Anika, how does it feel to be singing as a princess?

Anika Noni Rose: It's phenomenal. It's phenomenal. It's been a dream of mine my entire life to do a Disney voice. So the Princess is an elevation of my dream, even. You think when you're dreaming that you're dreaming big. And then somebody comes along and they're, like, oh, who's your fairy godmother? Now, you're the Princess!

Randy has such a gift with his music and the ability to tell stories. I think that in today's music, we have a lot less storytelling. And that's the wonderful thing, I think, about what you do, Randy, even back to 'Short People,' which I'm not offended by, by the way!—there's a story involved in your songs. So it lent itself perfectly to this land, because every song that you hear is moving the story forward. Randy's not an easy music writer, so the things that you're listening to sound simple to the ear, which is good for kids. But it's not simple music at all. It's actually very intricate. The chord structure, the way the notes move, also help with creating an emotion—the tone and the emotion help move the story forward. So it was really wonderful to be able to sing music that does that.

I didn't start performing until I was about 14. I did a play. That's sort of late. Most people are, like, 'I was in ballet when I was two and I was en pointe at six and I'm brilliant!' But, I started very late, and I thought I wanted to be a recording artist. And then it switched, and I stuck with acting. I still wanted to be a recording artist, and I thought, 'One way to break in would be to do soundtracks.' And it occurred to me yesterday, well, that's exactly what I'm doing. This wasn't the way I was thinking of it. But it's a huge blessing. It's really an amazing thing.

And when I see all these children from all different backgrounds walking around in Tiana outfits. I'm so excited about her. It really is very, very moving. And it proves that the only people who are caught up in what she looks like are the adults. The kids are caught up in who she is and that's beautiful.

In the movie, what is the big performance for you?

Anika Noni Rose: Oh, I think she has a couple of really fantastic moments. 'Almost There' is a pretty remarkable number, particularly in the land of Princesses, because it's not the yearning, wishing, please-come-to-me song. It's, 'I see my dream, it's there, on the horizon. I can feel it on my fingertips, I can smell it, I can taste it. And I'm about to hold it in realization.' That's a very different song for a Princess to sing. And I think, really inspiring. And then she comes back at the end with the reprise of 'Down In New Orleans,' which Dr. John sings in the beginning. But you'll find that in the reprise, she has really found her voice. She has truly become this young woman, finding the fullness of who her person is. She's no longer somebody who's just searching to make that dream happen and working toward it. She's somebody who has found completeness. And so you hear a different side of her again at the end, which is pretty fantastic. I was really excited that they let me come back and sing that. So she has a couple of really, really great moments.