Theo Somolu and Braelyn Rankins reveal how 'Mufasa's' 'I Always Wanted a Brother' came to be

LOS ANGELES -- It's the song that's gone viral on social media!

"I Always Wanted a Brother" from the musical adventure "Mufasa: The Lion King" took the world by storm with its catchy lyrics and upbeat tune.

Film stars Theo Somolu, who voices Young Taka, and Braelyn Rankins, who voices Young Mufasa, caught up with On The Red Carpet to discuss the mega-hit and everything that went into recording it.

"I'm hearing the song everywhere. I've got people talking to me, asking questions about it all," said Somolu. "The first time I heard my voice, I was like 'Mm... I'm not sure. I'm not sure about that.' But every time I've heard it more, I've almost acclimatized to it."

Rankins told us, "I heard it once before it was fully mastered. Actually, my sister did some of the pickups for some of my lines in the movie, so Barry (Jenkins) had played some of the song, and honestly, I was trying to play it cool, but honestly I was just waiting to ask, 'Can I hear the song?' 'Cause I really had been looking forward to it for the longest time."

Since Somolu is located in the U.K., he recorded his parts at Abbey Road Studios.

"As a young child, I've always wondered, 'What goes on in there?' But yeah, I got to go inside, got to record the song. Kurt Crowley, who is absolutely amazing, my vocal coach, he helped me out a lot."

The songs from "Mufasa" are written by Lin-Manual Miranda, the songwriter behind "Hamilton," "Encanto," "Moana" and more. Both actors were ecstatic to sing a song written by him.

"To be able to sing a song that he made is just crazy!" Somolu said.

As a fan, Rankins explained, "Lin-Manuel Miranda is like one of those musical geniuses, and I feel like he has such a specific style almost. So, I was really excited to work with him. He was so humble, so down-to-earth and just so cool to work with."

The song is now so popular, it's been dubbed in over 20 languages!

For so many, an "I made it" moment comes decades down the line in a career, but for this duo, they're already there.

Somolu is following his dreams. "It's every kid's dream to be in a Disney movie, or to be a character in one of the movies, and I get to be that kid!"

"Being able to be here and share it with Theo and share it with everyone else, and see everyone else be so excited about it, I think really has made it special," Rankins remarked.

"Mufasa: The Lion King" is streaming now on Disney+.

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