"At All Costs" is a song in Disney's 2023 animated feature film Wish, sung by King Magnifico and Asha.[1] The song was written by Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/musician Benjamin Rice, who also wrote the other songs for the film. The song was performed by Chris Pine, who voiced King Magnifico, and Ariana DeBose, who voiced Asha.
"At All Costs" is the second song in the film, and it occurs when Asha, a 17-year-old girl who dreams of becoming an apprentice to King Magnifico, the ruler of Rosas, meets him for the first time. She is amazed by his collection of wishes, which he claims to grant to the most deserving people, and he is impressed by her curiosity and enthusiasm. The song expresses their mutual admiration and their vow to protect their wishes at all costs, though Asha vows to fight for the wishes if necessary while Magnifico wants to keep them with him and preserve the status quo.
Lyrics[]
King Magnifico:
If happiness was a tangible thing
It would be you
If you'd have told me
The feeling you'd bring
I'd think it untrue
And people search for a wonder like you
All of their lives
You still amaze me after all this time
You pull me in like some kind of wind
Mesmerized by the hold I'm in
Leave you here, I don't wanna
I wanna
Promise as one does
I, I will protect you at all costs
Keep you safe here in my arms
I, I will protect you at all costs
At all costs
Asha:
What's pain when I look at you? No way
I could explain you
Even if I tried to, I'll never dream like I used to do
If someone tried to hurt you, I don't
See how that could happen
I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine
Felt this? No, I haven't, I hope
It would be all right to stay right here beside you
Both:
And promise as one does
I, I will protect you at all costs
Keep you safe here in my arms
I, I will protect you at all costs
At all costs
If you're ever feeling like you're lost
I'll come find you
Man all fronts
There's no ocean I won't swim across
To be right by you
And not just once
Here and now, I swear on my response
I'll remind you
And promise as one does
I, I will protect you at all costs
Keep you safe here in my arms
I, I will protect you at all costs
At all costs
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Benjamin Rice, Julia Michaels - At All Costs (Demo) (From "Wish"-Audio Only)
Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine - At All Costs (From "Wish"-Lyric Video)
Chris Pine, Ariana DeBose - At All Costs (From "Wish"-Pop Up Video)
Disney Peaceful Guitar - At All Costs (From "Disney Peaceful Guitar")
Disney Ambient - At All Costs (From "Disney Ambient- Sleep"-Visualizer Video)
In the demo version, sung by Benjamin Rice and Julia Michaels, 'love you' was in place of 'promise' and Asha's verse opens with her saying wow. The song was, however, always about the Wishes. It sounds this way because Julia Michaels wanted the song to sound like a stand-alone love song outside of the context of the movie. She was subsequently asked to tone down the love references by Disney.
Despite the misconception that this song was originally written for Asha to sing with the deleted character "Starboy", the song was always intended to be for King Magnifico, and was written as a love song because "there were no other love songs in the movie" [2]
