I think you balance the things you've been dying to do all your life. And the opportunities that come along, that you didn't maybe think of, that are so amazing, that you'd kick yourself if you didn't try to be a part of them.
Lin-Manuel Miranda[Opetaia Foa'i] brought in the melody and the lyrics, but the lyrics were in Tokelauan, and so, we talked about what it could mean and whether this could be the ancestor song. So, I started writing English lyrics to sort of the same melody.
Lin-Manuel MirandaThe biggest secret weapon we had in regards to really being true to this part of the world, and making sure this part of the world could see themselves in this film [Moana] in a way that felt positive and accurate, was Opetaia, my co-writer, Opetaia Foa'i, who has a great band called Te Vaka and is an amazing musical and cultural ambassador.
Lin-Manuel Miranda