In Pixar’s upcoming Turning Red, a teenage girl named Meilin (Rosalie Chiang) who discovers that she can become a big, red panda whenever she gets upset or stressed out. One of the notable things about the film is that it’s set in Toronto during the early 2000s, and Mei and her friends are absolutely in love with the fictional boy band, 4*Town. Boy bands have always been popular, but they had a powerful grip on the world beginning in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Disney’s been leaning into the nostalgia of time period for the movie since the first trailer, and now they’ve released the big single for the film, “Nobody Like U.” It may be written by current pop star Billie Eillish and her brother Finneas but it’s retro as hell, from the lyric video being done in the style of old Teen Beat magazines to 4*Town having two Aarons; Aaron T. and Aaron Z. (That magazine absolutely would’ve had a “Which 4*Town member are you?” quiz, and I think I’m a Robaire.) Along with the lyrics, Finneas lends his voice to the band, along with Jordan Fisher, Topher Ngo, Grayson Villanueva, and Josh Levi.
After a few listens, the song is pretty good! For anyone who grew up during the 90s, it’s a fun throwback to the days of N*SYNC and Backstreet Boys. Who knows if it’ll be the annoyingly catchy hit like “Let It Go” or the Encanto song we don’t talk about, but at the very least, it’ll be a song that parents and kids will be able to enjoy. There are at least two other songs from Eilish and FINNEAS for the film, and given how some fictional bands have managed to take off, like K/DA for League of Legends, maybe this’ll take off big enough to warrant some more songs after Turning Red comes out. And if they don’t, you’ll have to settle for this single being stuck in your head for the next few weeks.