Get the right vibe for your Orlando getaway with Michael James Scott’s new song.

Fresh off his epic, award-winning Broadway run as Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, acclaimed entertainer Michael James Scott has set his sights on new sounds, new challenges and new heights with “Brighter,” his debut pop single written with Grammy-nominated hitmaker, Sean Douglas — and he’s bringing Orlando along for the ride. The song is a feel-good bop you can belt with the windows down and is available wherever you stream music, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and more.

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Listen to the song here, read our interview with Michael, then start planning your next Orlando adventure.

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Michael James Scott: The ‘Brighter’ Interview

On ‘Brighter’

“Brighter” feels incredibly personal. What was the moment that inspired you to write this song?

Michael James Scott (MJS): I think it came from realizing that no matter how far my career has taken me, there is still something about coming back to Orlando that makes me feel like that kid who believed anything was possible. I’ve gotten to live some pretty wild dreams, but when I come home, I’m around the people and places that knew me before any of that happened. And suddenly those dreams I had at 15 don’t feel so far away again. That feeling became Brighter — my love letter to the city that taught me I could fly.

You’ve described “Brighter” as a love letter to Orlando. What did you most want listeners, especially Orlando residents, to feel when they heard it?

MJS: Pride. Joy. Home. I wanted Orlando people to hear it and immediately go, “YES! That’s my city!” But it was also really important to me that the song didn’t just talk about Orlando — I wanted it to sound like Orlando.

Finding that sound with my co-writer and producer, Sean Douglas, was a huge part of the process. Because for those of us who are from Orlando, there’s a feeling you get when you’re here that is honestly hard to describe. There’s a warmth, an energy, a sense of possibility and joy that I wanted you to actually feel in the music.

Orlando taught me to dream ridiculously big and somehow made those dreams feel attainable. So I wanted people here to hear themselves in this song. And for everyone else, I hope it makes them think about their Orlando — that place that makes them feel known, loved, and like anything is still possible. Ultimately, “Brighter” is about that feeling we all have when we get back to the place that feels like home.

The song carries themes of hope, belonging and chasing dreams. How much of your own story is woven into the lyrics?

MJS: Oh, it’s all up in there! When I sing, “Now I know I can fly cuz my city showed me how high it can hold me,” that is literally my story. I’m singing about the place that raised me and the people who believed in me before there was really any evidence that they should! So many people in the Orlando community believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. I was a kid in Orlando with some big dreams, and this city gave me the space to believe they might actually happen.

Broadway audiences know you for bringing larger-than-life characters to the stage. How different is it to share your own story through your music?

MJS: Honestly? Terrifying! In the theater, I get a character, a costume, a script — and if everybody hates it, I can blame the character! With my own music, it’s just… me. But that’s also what has been so exciting. After spending so many years telling other people’s stories, “Brighter” gave me the opportunity to say: “OK, this is what I sound like. This is my story.” It feels like a completely new muscle and a really exciting next chapter that was long overdue.

You’ve spent much of your career helping audiences escape into magical worlds. What kind of magic were you hoping to capture in this song?

MJS: The magic of coming home. It’s not magic carpets or costumes or special effects. It’s driving down a street you’ve driven down a thousand times. Seeing somebody who knew you when you were 15. Hearing a voice that immediately turns you back into the kid you used to be. There’s something magical about a place being able to remind you who you were before the world started telling you who you were supposed to be. That is the magic I wanted in “Brighter.” I spent 4,000 shows granting wishes. This song is my thank-you to the city that granted mine.

If someone had never visited Orlando before, what do you hope “Brighter” tells them about the city?

MJS: That it’s a place where you feel like anything is possible. Yes, we have some of the greatest theme parks and entertainment in the world — and I love that about us — but that feeling lives all over the city, in the artists, musicians, neighborhoods, families, food, culture and incredible people. This is a city that creates dreamers, and I’m one of them.

If someone listened to “Brighter” while walking through Orlando, where do you hope they’d be when the chorus hits?

MJS: OK, I’m about to go very cinematic here, so go with me. You’ve just left home. You’re sitting at that traffic light, the song is building, and then you start ascending to the entrance ramp onto the highway. And right as that chorus hits, you realize you’re driving down I-4 (no traffic) with the windows rolled down on a very gorgeous fall day, it’s golden hour, the palm trees are going by, the downtown skyline is coming up ahead, and the Florida sky is doing that Florida-sky thing that somehow never gets old. And then you hear, “It’s always brighter when I’m back home.”

On Michael’s Orlando Roots

You often speak proudly about your hometown. What makes Orlando unique compared to other places you’ve lived and worked?

MJS: Orlando has this incredible combination of imagination and possibility. Think about how many people come here every day specifically to dream — to escape reality for a minute and believe in magic. When you actually grow up surrounded by that energy, I think some of it gets into your DNA. I grew up at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville, came through Dr. Phillips High School’s performing arts program, and was the first Walt Disney Dreamer & Doer at Gotha Middle School. Orlando didn’t just happen to be where I grew up. Orlando helped create the artist I became.

When you return to Orlando after being away, what’s the first thing that immediately makes you feel like you’re home?

MJS: First, it’s the humidity. Then it’s getting on the tram at the airport and hearing Mayor Buddy Dyer’s voice welcoming us to Orlando. But honestly? The people. There’s something magical and wonderful about having this big career, traveling all over the world, and then coming home to folks who have loved me since I was a kid. There’s something incredibly grounding about all that, and I love every bit of it.

Orlando has changed tremendously over the years. What’s something about the city that has evolved in a way that makes you proud?

MJS: The creative community. There has always been incredible talent here, but I love seeing Orlando increasingly own the fact that world-class artists don’t just come through Orlando — they come from Orlando. That was important with “Brighter,” too. When we premiered it live in Orlando in May, for about a thousand people, every musician in the band was from Orlando. We wanted the city to be part of the song from the very first note.

Was there a moment growing up in Orlando when you first felt like performing could become more than a dream?

MJS: There were a lot of little “yeses” growing up in Orlando, but there is one moment I’ll never forget. When I was 13, the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat came through Orlando and used local kids in the children’s chorus. I was chosen to be the kid who walked across the stage carrying the “ORLANDO” sign during the journey to Egypt. I remember walking across that stage, surrounded by real professional actors, holding the name of my city, and hearing this huge reaction from my hometown crowd. I felt this incredible rush of joy and thought, “Oh… this. I want to do this.” It was such a small moment in the show, but for that 13-year-old kid, it was enormous. I think Orlando gave me one of my very first glimpses that this dream might actually be possible. In a way, I’ve been carrying that “ORLANDO” sign ever since. “Brighter” is just a much bigger one.

On Michael’s Favorite Orlando Experiences

Aside from the theme parks, what are some of your favorite Orlando neighborhoods or hidden gems?

MJS: I love getting people into the actual heartbeat of Orlando — downtown, Lake Eola, Winter Park, Audubon Park — places where you can walk around, eat, grab a drink or coffee, and actually feel the personality of Central Florida. There’s a whole Orlando happening outside the theme park gates, and that’s usually the Orlando I’m most excited to introduce people to.

Orlando is known for its arts scene. Are there any local theaters, venues or cultural experiences that still hold a special place in your heart?

MJS: Absolutely. I’m a product of Orlando’s performing arts community, so getting to come home as a professional artist has given me some of the most meaningful full-circle moments of my career. I got to debut my symphonic show with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra at the gorgeous Steinmetz Hall, sharing my story with my hometown alongside this incredible orchestra and a choir of young local artists. And then Disney Theatrical brought me home with the national tour of Aladdin to play the Genie — the role that changed my life and career in the most extraordinary way.

There’s something really powerful about leaving Orlando with these enormous dreams and then getting to come back and live some of those dreams on stages in the city that first taught me to dream. So, as you can imagine, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts holds a very, very special place in my heart. It’s become a place where so many of my childhood dreams have come full circle.

On Michael’s Fave Food & Fun

Every Orlando local has favorite restaurants. What are a few places — from casual to higher end — you make a point of visiting whenever you’re in town?

MJS: Food is a very important part of coming home! I love The Monroe downtown — it’s named for Dr. William Monroe Wells, an Orlando civil rights leader — plus Swine & Sons and Corner Chophouse in Winter Park. And then, of course, there are so many great restaurants at Disney Springs® — I can always find an excuse to make my way over there. Basically, when I come home, I come hungry.

If you had one perfect Orlando day with no obligations, what would you do, where would you go and what would you eat from morning to night?

MJS: OK, in my perfect world, it’s definitely a Sunday. We’re starting at Deeply Coffee for amazing coffee and a little bite, then taking a stroll around Lake Eola and wandering through the Sunday farmers market. From there, maybe lunch at Swine & Sons, then over to downtown Winter Park for a little shopping. Then it’s home for a very necessary little rest before getting dressed and heading to a concert or show at the Dr. Phillips Center.

We’d start across the street at Libra at Hotel Beauden for a pre-show cocktail and appetizer, see something fabulous, and then end the night at Sparrow for an after-show cocktail and a little nosh. Then home, happy, full, and probably wondering how my “relaxing day with no obligations” somehow became a 14-hour itinerary. But it was all worth it!

If you have a friend or family member visiting Orlando for the first time, where is the first place you’d plan to take them after they arrive?

MJS: I’ll be picking them up from the airport and we’ll be driving to East End Market in Audubon Park for a coffee at Lineage. It’s the quickest way I know to show somebody the local, creative side of Orlando.

What is an Orlando sound or sight that instantly takes you back to your childhood?

MJS: Oh, this one is easy. Driving down I-4 listening to Doc and Johnny on XL 106.7! That was the soundtrack of growing up in Orlando for me — riding in the car, listening to them on the radio and absolutely belting whatever song they were playing like I was already headlining my own concert. Honestly, put me on I-4, turn on XL 106.7, give me a good pop song, and suddenly I’m that Orlando kid all over again. That’s exactly the feeling I wanted to put into “Brighter.” It’s a windows-down, sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs song on purpose.

One for the Road

You sing in “Brighter” about seeing your dreams a little bit closer. What’s a dream you still have on your horizon that might surprise your fans?

MJS: “Brighter” has actually reminded me that I’m not done dreaming. For so much of my life, the dreams were Broadway, television, performing around the world — and I’ve been unbelievably fortunate to live versions of those dreams. But now I’m excited about creating things that start with me. More original music. More storytelling. More projects where I’m not just stepping into somebody else’s world, but helping build the world from the beginning. I still have some completely ridiculous dreams that I’m not saying just yet! But if Orlando taught me anything, it’s to never tell that little kid inside you that the dream is too big. “Brighter” is my reminder to keep seeing those dreams a little bit closer.

About Michael James Scott

Michael James Scott is one of Orlando’s most celebrated success stories. Raised in Central Florida and a graduate of Dr. Phillips High School’s renowned performing arts program, Michael has built an extraordinary career spanning Broadway, live entertainment, music and television, including his current role on ABC’s Scrubs.

He’s best known for his acclaimed portrayal of Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, which he performed more than 4,000 times across Broadway, London’s West End, Australia and the North American tour. Michael has also appeared in numerous other hit Broadway productions, earning a reputation for his powerhouse vocals, magnetic stage presence and infectious energy.

Today, Michael continues to expand his creative reach while proudly championing the city he calls home. And now, with the release of “Brighter,” he’s added pop singer to his repertoire. Whether performing on some of the world’s biggest stages, appearing on TV or sharing his passion for the arts, he continues to prove that big dreams can take flight in Orlando. What are you dreaming up for your next visit?

Want more of Michael? Be sure to catch him in Tripadvisor’s new YouTube video series — Common Ground: Orlando Edition — with TikTok stars The Valentine Brothers.

Additional reporting by Dipika Hernandez.

“Brighter” by Michael James Scott
Written by Michael James Scott and Sean Douglas
Produced by Sean Douglas
Executive Produced & Creative Direction by Jeremy Merrifield
© 2026 Dream Three Records
℗ 2026 Dream Three Music and Warner Tammerlane Publishing
Listen wherever you stream music: michaeljamesscott.com/brighter
Instagram: @iammjscott

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