It’s now been a little nearly since my Frozen Music Show premiered. I thought it was time that I give the show a rewatch and review it with slightly more objective eyes and ears. Here is The Frozen Music Show: My Review.
I’m going to grade each song from A to F and then give the entire production an overall grade. I would also like to point out that this grade is not necessarily about individual singers. I also want to be clear that I am judging individual vocals in reference to the singer’s abilities, not a standardized scale. Most of the singers are non-professional and are doing this for fun, so it would not be fair to judge them as if they were professional.
The review is more about how well I put the song together and balance and blend of the voices, as well as aspects of the video itself (so, in other words, although vocals will play a minor role in the rating, it will be more based on my editing of the videos rather than the individual vocalists). I will touch on vocals, especially for Marissa (Elsa) and myself (Anna) as the two main roles in the production.
Frozen Heart
Overall, I was disappointed in this number. I think the unison singing with so many diverse voices was hard to blend together, and there were some green screen issues with a couple of the videos, one of them being my own. I give this one a D, giving the rest of the production to move up. That said, if memory recalls, this was one of, if not the weakest number in the production, so I don’t expect too many–if any more D’s.
Do You Want to Build a Snowman
The first solo number in the production, starting with Megahn Howard as Young/Teen Anna and myself as Adult Anna was well casted. Megahn’s light vocals give the illusion of a young singer, while my darker more mature vocals suit the haunting tone of the final verse.
The video is largely very simple with some B-roll showcasing Megahn as Young Anna playing a game, but otherwise simply focusing on the singers. This one gets a solid B.
For the First Time in Forever
The most popular video in the show so far and for good reason. This number includes some of the strongest vocals so far. Anna’s role is in the strongest part of my range, and Marissa’s vocals as Elsa are hauntingly beautiful. I would have liked to have seen better blending between my voice and Marissa’s at the end however, so this one gets an A-.
Love is an Open Door
This video was a sort of a breakthrough for me in editing, although I still see a lot of places for improvement. John (Prince Hans)’s performances are always great for comedic effect, and he doesn’t disappoint here with his signs and acting, particularly with his reaction to Anna (my)’s ‘yes’ at the end.
My energy level, however does not match his, weakening the effect of the overall video. There were also some vocal issues with pitch and words in some spots, and I had green screen issues with my video.
This video is hilarious and enjoyable and earns a C, putting it in the average category as compared to many of the other videos.
Let It Go
Although absolutely beautiful, the vocals feel a little forced in some places. I know that Marissa (Elsa) recorded most of her videos after Engaging Virtual Karaoke, and she mentioned her voice being a bit worn out. You can hear it in spots of this song. And, the result is that there are a handful of notes not quite on pitch.
The video is simple, going back and forth from Marissa singing to clips of the sing along video released by Disney. This one gets a B rating.
Reindeers Are Better Than People
One of John (Kristoff)’s best songs! This song fits perfectly in John’s range, and the reindeer popping in on Sven’s parts is hilarious! This song gets a B as well.
In Summer
Jo is hilarious as Olaf. I would have loved to have seen her singing rather than just B roll, but it didn’t do much to lower the quality of the video. Her vocals are completely on point, and her video is hilarious, alternating with clips from the sing along video. There are some video issues with the green screen that were not edited properly, lowering the overall score of the video. This one gets an B+.
For the First Time in Forever Reprise
Vocally, Marissa (Elsa) and I (Anna) are at our best here. There could be some improvement on my end as far as the acting goes, but it was close here, especially on the parts where I was singing. Our vocals blend here in an intense tapestry that only adds to the intensity of the song. This is the simplest video yet, with just us singing in studio, but this prevents any distraction from the incredible vocals. The strongest vocal number in the production so far in my opinion, this one gets an A.
Notes for me in general, I wanted to be able to do some sort of special effects at the end other than the screen just going black, but I was unsure, at the time, on how to do this, and time was running short on getting the videos edited, so I was unable to get that done.
It also seems that this video got skipped over as far as being released individually. Unfortunately, I don’t think I still have the video to be able to release it. I may, at some point, download the full performance from Youtube and then cut it to be able to release this individual video.
Fixer Upper
The second ensemble number of the show, this one is much stronger and features many short solos. Vocals blend together much better than in Frozen Heart, and Megahn blew us away with her low vocals as Troll 1. Nicole is also adorable as the child troll, pulling off the part by adding a spunky personality to her vocals. John, however, lacks his usual energy in the role of Kristoff, needing a bit more energy to match the role. Jo’s absence in the role of Olaf here is felt with the only clip from the sing along video being that missing line.
There are also a lot of video issues, again dealing with a screen screen (mainly mine). This one gets a B.
All is Found
The vocals here are among some of my best (Iduna), although balance is off with the accompaniment being barely audible. My vocals are strong enough to stand on their own, but bringing up the accompaniment would have added to the song.
I’m also notably missing from this video as I was having numerous green screen issues and ultimately decided to cut my video in favor of focusing on B-roll. It works, but I would have liked to have seen how it would turn out with me on the video. This one gets a B+.
Some Things Never Change
The opening vocals are strong, although there is a little distortion on my higher notes. This was one of the earlier songs that I edited, so it was before I figured out how to lessen distortion. Jo (Olaf)’s video is also a mere photograph in this instance since I was using a screen recorder that didn’t record video well. A video of her singing would have been better. The blend between Jo’s and my (Anna) voices are okay, but could have been better.
John (Kristoff) picks up the mantle after my solo with Jo’s accompanying vocals, but there are some issues with diction and stumbling over words. The vocals are also not totally in line with the video.
Marissa (Elsa) continues the song in the strongest part of her voice, and this is one of her best songs so far.
The ensemble comes in strong, blending together very well, and the chord toward the end turned out very well!
Some things that didn’t turn out so well, however, were the videos–a lot of green screen issues, mostly with mine and Marissa’s videos (hopefully resolved for future productions), and Jo’s final vocal is distorted.
This song gets a B+, largely because the vocals are so strong.
Into the Unknown
My vocals (Siren voice) are haunting in this song, and Marissa (Elsa)’s are strong, although she does seem to get fatigued in places. We are also not together on all of the Ahs closer to the end of the song.
The video also has a lot of issues due to Marissa’s background (resolved for future productions). This video gets a B.
When I’m Older
Jo (Olaf)’s vocals are incredible as usual, although there is no A-roll. It uses more or less the same B-roll as In Summer alternating with clips of the sing along video. This video gets an A-.
Lost in the Woods
Done as a flute solo, a practiced ear can tell how out of practice I am on the flute. This was a challenging song to record, largely because I had to do so in several sections, ending the recording every time I had to scroll down on the computer screen.
Although the video is simple–just me playing the flute with a mountain in the background and the karaoke lyrics on the bottom right hand of the screen, there are definite green screen issues. This one gets a C.
Show Yourself
As usual, Marissa (Elsa) is amazing in her vocals. There are a few spots where she goes off key, however, mostly pulling ever so slightly sharp at the end of phrases where she ends on a moderately high note.
Jo (chorus) uses distortion to make her voice sound like many voices, which gives it a sort of echoing quality on her line that is perfect for this song.
My vocals (Iduna/Siren voice) are also not as strong as they have been in other songs. While my initial inclination might be to say that it’s because it’s lower than most of the parts I have done so far, the lower part is actually the stronger part of what I did here. My voice also does not blend as well with Marissa’s as it usually does. It is possible that this is due to me being on the lower part, but either way, I look to improve on this in future recordings. Although our voices do blend in places better than we did in For the First Time in Forever.
Finally, there are significant issues with video due to green screen issues. This one gets a C.
The Next Right Thing
Some of my best singing. I (Anna) know that I’ve said this on some of the other songs, but I really am in my best element singing as Anna. This song is hauntingly beautiful with a simple video of me singing on the left side of the screen and the lyric video on the right. This song gets an A.
Conclusions
D List Songs
- Frozen Heart
C List Songs
- Love is an Open Door
- Lost in the Woods
- Show Yourself
B List Songs
- Do You Want to Build a Snowman
- Let It Go
- Reindeers Are Better Than People
- In Summer (B+)
- Fixer Upper
- All is Found (B+)
- Some Things Never Change (B+)
- Into the Unknown
A List Songs
- For the First Time in Forever (A-)
- For the First Time in Forever Reprise
- When I’m Older (A-)
- The Next Right Thing
Overall Rating
Overall, the vocals were strongest, and with the exception of Frozen Heart, even in the ensemble numbers our voices blended together well. There are some things that each of us could work on to improve the vocals, but there were some phenomenal moments in addition to the weaker ones.
Video was a lot weaker, and it pulled a lot of the scores down. Some of the issue was in filming, particularly in reference to green screens, but there were also a lot of issues in the editing.
All of this considered, I give the entire production a B rating.
What do you think? Do you agree with me? Disagree? Comment below.
AC & the Virtual Virtuosos 
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