IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Dads channel their inner princesses to sing Little Mermaid song

Even tough guys turn to putty when they have daughters. Tea parties come before football games, they learn the art of the ponytail, and they find themselves singing along to princess melodies – and loving every second of it. The newest YouTube sensation is a group of dads singing a cover of “Part of Your World” from "The Little Mermaid." Even in the world of Disney princess songs, this is on

Even tough guys turn to putty when they have daughters. Tea parties come before football games, they learn the art of the ponytail, and they find themselves singing along to princess melodies – and loving every second of it.

The newest YouTube sensation is a group of dads singing a cover of “Part of Your World” from "The Little Mermaid." Even in the world of Disney princess songs, this is one of the girlier tunes, which makes watching these big softies even more adorable. Firefighters, cops, scientists, barbers, and construction workers from around the country unleash their inner princesses and belt one out in an ode to the little girls in their lives.

“As dads, we’re fun. We’re cool. We’re macho and masculine but at the same time, we love our kids and will do anything to make them happy. Plus, there just haven’t been enough cover songs of that one [Part of Your World], so we had to do it,” Tommy Riles, one of the video’s co-producers, told TODAY Moms.

Moms are over the moon after watching this under-the-sea tribute to a father’s love for his little girl. As Stir.com writer Jeanne Sager said, “The way I see it, a 'real man' is one who cares what his daughter cares about.”

The idea for the video came from Patrick Quinn, Tommy’s brother-in-law. One day, Patrick was riding his bike, listening to his iPod, when one of the songs from his daughter's "Tangled" soundtrack came on. Rather than skipping ahead, he found himself singing along.

Tommy and Patrick enlisted the help of their friends and family from around the country to perform the song. Persuading the first couple of guys was a bit of a hard sell, but eventually it got easier.

“At first the reaction was, ‘What? What do you want me to sing!?' But, most of our friends were down with it,” said Tommy.

Tommy and Patrick made the video for Tommy’s website, lifeofdad.com, which is a social network for dads. The site features the writing of more than 100 dad bloggers and has podcasts with guys like Tony Danza.

Tommy started the site a couple of years ago, after his daughter was born with a heart defect. At first he used it to keep friends and family updated on her health. Once his daughter came home from the hospital healthy and strong, he began adding more humor to the site – which makes sense, since he’s a comedian. But, his daughter’s early health scare stayed with him. Anytime a dad joins his site, Ralph’s Grocery Company donates $1 to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where his daughter had surgery when she was just three days old.

So, what do you do next if you’re a bunch of dads who just turned one of Ariel’s most popular songs into a macho hit? Why, tackle Aladdin’s “Whole New World” of course. Stay tuned.

Dana Macario is a Seattle-area mom who, after watching this video, had a big smile on her face and the lyrics stuck in her head.

Become part of TODAY Moms' world with these links:

Dad shares secrets behing amazing father-daughter photos

Dad's view: I wanted a boy but got a girl... thank goodness

Cute flower girl takes a nap, steals the show, goes viral