For the First Time in Forever facts for kids

"For the First Time in Forever" is a song from Disney's 2013 animated feature film Frozen, with music and lyrics composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. It is reprised later in the musical. Both versions are sung by sisters Princess Anna (Kristen Bell) and Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel).

Production

The song was composed relatively late in the production process in June 2013. This was only five months before the film's November 27, 2013 release date, when the filmmakers were scrambling to make the film work after realizing in February it still wasn't working.

The original version of the song contained a line about "I hope that I don't vomit in his face," which was deemed unacceptable by Disney as a reference to bodily fluids. The Lopezes' daughter, Katie, came up with the replacement line that ended up in the film: "I wanna stuff some chocolate in my face."

As for the reprise, there was originally a different confrontation lyric for the scene where Elsa strikes Anna with her powers entitled "Life's Too Short" (the premise being that life is too short to waste it with someone who doesn't understand them), which itself would have been reprised later when the sisters realize that life's too short to live life alone. As the characters evolved throughout the writing process (specifically Elsa was turned from a villain to a tragic hero), the song was deemed too vindictive and was instead replaced with a reprise of this song, to create a motif. "Life's Too Short" survives as a demo track on the Deluxe Edition of the movie soundtrack, and part of the melody was reused in Frozen Fever for the song "Making Today A Perfect Day".

When the necessity of a reprise dawned upon Anderson-Lopez, she wrote it in only about 20 minutes, and then successfully pitched it on her own to the Disney production team, as Lopez was already with the team in Los Angeles trying to fix "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"

Synopsis

Original

In the first version, the song shows Anna's happiness and naive optimism when preparing for Elsa's coronation. During the third verse, Elsa sings a counterpoint melody (with some of the same lyrics that are later used as the first verse of "Let It Go"), in which she expresses her fear of accidentally revealing her ice powers and her anxiety about opening the gates. During her solo, Elsa practices her role in the coronation on a box and candlestick in her a room. Elsa orders the guards to open the gates, and Anna joyfully wanders down a causeway into the town against the flow of guests arriving. The song is cutoff mid-note when Anna crashes into Hans's horse, and subsequently falls into a rowboat. This version goes up a half-step with each verse, starting in F major and ending in G major for the finale.

Musical

In the Broadway musical version of the song, a pair of lines in the first verse are changed due to staging limitations. Anna's line "Who knew we had eight thousand salad plates" is changed to "And there's two nice ladies helping me get dressed," and the line it rhymes with, "Finally they're opening up the gates!" is changed to "Coronation day is just the best!" In addition, after the last key change, there is an additional verse sung by a chorus of townspeople. Anna's run-in with Hans also involves them falling into Kristoff's ice-cart, rather than a rowboat.

Reprise

In the reprise, Anna has arrived at Elsa's ice palace to try to get her to unfreeze the kingdom, after she unknowingly sparked an eternal winter. She also wants Elsa to come back so that they can rekindle their once close relationship as sisters. However, Elsa refuses because she feels she cannot control her powers and that she is better off alone where she can't hurt anyone. As Anna's tries to reason with her sister, Elsa's fear intensifies, resulting in her being covered in a blizzard of ice particles as a physical manifestation of her emotions, and she blocks out Anna's calming words. At one point Elsa turns her back to her sister to form a two shot west, a blocking technique normally used in American soap operas. Finally, paranoid and lost, Elsa lets out a yell, and accidentally blasts Anna in the heart with the accumulated ice particles, thereby freezing it (an act which Pabbie and the trolls note to be fatal); causing Kristoff and Olaf to rush to her side, to make sure she's okay.

The reprise uses a different melody from the original. Namely, Anna's parts are in a major key while Elsa's counterpoint is in a minor key, highlighting the opposite emotions the two characters have at this point in time. After Anna is inadvertently struck by Elsa's magic, the percussion includes part of the music from "Frozen Heart".

Musical version

In the reprise, elements from Demi Lovato's version of "Let It Go" are incorporated into Elsa's side of the duet, albeit with slightly modified lyrics.

International versions

Italian actresses and singers Serena Rossi and Serena Autieri and the Italian cast of Frozen were awarded best foreign dubbing worldwide

Several other language versions of the song have been successful. The Japanese-language version called "Umarete Hajimete" (生まれてはじめて, "For the first time in life") was sung by Takako Matsu and Sayaka Kanda, who played Elsa and Anna respectively. It appeared on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in between April and June 2014, peaking at number 19, and was popular enough to be certified platinum for 250,000 digital downloads by the RIAJ in September 2014. The Korean-language version, sung by Park Ji-Yun [ko] and Park Hyena [ko], reached 129 on the Gaon Singles Chart being downloaded 14,000 times, while the reprise version peaked at 192 with 8,000 downloads. The Italian version, along with the whole Italian adaptation of the movie, was awarded best foreign dubbing worldwide by Disney.

Charts

Reprise

NeonTommy wrote "This song balances really well between long, powerful phrases and banter-like recitative, and is a great illustration of the dynamic between Anna and Elsa. It’s also the first time where we get to hear Anna and Elsa sing as equals (the earlier version of this song is more about Anna than it is about Elsa), so it’s quite fun to hear this song between two sisters." GeeksOfDoom wrote "The reoccurrence of the “sister song” signifies how Elsa has changed, much unlike Anna, who still sees the potential of their relationship. The song incorporates polyphony and intensifies their emotions as it builds to a crescendo. While it’s not a substantial addition – the scene could have played out just as well without music – it’s still entertaining". StitchKingdom wrote "The words and melody are just about the only thing this song has in common with its namesake. Anna’s desperate plea to Elsa, this song also features one of the most complex arrangements found on the soundtrack, giving it a haunting and to a professional effect in a way seldom seen on the stage, let alone in family films. The song also treads dangerously along the operetta line at times which puts a unique spin on it."

Certifications

Performances

Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel performed both songs together at the Vibrato Grill Jazz Club in Los Angeles to celebrate the film.

During the first ever Rose Parade Halftime performance, the North American tour cast of the Broadway show performed the first rendition, with Anna interacting with the spectators.

See also

In Spanish: For the First Time in Forever para niños