I Must Have A Crap Ton Of Space Between My Ears Because It Took Me This Long To Figure Out Why Some Folks

i must have a crap ton of space between my ears because it took me this long to figure out why some folks (myself included) may not have recognized "Somebody Super Like You" as a rework/musical mutilation of "Phantom's Theme"

The chord progression of Phantom's Theme's verses is altered slightly in Somebody Super, so the brunt of the similarity comes from the "i-VI-i-VI" heard at the very start of each verse - and from a musical standpoint, those chords on their own aren't terribly unique. You can hear them in the guitar riff of Echoes and the overture to ALW's Phantom Of The Opera, among oodles of other examples.

Interestingly, within the film, the progression is also in the verses of "Old Souls" (albeit in the key of C minor), which'd lead one to think that Somebody Super and Life At Last were both ripping it off, just different parts of it, when this wasn't actually the case

The similarities between Somebody Super and Phantom's Theme would've been made obvious during the bridge, which introduces a key change and a contrasting, major chord progression, kept identical in both songs. Issue being: the bridge of Phantom's Theme wasn't included in the film, likely for the sake of pacing. it's a creative decision that 100% made sense for the scene, but would unfortunately have musical repercussions later down the line.

probably common knowledge but that's my autism for the day