In 2013, Frozen’s “Let it Go” became the anthem for the ice queen Elsa as well as a number of children and adults alike who felt the need to belt it at the most random of times. To this day, it’s nearly impossible to never have at least heard of the tune, whether having seen the two highest-grossing Disney films or not. With the release of Frozen and its sequel came the soundtracks that both made it to number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts. The first film’s album sold over 10 million copies in 2014 and was nominated for three Grammys, taking home two of them for Best Written Song and Best Compilation Soundtrack. The second movie’s soundtrack also received two Grammy nominations and was the first song from an animated movie to reach #1 since its predecessor.
Both Frozen and Frozen II’s soundtracks featured music written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, with scores composed by Christopher Beck. The husband and wife team went on to write music for the short film, Frozen Fever as well as Frozen’s Broadway production, adding new songs like Elsa’s soliloquy ballad, “Monster” and the show’s opening number “Let the Sun Shine On.” Between the two albums, Frozen has a lot of songs to choose from. Still, here’s how the best songs from the franchise rank.
9 Fixer Upper
The song “Fixer Upper” is sung when Kristoff brings Anna to his family of trolls in hopes that they can cure her of the injury Elsa inflicted. But the trolls take his and Anna’s friendship as a nod that they are romantically involved and therefore try to marry them together, despite Anna being engaged to Hans. Anderson-Lopez drew inspiration from her experiences when first dating her husband, where she would tell her friends, though she was in love with him, he was unemployed and living with his parents, declaring him a “fixer-upper.” Fun fact: in the Broadway production, the line “Are you holding back your fondness due to his unmanly blondness?” was changed to “Is his thick and curly black hair maybe throwing you off track there?” as the actor who plays Kristoff onstage is typically African-American.
8 Reindeers are Better Than People
With Kristoff comes his partner in crime reindeer named Sven. Once the shop owner Oaken tries to make Kristoff pay more than he can, the blonde tritagonist calls the man a crook and gets thrown out. And with that, he concludes that pets are better than people. The song is a short acoustic tune performed by Broadway actor Jonathon Groff, who portrays Kristoff and imitates Sven in a burly reindeer voice. The song was reprised in Frozen II, except that time Sven actually sang for himself.
7 Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?
In the opening scene of Frozen, a young Anna simply utters the words, “Do you wanna build a snowman?” and that’s all it takes for her ice-powered sister to get up in the dead of the night to come play. But upon accidentally hurting her, Elsa shuts Anna out of her life for years to come. But that doesn’t stop the princess of Arendelle from continually knocking on her door – literally for years – summoning her sibling with the proposition of molding precipitation-people. The song is performed by Katie Lopez, Agatha Lee Monn, and Kristen Bell, who all represent Anna at different stages of life. With the amusing title, the song is initially presented as a joyful carol, but as the two grow throughout life, Elsa’s powers only get stronger and unfortunately the two lose their parents in a shipwreck, causing the final “Do you wanna build a snowman?” line to be rather heartbreaking.
6 In Summer
Being a snowman, Olaf doesn’t have much experience with heat. But that doesn’t stop him from dreaming about spending time in the summer sun. “In Summer” is performed by Josh Gad who’d previously worked with Lopez during The Book of Mormon. After originating a role in the adult musical, Gad said he’d appreciated being able to perform a song “without 20 f-bombs in it.” The song sees Olaf in a hot tub, on the beach, and under the sun at a picnic. Kristoff is willing to tell him that he plainly wouldn’t survive in the heat, but Anna stops him. In Olaf’s mind, you put him in summer, and he’d be a happy snowman.
5 For the First Time in Forever
When the gates of Arendelle are set to be open, Anna sings “For the First Time in Forever” to express her excitement while Elsa sings to convey how nervous she is. Some of Elsa’s lines would later show up in “Let it Go” including “Don’t let them, don’t let them see” and “Conceal, don’t feel.” The song is cut short when Anna runs into a horse, and we see her first interaction with Hans of the Southern Isles. There’s also a cameo from Tangled’s Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. “For the First Time in Forever” has reprise in the middle of the movie where Anna attempts to get Elsa to return to the kingdom.
4 Love is an Open Door
It’s hard not to recall the exact emotion you felt when Hans pulled back from Anna and said, “If only there was someone out there who loved you.” Up until that moment, the audience was led to believe Hans and Anna were meant to be, especially considering their duet earlier in the film. Kristen Bell and Santino Fontino performed this quirky melody that surely had viewers shipping the two. Hans’ spontaneous proposal to a newly acquainted Anna made the moment of betrayal all the more shocking. Though we later find out about Han’s mingy intentions, “Love is an Open Door” is still a charming song to sing and one that’s great for proposing, providing you’re into Frozen.
3 Show Yourself
Once Elsa follows a magical voice to the Dark Sea, she explores memories of her past and discovers a young version of her mother was calling to her. The song begins as a solo and turns into a duet between her and her mom, played by Evan Rachel Wood. “Show Yourself” is a sure cause of music frisson and without a doubt could make people cry. It debuted at 99 on the Billboard charts and eventually rose to number 70.
2 Into the Unknown
In Frozen II, Elsa is regularly conflicted with leaving Arendelle to track down a mysterious voice she keeps hearing. The mysterious voice in question is played by Norwegian singer Aurora. Clark Spencer, the president of Disney Animation Studios described it as “an anthem that kids, and adults, can really relate to — that sense of, you’re being called to go do something, but you don’t know what it is or where it’s going to lead you. It sort of says, ‘Follow your calling.’” It was nominated for an Academy Award, a Critics’ Choice Award, a Golden Globe, and a Satellite Award, but it lost each nomination to “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from the biographical drama, Rocketman. Still, it made it to the Billboard Hot 100. A cover performed by Panic! At the Disco was played during the end credits.
1 Let it Go
To no one’s surprise, “Let it Go” is number one. Whether you’re a diehard Frozen fan, or if you’ve experienced enough of an earworm to never want to hear this Indina Menzel bop again, “Let it Go” is undeniably catchy. Once Elsa mistakenly exposes the fact that she has ice powers, she flees the kingdom and finds herself alone in the snowy mountains. There, she creates herself an ice castle, a new gown and the franchise’s lovable snowman. “Let it Go” is the reason Elsa is a protagonist, as the directors rewrote her character from a villain upon hearing the song. “Let it Go” has been uploaded to YouTube on multiple accounts, but the most popular video currently sits at 2.8 billion views making it one of the top 30 most viewed videos. It won a Grammy and an Academy Award, among other accolades, and was the first song from a Disney animated musical to reach top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 since 1995’s Pocahontas. The song has been covered endlessly, but perhaps most notably by Cassie Levy, who originated Elsa on Broadway, and Demi Lovato who performed a pop version of the song during the movie’s credits.