change.  And it's just sad how much, he keeps  putting himself down but he knows that his mother wouldn't be proud of what he has done to be with Jasmine.




Proud of Your Boy (In Studio ) With Alan Menken





Our  last version  is   once Adam Jacobs  but  stripped down  to just  being in studio with Alan Menken on piano  playing the instrumental as he sings along.   And   just like the Broadway version,  Jacobs'  vocals  are what sell me on this song  being so beautiful and working so well as you feel every line, he is singing.



There you have it,  my  look at  different versions of one of my all time favorite Disney songs.  I hope that you've enjoyed this Music Fridays and which version was your favorite. Let me know in the comments, peace!