'Beauty and the Beast' Star Emma Watson Reveals How She Was Tricked Into Singing Live on Set

Beauty and the Beast marks Emma Watson’s first big song-and-dance spectacle. And the musically inclined Harry Potter alumna went all in, at times crooning some of the new Disney live-action reboot’s tunes (including the new track “How Does a Moment Last Forever”) live on set… with the help of some sly direction by director Bill Condon.

“Bill semi-tricked me on the day” she sang “How Does a Moment Last Forever,” Watson told Yahoo Movies (watch above). “He said, ‘We’ll do one version where you sing it live, and then we’ll do another version where you can have the backing track… and we’ll do that version, too.‘”

So Watson performed the number live and figured they’d move on to lip-syncing version with a backing track. Then “Bill was like, ‘No.’ I was like, ‘No! I was tricked,'” Watson laughed. “But he said, ‘It sounds really good, Em.'”

Watson and costar Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), who plays the Beast, took no exception with Condon’s method. “Sometimes it’s very effective to have that,” Stevens said.

Added Watson: “You have to psychologically feel like you have that safety net.”

Beauty and the Beast is now in theaters.

Watch composer Alan Menken preview the film’s three new songs:


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