The Best Original Song Oscar race was effectively over after “Frozen’s” massive box office take this past weekend. The film’s critical acclaim and record Thanksgiving animated haul has put Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s “Let it Go,” sung by Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, in the driver’s seat to win the coveted Academy Award. In fact, Menzel’s version of the song is actually outselling the Demi Lovato cover version on iTunes at the moment.
Disney smartly released the complete sequence from “Frozen” featuring “Let It Go” online today. You can watch it in the embedded video at the bottom of this post. At the moment, it’s the closest thing you’ll get to “seeing” Menzel, best known for her breakthrough role in “Wicked,” perform the impressive ballad. At least for the foreseeable future that is.
Menzel is currently work-shopping a new musical, “If/Then,” in Washington D.C. and it’s scheduled to open on Broadway in March 4, 2014. That’s just two days after the Academy Awards, so everyone hoping Menzel will perform during the show may need to lower their expectations. The producers haven’t 100% said there will be no musical performances during the Oscars, but they have touted a pre-show concert instead for all the nominees. The idea of Menzel belting “Let it Go” in the Dolby Theater could be moot anyway.
Because of her commitments to “If/Then,” Menzel has only been able to perform the song at the D23 Convention this past summer. It’s possible she’ll be able to sneak in some appearances over the next few weeks, but for now? Enjoy.