Honestly, if you told me five years ago that I’d be unironically blasting a pop-punk cover of a "Frozen" song while driving to the grocery store, I would’ve laughed. But music is weird like that. A Whole New Sound isn’t just some random compilation; it’s a very specific collision of 2000s nostalgia and the massive Disney machine. It dropped in late 2024 and basically set the internet on fire for a week because it tapped into a very specific demographic: the "Disney Adult" who also happened to spend their high school years at Warped Tour.
It works. Mostly.
The project didn't just appear out of thin air. Disney has this long, storied history of letting alternative artists mess with their catalog—think back to DisneyMania in the early 2000s or the Nightmare Revisited album. But A Whole New Sound feels different. It’s crunchier. It’s faster. It’s got that specific, nasal vocal delivery that defined an entire era of MySpace music.
What's Actually On the Tracklist?
Let’s get into the weeds. The album kicked off with Simple Plan covering "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King. It’s probably the most "on the nose" track on the record. Pierre Bouvier’s voice hasn’t aged a day since 2002, and the arrangement stays remarkably faithful to the original while adding those heavy, palm-muted power chords we all expect.
But the real standout—the one people keep talking about—is Magnolia Park doing "I2I" from A Goofy Movie. If you know, you know. "I2I" is already a cult classic among Millennials. It’s a high-energy R&B pop track in the movie, but Magnolia Park turns it into a modern pop-punk anthem that feels like it could’ve been written yesterday. They didn't just cover it; they claimed it.
Then you have New Found Glory taking on "Part of Your World." Look, Jordan Pundik has a very specific voice. It’s polarizing. Some people think it’s too "whiny," but in the context of The Little Mermaid, that teen angst actually fits the character of Ariel surprisingly well. She’s a bored teenager who wants to leave home, right? It makes sense.
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Other tracks include:
- Mayday Parade doing a surprisingly emotional version of "Remember Me" from Coco.
- Yellowcard (with those iconic violins) covering "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.
- LØLØ bringing a bratty, modern edge to "Poor Unfortunate Souls."
- Tokio Hotel making "Colors of the Wind" sound like a dark, synth-heavy rock track.
- Plain White T’s doing a charmingly acoustic-driven "Surface Pressure" from Encanto.
The Nostalgia Economy is Real
Why did Disney do this? Money. Obviously. But it’s also about brand longevity.
By releasing A Whole New Sound, Disney is effectively "re-marketing" their classic IP to people who are now in their 30s and 40s. These are the people with disposable income. These are the people buying the vinyl records. It’s a brilliant move to keep these songs relevant without just releasing another "Best Of" compilation.
The production on this album is surprisingly high-end. It doesn't feel like a cheap cash grab where the bands just phoned it in. You can tell the artists actually like these songs. For instance, the members of Simple Plan have gone on record saying how much the Disney catalog influenced their sense of melody. You can hear that respect in the recordings.
It's Not All Perfect
We have to be real here: not every track hits.
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Some of the choices feel a little forced. When you try to squeeze a Disney ballad into a 4/4 drum beat with a double-time snare, you sometimes lose the magic of the original composition. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" loses some of its Elton John-penned grandeur when it’s played at 160 BPM. It’s fun, sure, but is it better? Probably not.
Also, some fans were disappointed that certain "obvious" bands were missing. Where was All Time Low? Where was Paramore? While the lineup we got is solid—featuring heavy hitters like We The Kings and Boys Like Girls—there’s a feeling that this could have been even bigger if they’d pulled in some of the A-list "mainstream" pop-punk acts of the current revival.
The Technical Side: Production and Mixing
If you listen to A Whole New Sound on a good pair of headphones, you’ll notice the mix is incredibly dense. Pop-punk in the 2020s (often called "Revivalism") relies heavily on layered guitars and snapped-to-grid drums.
This gives the album a very "shiny" feel. It’s the opposite of the raw, lo-fi punk of the 70s. It’s polished. It’s Disney. It’s exactly what it needs to be to play on a mainstream radio station or a curated Spotify playlist. The vocal tuning is transparent but definitely there, ensuring that every harmony in Yellowcard's "A Whole New World" sits perfectly in the stereo field.
Why This Album Matters for the Genre
Pop-punk has been through the wringer. It was the biggest thing in the world, then it was a joke, and now it’s "cool" again thanks to artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Machine Gun Kelly. A Whole New Sound acts as a bridge. It connects the "Elder Emos" with the "Gen Z" kids who are just discovering these bands through Disney.
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It proves that these songs—the Disney classics—are bulletproof. You can strip away the orchestra, add a distortion pedal, and the melody still holds up. That’s the mark of great songwriting, whether it was written by Alan Menken or Lin-Manuel Miranda.
How to Get the Most Out of the Album
If you're just diving in, don't just shuffle it. The sequencing is actually pretty decent.
- Start with the hits. Listen to the Simple Plan and New Found Glory tracks first to get your bearings.
- Check out the newcomers. Magnolia Park and LØLØ represent the newer side of the scene, and their contributions are arguably more creative than the veterans'.
- Compare. Go back and listen to the original Disney versions. It’s a fun exercise to see exactly where the bands swapped out a cello for a lead guitar or a piano for a synth.
- Look for the vinyl. The physical release of A Whole New Sound features some pretty great artwork that leans heavily into the "pop-punk aesthetic"—lots of neon, graffiti, and 90s-inspired sketches.
The reality is that A Whole New Sound is a celebration of two things that shouldn't work together but do: corporate storytelling and counter-culture music. It’s a weird, loud, nostalgic trip that doesn't take itself too seriously. And honestly? In 2026, maybe that’s exactly what we need.
If you're looking to expand your playlist, definitely grab the track "I2I" by Magnolia Park first. It’s the standout for a reason. From there, explore the rest of the album based on which Disney era you grew up with. Whether you're a 90s Renaissance kid or an Encanto fan, there's a distorted guitar version of your childhood waiting for you.