Frozen...why two versions of Let It Go?

[Yellowstonetim]

Just wanna say that I am not a fan of Demi's version at all. Idina's is just so good you can't compare anything to it.

Interesting. I wonder how much depends on which you heard first.

I was anticipating Frozen and heard Demi's first. Loved it. Then saw the movie. Loved that one too but like Demi's better. Have both now. I am not sure why, but Demi's sounds better than Idina's to me. More polished or fine? Prettier? Don't know, and I am not saying the other is bad by any means! I just like Demi's more.

Interesting to note that the words are different. Was Demi's lyrics the original and it was changed to fit the movie or vise versa?

One reason for the cover is Demi Lavato has a relationship with Disney and a fan base from her Disney shows. Those Disney fans probably don't know Idina.

 

[Son of Gadsden]

I think it's been done that way in a lot of Disney movies. Tracks covered by other artists that weren't "in" the movie but in the credits. Beauty and the Beast was another. Lot's of Disney tracks have been covered and featured by Disney. I don't see this one as any different.

I will say that I just figured out the other day that there were two versions. I thought Elsa was voiced by Demi Lovato and Let It Go was her song. My wife thought the same thing. We were pretty shocked when we found out. Then again, I didn't know who Demi Lovato was before Frozen, so it's not like I knew her voice.

 

[surferdave]

The pop star version is what fits in with all the music being played on pop radio stations, including Radio Disney, which we often listen to when DD9 is in the car. She likes hearing it but it sounds like karaoke night at the local dive to me (compared to Idina Menzel). If I had heard it first I wouldn't have distinguished it from all the other Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus songs type songs they play; that said I would be happy to listen to Menzel's movie version all day.

 

[delyrium]

The pop star version is what fits in with all the music being played on pop radio stations, including Radio Disney, which we often listen to when DD9 is in the car. She likes hearing it but it sounds like karaoke night at the local dive to me (compared to Idina Menzel). If I had heard it first I wouldn't have distinguished it from all the other Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus songs type songs they play; that said I would be happy to listen to Menzel's movie version all day.

I feel the same, though I do like the little lyrical flourishes that were added in on the pop version. I don't think kids will be thinking of the movie rendition as the "Idina Menzel version", in any case. It's the Elsa version.

 

[Serin76]

For me personally, Idina's version is the best, but then both my mate and I are fans of her performance in 'Wicked' on Broadway. In fact, neither one of us knowing who was cast in the movie going into it, as soon as she belted out that song in the movie, my mate pegged her voice instantly and insisted on waiting for the cast credits at the end to make sure.

Meanwhile I was sitting next to him during the song thinking "Gee, why does this remind me of 'Defying Gravity'? I thought it was so cool seeing she was Elsa's voice actress.

 

[gunka]

The Demi version that was played "Live" at the Disneyland Christmas Parade was pretty cool...

 

[dawnhaze]

The Demi version is supposed to be a pop single style version of the song, similar to what Christina Aguilera did with Reflection from Mulan, although I don't know if that was released on that film's soundtrack.

Somewhat unrelated: Idina released an adapted pop single of Defying Gravity from Wicked that I absolutely adore, too.

 

[AndyLL]

The Demi version is supposed to be a pop single style version of the song, similar to what Christina Aguilera did with Reflection from Mulan, although I don't know if that was released on that film's soundtrack.

I assume they release pop versions to try to get radio play of the song.

 

[klitteral2009]

I feel like Idina has so much more power!! Demi did a fine job, but as far as making me feel something, it's Idina hands down. I feel like Demi Lovato's version lacks power, the lyric change totally throws the feeling off and I just don't like it. I agree with PP's that the second version was done solely for airplay.

 

[dawnhaze]

I assume they release pop versions to try to get radio play of the song.

That would be my guess, along with the promotional benefits of having a pop singer people might recognize associated with the film. Idina is very well-known herself but I think Demi is known by a different demographic, and a lot of the early promo I saw for Frozen involved her and her version of Let It Go.

 

[kathy884]

I love Idina's version (wonderful song), gives me goose bumps. Demi's version might have been OK to me if I hadn't been so moved and in love with Idina's. I just don't think Demi has the right voice for it.

I'm personally not a fan of covers, But:
I certainly can understand Disney letting Elton John cover songs he wrote for the Lion King.

And I think this was the song in the movie, but OMG am I in love with Wynona's cover of Elvis' "Burnin Love" in Lilo and Stich. I like it better than the original and had to download it. And I've never downloaded any Elvis music or Wynona music before.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Listened to them again several times. Idina is awesome and I am sure she can act and sing live where Demi could not, but I still like Demi's version better.

Here is an interesting article on why this song is so successful:

NPR on the power and popularity of “Let it Go”:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2014/01/13/261120183/a-big-frozen-ballad-speaks-to-tweens

Ann Powers
A Big 'Frozen' Ballad Speaks To Tweens


by NPR Staff


January 13, 2014 3:03 AM


Disney's Frozen is having a big January. Last week, the animated musical about two sisters based on the fairy tale "The Snow Queen" topped the box office, six weeks after it was originally released. Its soundtrack, featuring 10 original songs, is the best-selling album in the country, toppling Beyonce's self-titled album last week.

That run of success might have something to do with the fact that two different versions of one of those songs — the inspirational ballad "Let It Go" — are currently climbing Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In the film, it's performed by the Broadway veteran Idina Menzel, who voices the character of Elsa, the sister isolated by her tragic gift: Everything she touches turns to beautiful crystals of ice.

Ann Powers, NPR Music's pop critic, tells Morning Edition's David Greene that the song's dual success makes sense when you consider the movie's young target audience. The songs on the Frozen soundtrack hang together "as a narrative of not only self-empowerment but love between sisters, and those are themes that resonate heavily with tweens," she says.

The second version of the song, a pop production sung by the former tween star Demi Lovato, underscores the themes that make "Let It Go" resonate with tweens, in and out of the movie. "What I hear is the fact that every 10-year-old girl is coming out of her shell and coming into her own, and she needs this kind of song to grab onto," Powers says. "And it's really important that it not be overly sexual or sexy. These are girls that have been heartbroken by Miley Cyrus and her transformation. They need these kind of pure emotional songs."

 

[DisneyMaster]

I much prefer Idina's version

 

[vladimir p]

Actually the song of the Tangled credits is pretty good

THIS!! i think it's my favorite song of the movie, even the french and spanish versions are awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l4BgxtA06U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HAuk3T0OcE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o12aA4tCfRk

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Yes, that is a great song.

And I love Disney doing covers. We get to have two versions of the song. I like both! And I like the different lyrics. I would like to know more about which was first and why the particular changes. Interesting changes in the arrangement too. I think they can do more when it isn't constrained by it's place in the movie.

Can't wait to hear Idina sing it live on Broadway! Its just a matter of time.

 

[Ginny Favers]

This goes back all the way to Beauty and the Beast. It's a trend I like. One of the reasons I was disappointed with Tangled is that there was no cover of one of its songs during the credits.

I figured that was because Mandy Moore was already a pop star in her own right. At least, I always thought of her as one.

 

[BeckyEsq]

My 3 year old LOVES this song and asks for the one where "Elsa" sings it.

What annoys me about the CD is the demos that are included. I don't get that. I would have been happy with a one disk version of the album without all that stuff added. They keep coming up in my playlist and I need to delete them!

 

[PacoDF]

My 3 year old LOVES this song and asks for the one where "Elsa" sings it.

What annoys me about the CD is the demos that are included. I don't get that. I would have been happy with a one disk version of the album without all that stuff added. They keep coming up in my playlist and I need to delete them!

There are two versions of the Soundtrack. You have the Deluxe version that includes "two discs". The regular version is a bit cheapier and is only one disc.

 

[BeckyEsq]

There are two versions of the Soundtrack. You have the Deluxe version that includes "two discs". The regular version is a bit cheapier and is only one disc.

Ah, thanks. I think I bought the only one Amazon had at the time. Oh well!

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Here is a comparison of the lyrics side-by-side. Interesting differences. I can see how the refrain about fractals is important for building the castle, but I also really like the refrain in Demi's that goes;

"Standing, frozen, in this life I've chosen,
You won't, find me, the past is so behind me,
buried in the snow."

I wonder if they thought that the tween crowd parents wouldn't like the, "no right, no wrong, no rules for me" so they changed it.