Hamilton actress and singer Ariana DeBose and Encanto singer Sebastián Yatra will appear on the ABC special The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration Nov. 28.
DeBose will join country singer and Rock of the Ages actress Julianne Hough in the rendition of “We Need a Little Christmas,” “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Holiday” medley.
The Carolina-born DeBose debuted on the TV series So You Think You Can Dance in 2009, and has alternated acting between Hollywood and theater stages. Her credits include the vampire series True Blood, the drama series One Life to Live, the indie film Daphne and the musical plays Hairspray and Bring It On. The Afro-Latina actress has played the roles of famous singers in Broadway productions, like Mary Wilson in Motown and Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Her role in Hamilton in 2015 meant she was part of the musical’s original cast whose live performance was filmed for Disney+’s Hamilton.
For his part, multiple Latin Grammy-nominated Yatra will sing “Dos Oruguitas,” track number six on the soundtrack for Disney’s animated film Encanto, which is set in a fantastical Colombia. The song was written and composed by Grammy Award-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame. The song also was produced by Miranda along with Mike Elizondo. “Dos Oruguitas” is one of a few songs in Spanish among the movie soundtrack’s 45 tracks. The film’s album was released one week before the film’s premiere Nov. 24 in time for Thanksgiving weekend.
Yatra has received eight nominations for the Latin Grammy, the two most recent in 2020 for his collaboration with Colombian singer Juanes in the single “Bonita”–both as Song of the Year and Best Pop Son.
The Medellin-born and Miami-raised Yatra will also perform a “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” medley in the yuletide TV special.
In The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, DeBose and Yatra will join a lineup that includes artists like Julianne Hough, Jimmie Allen, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Brett Eldredge, Needtobreathe, Switchfoot, Norah Jones and Gwen Stefani.
The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” and “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade” are executive produced by Sally Conner for Disney Parks, who brought on production company 45 Live and executive producer Michael Antinoro.
The Nov. 28 show will air from 7 to 9 p.m., Eastern Standard Time/Pacific Standard Time.
Featured Photos: Ariana DeBose (Credit: Kat Hennessey/Courtesy of artist) / Sebastian Yatra (Credit: Courtesy, self)
