Despite the majestic arc of Elsa\u2019s \u201cInto the Unknown,\u201d the conditions in which Idina Menzel first rehearsed her \u201cFrozen 2″ power ballad were remarkably unglamorous.<\/p>\n
Songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez first heard the \u201cWicked\u201d alum belt the movie\u2019s flagship track in her dressing room backstage at an off-Broadway play. The space\u2019s generic backdrop and unflattering lights weren\u2019t exactly fit\u00a0for an ice queen. Nevertheless, Menzel did what she does best.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe brought a keyboard in and it was like, overhead lighting, and then she opened her mouth and sang \u2018into the unknown,\u2019 and we\u2019re like, \u2018Elsa\u2019s back! Elsa\u2019s back!\u2019\u201d Anderson-Lopez recently told The Times at the film\u2019s red carpet premiere in L.A. \u201cIt was really magical. She turned the most mundane, drab, green-lit place into a magical world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The musical power couple returned to pen tunes for Disney\u2019s\u00a0highly anticipated sequel\u00a0after Menzel\u2019s \u201cLet It Go\u201d won original song and song written for visual media at the 2014 Oscars and 2015 Grammys, respectively. The Oscars ceremony also saw the voice actress deliver a showstopping performance of the hit, which sold millions of copies after the original film was released.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always a treat to bring a song to Idina Menzel,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cThere\u2019s no one like her. She has so much authenticity and emotion behind her singing, and I think that\u2019s part of what makes her one of the best and makes her recording so iconic, is that she\u2019s never faking it. She\u2019s never just giving you some technical job. She\u2019s reaching into the depths of her soul and letting that soul out.\u201d<\/p>\n