Shooting Star (Disney song)

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}

"Shooting Star" is a song written from Disney's 1997 animated feature film Hercules. The song, with a central theme of feeling disconnected,{{Cite web|title=Roger Bart Chased Hercules in the '90s, and Now It's Chasing Him {{!}} TheaterMania|url=https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/news/roger-bart-hercules-interview_89625.html|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.theatermania.com|date=31 August 2019 |language=en-US}} was written by Alan Menken and David Zippel replaced by "Go the Distance". It was the first song that was written for the character of Hercules.{{Cite web|title=Original 'Hercules' voice actor Roger Bart talks going the distance, playing Hades on stage|url=https://ew.com/theater/2019/08/22/hercules-roger-bart-public-theater-stage-musical/|access-date=2020-09-25|website=EW.com|language=EN}}

For his Hercules audition, Roger Bart sang the deleted song "Proud of Your Boy" from Aladdin and "Shooting Star"; Menken cried during his audition.{{Cite web |title=Hercules Voice Actor Roger Bart Recalls 'Go the Distance' Audition Ahead of Stage Adaptation |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hercules-voice-actor-roger-bart-150018453.html |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.yahoo.com |date=August 24, 2019 |language=en-US}} The production team recorded the full track with Hercules' singing voice Roger Bart and the full orchestra before replacing it.{{Cite web|last=Fierberg|first=Ruthie|date=November 27, 2019|title=Genesis of a Song: Alan Menken Plays Through How He Wrote 'Go the Distance' for Disney's Hercules|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/genesis-of-a-song-alan-menken-plays-through-how-he-wrote-go-the-distance-for-disneys-hercules|access-date=2020-09-25|website=Playbill|language=en}} Menken's original concept for the sonic palette of the movie was Candide, though when it was decided to switch to gospel it was decided that the song felt "too wistful, with not enough drive".{{Cite web |date=2020-09-28 |title=Disney's 'Hercules' Cast Reunites Online |url=http://theaterfansmanila.com/disneys-hercules-cast-reunites-online/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=TheaterFansManila.com |language=en-US}} They thought it made Hercules seem too soft, and decided they wanted to emphasise the "muscularity of his journey". As a result, the duo of songwriters wrote "Go the Distance". Bart said that when the song was cut, and they decided to write him a new song, he was "thrilled and flabbergasted and grateful".

According to Bart, the shooting star Hercules sees during the song is Pegasus watching over him.{{Cite tweet |title=The shooting star Hercules… |number=1056870259972423680 |user=rogerbartoffic |archive-date=Oct 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011224457/https://twitter.com/rogerbartoffic/status/1056870259972423680 |url-status=live |access-date=24 June 2023 |lang=en |url=https://twitter.com/rogerbartoffic/status/1056870259972423680}}

Bart connected to the song because of his own disorientation as a young actor, saying "That the song was so much about feeling out of place but also connected to a part of yourself that's very strong inside. That even though you feel like you didn't belong where you were at that moment, you knew it wasn't just you. There was something about yourself that was going to be okay in all of this, even though you knew this was where you were not supposed to be right now."

Menken said, "It's a very sweet song, and it's very much a heartfelt 'I wish I knew where I belong' [song]".

Similar to "Proud of Your Boy" from Aladdin, "Written in Stone" and "Keep 'Em Guessing" from Mulan, and "Human Again" from Beauty and the Beast, this deleted song was reinstated in the stage adaption of the film: the 2019 musical Hercules.

The full demo recording and the accompanying sketch storyboard debuted at the 2017 D23 for a panel entitled Zero to Hero: The making of Hercules to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film's release.{{Cite web |last=Becky |date=2017-09-26 |title=Zero to Hero: The making of Hercules at the D23 Expo 2017 |url=https://www.disneyinyourday.com/zero-to-hero-the-making-of-hercules-at-the-d23-expo-2017/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Disney in your Day |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=2017 D23 Expo Exclusive – Animated Views |url=https://animatedviews.com/2017/2017-d23-expo-exclusive/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |language=en-US}}