Sophia Laforteza reveals how she recorded INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” for DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island” in a new behind-the-scenes feature presented on October 27, 2026. The KATSEYE singer connects her interpretation with her Filipino heritage and the film’s story of friendship. Studio footage shows her watching the animated scene as she sings, while the filmmakers explain the recording’s emotional role.
Sophia Laforteza appears in the recording booth with images from “Forgotten Island” in front of her, singing a familiar song into a different dramatic setting. The new feature follows the making of her version of “Never Tear Us Apart”. Released alongside the animated film’s digital edition, it explains how the session connected a well-known recording with two characters facing the possible loss of their shared memories.
The feature is not a new music video or the first release of the cover. Her recording was already available on September 18 as part of the soundtrack. The October 27 material instead opens the studio process to viewers, adding explanations from the singer and her collaborators. It belongs to a wider collection of more than an hour of extras accompanying the film’s digital availability.
The song originally appeared on INXS’s 1987 album “Kick” and became one of the Australian band’s signature recordings. For the filmmakers, its existing identity was only the starting point. They wanted an interpretation able to serve a particular relationship within the story, allowing familiar words to express the connection between two friends rather than functioning only as a reference to an earlier musical period.
“Forgotten Island” follows Raissa and Jo as they approach a point where their lives may move in different directions. An unexpected adventure takes them to a fantastical island inspired by Filipino mythology and folklore. There, the possibility of forgetting each other gives their memories a direct role in the story, bringing friendship, change and the people who shape a life into the same narrative.
Director Joel Crawford regards the song as closely expressing that journey, almost an anthem for the friendship at its centre. That explains the decision to commission a new performance rather than simply use the original recording. The music needed to respond to the characters and their situation, with its emotional meaning shaped by what viewers understand about the bond between the two girls.
Sophia Laforteza’s Filipino background gave her a personal point of connection. She recognised cultural references and relationships that mattered in her own life, bringing more than vocal ability to the session. Her approach began with understanding the story and then considering how to carry its feeling through her voice, rather than treating the assignment as a purely technical reproduction of a familiar song.
Watching the scene while singing made that connection immediate. She could respond to what the characters were experiencing as the music developed, using the images alongside the composition. In the feature, she describes drawing on the culture in which she grew up, connecting family, friendship and memories with the emotional needs of the sequence being recorded.
Composer Nathan Matthew David recalls recognising the impact of Sophia Laforteza’s performance early in the session. His comments concern the voice and its dramatic responsiveness, placing the interpretation within the film’s wider musical world. He composed the original score and also contributed to this recording, linking the cover with the sound and storytelling developed elsewhere in the production.
Mike Elizondo handled production, with additional production from David. Laforteza supplied both lead and backing vocals, while Elizondo played instruments including bass, keyboards and electric guitar. Aaron Sterling contributed drums, and Justin Francis mixed the track. Those individual credits describe a studio recording built around the singer’s interpretation and the requirements of the scene, rather than a collective KATSEYE performance.
Co-director Januel P. Mercado emphasises that the version can also stand independently as an interpretation. That matters for a song whose original vocal identity is already familiar to many listeners. Sophia Laforteza does not approach it as an attempt to duplicate Michael Hutchence, instead finding a new emotional starting point through the animated characters and her own way of delivering the words.
Crawford also points to the importance of her personal response to the film. The singer’s sense that its cultural world belonged to her own experience affected what she brought to the booth. He describes that connection as central to the collaboration, encompassing the family references and friendship as well as the sound of a strong individual vocal performance.
Sophia Laforteza has described the opportunity as an unusually meaningful experience because it brought together family, women, friendship and pride in her culture. Sophia Laforteza’s studio material gives those observations a practical setting: viewers can see her concentrating on the film as she sings. Her connection is presented through the working process, rather than only a comment attached to the finished soundtrack release.
The soundtrack also features H.E.R., Liza Soberano, BINI, SB19 and Lea Salonga among its contributors. H.E.R. and Soberano voice the central characters. The film opened in cinemas on September 25, reached digital platforms on October 27 and is scheduled for 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on December 1. The cover remains separately available through the soundtrack released before the theatrical opening.
