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== Writing and recording ==
[[File:Alan Menken 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|265x265px|"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" was written to replace a song composer [[Alan Menken]] had originally written for Meg because it did not suit the character's independent personality. ]]
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" was written for [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]]'s animated film ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'' (1997) by composer [[Alan Menken]] and lyricist [[David Zippel]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZzDAQAAQBAJ&q=i+won%27t+say+i%27m+in+love+hercules&pg=PT78|title=Disney's Princess Collection - Complete (Songbook)|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|year=2002|isbn=9781458449719|___location=United States|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=I Won't Say (I'm in Love) – ISWC: T9312959232 – Work ID: 390590682 |url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/title/I%20Won't%20Say%20(I'm%20in%20Love)?at=true&searchFilter=SVW&page=1 |access-date=April 28, 2021 |website=[[ASCAP]]}}</ref> Menken originally wrote a "soaring" ballad entitled "I Can't Believe My Heart" for [[Meg (Hercules)|Meg]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Jim |date=October 19, 2012 |title=Disney favorite Susan Egan to perform this Sunday afternoon at LBCC's Music Scholarship Gala Concert |url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2012/10/19/disney-favorite-susan-egan-to-perform-this-sunday-afternoon-at-lbcc-s-music-scholarship-gala-concert.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721193111/https://jimhillmedia.com/disney-favorite-susan-egan-to-perform-this-sunday-afternoon-at-lbccs-music-scholarship-gala-concert/ |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |website=Jim Hill Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wild |first=Stephi |date=March 14, 2020 |title=Video: Susan Egan Sings Cut Song From Hercules at Broadway Princess Party |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Susan-Egan-Sings-Cut-Song-From-HERCULES-at-Broadway-Princess-Party-20200314 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507172100/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Susan-Egan-Sings-Cut-Song-From-HERCULES-at-Broadway-Princess-Party-20200314 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=[[BroadwayWorld]]}}</ref> [[List of Disney's Hercules characters|Hercules]]' love interest, which he had intended to show her realizing she is falling in love with the title character.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=Roulette|first=Matthew|title=The 10 Best Disney Songs You've Never Heard|url=http://thefw.com/best-disney-songs-you-never-heard/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815103751/https://thefw.com/best-disney-songs-you-never-heard/|archive-date=August 15, 2019|access-date=March 3, 2016|website=[[The FW]]|date=11 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 15, 2013|title=18 Best Disney Songs You've Never Heard|url=http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/05/18-best-disney-songs-youve-nev|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306191128/http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/05/18-best-disney-songs-youve-nev|archive-date=March 6, 2016|access-date=March 3, 2016|website=[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour]]}}</ref> However, creatives such as Meg's supervising animator, Ken Duncan, felt the character was "too tough" and "hardened by life" to perform such a delicate ballad.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Spiegel |first=Josh |date=September 10, 2019 |title=Time Has Been Kind To Disney's 'Hercules', A Flawed But Fascinating Attempt To Recapture The Magic Of 'Aladdin' |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/568984/hercules-revisited/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201153339/https://www.slashfilm.com/568984/hercules-revisited/ |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=[[/Film]]}}</ref> Menken wrote "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" to replace "I Can't Believe My Heart", and based it on [[girl group]] songs he had written for the stage musical ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (musical)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'' (1982).<ref name=":9" /> Although Meg's voice actress, [[Susan Egan]], liked the original song, she agreed that the slower "I Can't Believe My Heart" was "too straightforward and literal" for her character, whereas "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" expresses a similar sentiment, albeit "the way Meg would—without admitting any of it".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miles |first=Jim |date=September 29, 2008 |title=Jim looks at some overlooked treasures from recent Disney music and DVD releases. |url=http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID512390-512392.asp |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923104207/http://www.laughingplace.com/w/legacy/News-PID512390-512392.asp/ |archive-date=September 23, 2017 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |website=LaughingPlace.com}}</ref> Zippel described
Egan joked that although she had fun recording "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", she felt much "[[Light skin|whiter]]" than usual recording alongside the five Black singers who had been cast as the [[List of Disney's Hercules characters|Muses]] (Cheryl Freeman, [[Lillias White]], Vaneese Y. Thomas, [[LaChanze]], and [[Roz Ryan]]), who provided the song's [[back-up vocals]].<ref name=":9" /> Already familiar with their work on Broadway, Egan felt intimidated by their powerful voices and [[riffing]] abilities.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|date=August 1, 2012|title=Susan Egan: Belle, Meg, Glamour and Goop - Part 2|url=http://www.themousecastle.com/2012/08/susan-egan-belle-meg-glamour-and-goop.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820102823/http://www.themousecastle.com/2012/08/susan-egan-belle-meg-glamour-and-goop.html|archive-date=August 20, 2019|access-date=March 3, 2016|website=The Mouse Castle}}</ref><ref name=":35">{{cite episode |title=Susan Egan on “Disney Princess – The Concert” |url=https://www.disneyfanatic.com/a-dream-come-true-susan-egan-discusses-her-hercules-characters-legacy-sc1/ |series=D23 Inside Disney |last=Henry |first=Sheri |last2=Blake |first2=Nzinga |network=[[Apple Podcasts]] |date=February 3, 2022 |number=125 |via=Disney Fanatics |access-date=February 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522135643/https://www.disneyfanatic.com/a-dream-come-true-susan-egan-discusses-her-hercules-characters-legacy-sc1/ |archive-date=May 22, 2024}}</ref> She recalled that while they were very comfortable improvising and [[Ad libitum|ad-libbing]] per Menken's request, Egan would need to ask Menken to demonstrate her riffs on the piano note-by-note in order to replicate them, much to his disbelief.<ref name=":10" /> While it took Egan half an hour to solidify only one of her riffs, the other singers recorded multiple takes of their own within the same timeframe.<ref name=":10" /> Egan was greatly humbled by the experience,<ref name=":10" /> having never riffed in her previous singing roles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rudetsky |first=Seth |author-link=Seth Rudetsky |date=September 30, 2020 |title=When Susan Egan Auditioned for Hercules, Cynthia Nixon Was a Faker on To Tell the Truth, and Michael Cerveris Stayed in Character for Fame |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/when-susan-egan-auditioned-for-hercules-cynthia-nixon-was-a-faker-on-to-tell-the-truth-and-michael-cerveris-stayed-in-character-for-fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901105539/https://www.playbill.com/article/when-susan-egan-auditioned-for-hercules-cynthia-nixon-was-a-faker-on-to-tell-the-truth-and-michael-cerveris-stayed-in-character-for-fame |archive-date=September 1, 2023 |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=[[Playbill]]}}</ref> However, she said White in particular remained encouraging, reassuring her that "everybody has soul somewhere; we just need to find yours".<ref name=":35" />
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