Darren Espanto covers "Top of the World" for Lyle, Lyle Crocodile

Columbia Pictures has just unveiled the video of Asia’s Pop Heartthrob Darren Espanto covering Shawn Mendes' Top of the World from Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. The video is a collaboration with UMUSIC PH to celebrate the release of the movie and the original motion picture soundtrack featuring Shawn Mendes.

Top of the World is one of the original songs from the musical comedy with Mendes as the singing voice of Lyle, the croc with a heart of gold.

Espanto said he “had so much fun” shooting the video and invited fans to sing along, and go on top of the world too.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is now showing in cinemas across the Philippines.

Check out the video below and avail of the original motion picture soundtrack now, also featuring the track “Heartbeat.”

Based on the best-selling book series by Bernard Waber, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a live-action / CGI musical comedy that brings this beloved character to a new, global audience.

When the Primm family (Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley) moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle - a singing crocodile (Shawn Mendes) living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened, the Primm’s must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem), to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile features original songs performed by Shawn Mendes and written by the songwriting team behind The Greatest Showman, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul.

Lyle’s solo ballad, Top of the World, was written by Pasek, Paul and Joriah Kwamé. In the scene where the song was featured, Lyle shows Josh the wonders of New York City. “Even though Lyle has to sneak out in the middle of the night, because the world is afraid of him, he finds refuge on the top of a theater,” says Paul.

Suddenly, with Josh, Lyle has someone to experience everything that magical city has to offer – including how to eat at the best restaurants in New York for free (a trick taught to him by Hector P. Valenti). “He’s just taught Josh how to dumpster dive, they’re walking through the city, and music pours up through the grate from a Broadway show downstairs,” says Pasek. “It’s Lyle’s favorite song, and he can’t wait to share it with Josh and celebrate this moment of finding someone to share his life with.”

“There is a certain magic and comfort to nightlife in New York City, especially as an artist,” says Kwamé. “It was an absolute treat to put ourselves in the mind and heart of Lyle, who at this moment on that Broadway theater roof, knows that he belongs. I hope the song gives hope to people worldwide who are still looking for that safe space,” he concludes.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Shawn Mendes lends voice for Lyle, Lyle Crocodile

Shawn Mendes, superstar recording artist and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, brings Lyle, the singing crocodile to vocal life, in Columbia Pictures’ new musical comedy Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (in Philippine cinemas October 12).

Based on the best-selling book series by Bernard Waber, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a live-action / CGI musical comedy that brings this beloved character to a new, global audience.

Mendes describes Lyle as a character driven by love. “He just wants to have a family, a home, and feel connected to people,” says Mendes, “and love is the reason I sing, too – I sing when I feel comfortable, when I feel accepted. I relate to him a lot.”

“Hearing your own voice come out of an animated character is such a weird experience,” Mendes continues. “It can be a bit of an out-of-body experience to hear your voice coming out of a crocodile, he adds, but what he wasn’t expecting was how much the animators would capture of Mendes himself. “While I was singing in the studio, the animators were filming my facial expressions, and then animating Lyle to make similar facial expressions that I was making.”

The film features original songs performed by Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem, and Constance Wu, written by the songwriting team behind The Greatest Showman, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

For Mendes, singing the work of Pasek and Paul brought to the fore the way that gifted songwriters can make the songs of a musical work a dual purpose, building on each other as part of a cohesive whole and also providing a discrete, joyful experience. “When you watch one of their movies or shows, you’re digesting the entire thing at once, and you may not realize just how smart they are,” says Mendes. “You don’t realize how complex and how beautiful these songs are, how lyrically astonishing they are, and how much effort they put into them. But when you’re in the recording studio, going through the songs, it’s an eye-opening experience,” he concludes.