‘Moana 2’ songwriters Emily Bear, Abigail Barlow talk breaking barriers: ‘Should’ve happened a long time ago’

PHILADELPHIA - From winning a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album with ‘The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,’ to becoming the youngest duo and the only female songwriting team to write a full soundtrack for a Disney animated film with ‘Moana 2,’ Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow have already broken many barriers in the music industry and they are just getting started. 

In Disney’s ‘Moana 2,’ Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) is reunited with Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) three years later for a new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. When Moana receives a shocking call from her wayfinding ancestors, she must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous waters for an unexpected adventure.

Emily Bear comes from a jazz background. Meanwhile, Abigail Barlow began with flashy pop songs. The two joined forces once again to create the full soundtrack for the ‘Moana’ sequel, accomplishing a lot of ‘firsts’ within the Disney animated film space. 

FOX 29’s Kamryn Scrivens sat down with Barlow and Bear to chat about all things ‘Moana 2’ and those barrier-breaking accomplishments.

"I think it's kind of stupid that it's happening in 2024 and it should have happened a long time ago. But with that being said, I'm really, really honored" said Bear. 

‘What’s the hardest part about breaking those barriers?’ asked Scrivens.

"Trusting yourself," said Barlow. "Learning to trust your instincts. And also just standing up for yourself and, you know, letting your voice be heard in a room, even if it's full of just men."

"I feel like I've been the only girl in the room for, like, 99 percent of my life," added Bear. ‘But now I have another girl."

The two acknowledged how big and important it was to take the opportunity as songwriters for the movie’s soundtrack and expressed how deeply they connected to the plot of ‘Moana 2.’

"It just felt like a natural fit," said Barlow. "Emily was 19-20 at the time and Moana is 19 in this film and you know, a lot of our struggles and things we were dealing with were sort of mirroring," 

"We were just trying to figure ourselves out through a huge life change and so is Moana," said Bear. "We just really, really connected with Moana on a spiritual level." 

The soundtrack took the duo two and a half years to complete and with being a duo, how do they handle conflicting opinions on how certain tracks should sound? 

"We don't really fight that much," said Bear. 

However, Barlow admits she may be the more stubborn of the two.

"But when we disagree on something or an idea, I'll be the first to be like, I'm dying on this hill," she joked. "It's usually just compromise. Gotten really good at the compromise thing."

The legendary Quincy Jones passed away November 3, 2024 and though he was idolized by the masses, not many can say he was their mentor. But Emily can. 

Watch the full interview here: 

At the age of nine, the late Quincy Jones produced Bear’s chart-topping original jazz album, ‘Diversity.’

"He's the ultimate idol. I mean, at least for me," said Bear. "He was in every genre and every form of media and touched so many lives. But at the heart of it, like even till the day that he passed away, like he is a slave to his craft, he loved music so much and his hunger for learning and digesting music and understanding it more and writing more like never died. And that was so inspiring to me because so many people along the way lose their love for what they do. And his never died."

Bear cheekily shared she refers to the late great, as her ‘musical grandpa.’

With all the success Barlow and Bear have accomplished, there is still so much more to come. 

From the ‘Moana 2’ soundtrack, both songs ‘Beyond’ and ‘Can I get a Chee Hoo?’ have been submitted by Disney for an Academy Award. 

With the two both being Grammy-Award winners and Emily also earning an Emmy Award, the iconic singers, songwriters and composers are well on their way to EGOT status.