"I Want" song

Last updated

The "I Want" song (also called an "I Wish" song [1] ) is a popular type of song featured in musical theatre, and has become a particularly popular term through its use to describe a series of songs featured in Disney Renaissance films that had the main character singing about how they are unsatisfied with their current life, and what they are searching for. The term "'I Want' song" is believed to have been coined by Lehman Engel. [2]

Contents

Purpose

Composer Stephen Schwartz explains the concept in regard to the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas :

It's not really that there is a "formula" for these things, but I have learned over the years that pretty much any successful musical you can name has an "I Want" song for its main character within the first fifteen or so minutes of the show. I can think of exceptions, but frankly, I feel that the lack of such a moment is a weakness in most of those cases. "Just Around the Riverbend" may not be a classic "I want" song, because the character doesn't really want anything that strongly until she meets John Smith, but it sets up her sense that she has another destiny to pursue than the one laid out for her by her father and society and her desire to go after it. The third number, "Mine Mine Mine", was basically supposed to introduce the antagonist, Ratcliffe, and what he wanted, so that the central dramatic conflict could be established. [2]

Placement within a musical

John Kenrick, a college professor of musical history and the author of the encyclopedia Musicals 101, explains:

The Main "I Want" Song comes early in the first act, with one or more of the main characters singing about the key motivating desire that will propel everyone (including the audience) through the remainder of the show. It is often followed by a reprise. [2] In many cases, these songs include the words "I want", "I wish" or "I've got to". Classic examples include The Little Mermaid 's "Part of Your World", My Fair Lady 's "Wouldn't It Be Loverly", Carnival 's "Mira", The Sound of Music 's "I Have Confidence", Wicked 's "The Wizard and I", The Book of Mormon 's "You and Me (But Mostly Me)", Hamilton 's "My Shot" and "Wait for It", The Producers 's "King of Broadway" and Dear Evan Hansen 's "Waving Through a Window." [3] Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 1986 Broadway musical Into the Woods begins and ends with a character saying "I wish". For earlier examples, see "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz (1939) or "It Might as Well Be Spring" from State Fair (1945).

Bob Fosse said there were only three types of show songs from a director's point of view: "I Am" songs – a song that explains a character/situation, "I Want" songs – desire and motivations, and "New songs" – songs that do not fit the other categories. [3]

Beyond a musical

Schwartz also notes "I Want" songs are usually those which have a life beyond the production they were featured in:

I don't think it's surprising that "I Want" songs tend to be among the most recorded – they are often somewhat more liftable than other songs in the show (that is, they make sense outside the framework of the show) and they give the singer something to act. In classic terms, the job of an "I Want" song is not to move the action forward, but to set up the desire of the leading character that will drive the action for the rest of the show.

Historical composition

Schwartz has also written "I Want" songs for live action musicals, including "Corner of the Sky" for Pippin and "The Wizard and I" for Wicked . [4]

Disney

The Walt Disney Company has a long tradition of "I Want" songs in Disney animated musicals going back to the Disney Renaissance era due to Alan Menken's work with the company. [5] [6] The term has retroactively been used to describe older "I Want" songs. In a top ten list of Disney, The Daily Dot ranked Robin Hood 's "Not in Nottingham" as the best "I Want" song. The site also noted that these could be sung by antagonists, ranking The Hunchback of Notre Dame 's "Hellfire" at number 5. [7] FanPop listed "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid as the best song of this type. [8] The WFPL article Great 'I Want' Moments in Musicals listed "Belle", "Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors , "Wouldn't It Be Loverly", "Lonely Room", "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin , and "Part of Your World". [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Schwartz</span> American musical theatre lyricist and composer (born 1948)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt, and Enchanted (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Menken</span> American composer (born 1949)

Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer, pianist, music director, and record producer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman, a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of nineteen people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

<i>Wicked</i> (musical) 2003 musical by Stephen Schwartz

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is in turn based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Show tune</span> Genre of music

A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context.

Ursula (<i>The Little Mermaid</i>) Disney character

Ursula is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Little Mermaid (1989). Voiced by actress Pat Carroll, Ursula is a villainous Cecaelian sea witch who offers a mermaid princess named Ariel a temporary opportunity to become human so that she may earn the love of Prince Eric within three days. However, Ursula is, in fact, determined to sabotage Ariel's chances so that she can ultimately usurp King Triton's position as ruler of the oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcy Harriell</span> American actress and singer

Marcy Harriell is an American actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her appearances on Broadway, starring in the Tony Award winning musicals In the Heights and Rent, and as the host of the fashion series Re:Fashion on TN Marketing's Craftsy.

"Part of Your World" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Disney's animated feature film The Little Mermaid (1989). Performed by American actress and singer Jodi Benson in the titular role as Ariel, a mermaid princess, "Part of Your World" is a power ballad in which the main character expresses her strong desire to become human; its lyrics use placeholder names in lieu of several human-related terms that would be unfamiliar to a mermaid. The film's theme song is later reprised by Ariel after she rescues Eric, a human prince with whom she has fallen in love, from drowning.

"No Good Deed" is a musical number from the hit Broadway musical Wicked. It is sung by Elphaba, the main character of the show. It is widely regarded as the most powerful piece of the musical; and the most emotional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lin-Manuel Miranda</span> American songwriter, actor, and librettist (born 1980)

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals In the Heights (2005) and Hamilton (2015), and the soundtracks for the animated films Moana (2016), Vivo, and Encanto. He has received numerous accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Grammy Awards, along with nominations for two Academy Awards. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Lacamoire</span> American composer

Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Renaissance</span> Period of Disney animated films, 1989–1999

The Disney Renaissance was a period from 1989 to 1999 during which Walt Disney Feature Animation returned to producing critically and commercially successful animated films. These were mostly musical adaptations of well-known stories, similar to the films produced during the era of Walt Disney from the 1930s to 1960s. The resurgence allowed Disney's animated films to become a powerhouse of successes at the domestic and foreign box office, earning much greater profits than most of the Disney films of previous eras.

<i>The Kingkiller Chronicle</i> Fantasy series by Patrick Rothfuss

The Kingkiller Chronicle is a fantasy trilogy by the American writer Patrick Rothfuss. The first two books, The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, were released in 2007 and 2011. The books released in the series have sold over 10 million copies.

"The Room Where It Happens" is a song from Act 2 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. The musical relates the life of Alexander Hamilton and his relationships with his family and Aaron Burr. The book, music, and lyrics of the musical, including this song, were composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The song describes the Compromise of 1790 from Burr's perspective.

<i>Moana</i> (soundtrack) 2016 soundtrack album by various artists

Moana: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2016 Disney animated film Moana. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2016. It features songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i, with lyrics in English, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tuvaluan. The two-disc deluxe edition includes the score, which was composed by Mancina, as well as demos, outtakes and instrumental karaoke tracks. The record also produced two singles.

"How Far I'll Go" and its reprise are two musical numbers from Disney's 2016 animated musical feature film Moana. It was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, with additional music and co-produced by Mark Mancina on its reprise. The song was performed in the film by American actress and singer Auliʻi Cravalho in her role as Moana. It was released along with the album on November 18, 2016. Canadian singer Alessia Cara also recorded the song for the Moana soundtrack. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 89th Academy Awards and Best Original Song at the 74th Golden Globe Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.

<i>The Little Mermaid</i> (2023 film) Disney live-action film

The Little Mermaid is a 2023 American musical romantic fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by David Magee. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, DeLuca Marshall, and Marc Platt Productions, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1989 animated film of the same name, which itself is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale. The film stars Halle Bailey as the title character, with Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy in supporting roles. The plot follows the mermaid princess Ariel, who is fascinated with the human world; after saving Prince Eric from a shipwreck, she makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula to walk on land.

Maui (<i>Moana</i>) Fictional character from Disneys Moana

Maui is a fictional character that appears in the 2016 Walt Disney Animation Studios animated film Moana. He was created by directors Ron Clements and John Musker and is voiced by American actor Dwayne Johnson. Maui is loosely based on the mythological figure Māui in Polynesian mythology. He is characterised as a demigod, trickster and shapeshifter and is distinguishable by his bulky tattooed body, thick, flowing hair and magical fish hook that allows him to shapeshift into various creatures. Maui's tattoos recount his deeds and feature an animated miniature version of himself that pokes fun at his overinflated ego. The character is due to return in the sequel film Moana 2, which will premiere in 2024. Johnson will also portray Maui in the live-action remake of Moana, which is scheduled for release in 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirabel Madrigal</span> Fictional character from Encanto

Mirabel Madrigal is a fictional character that appears in the Walt Disney Animation Studios' film, Encanto (2021). Created by directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush, Mirabel is depicted as an imperfect, quirky, emotional, and empathetic 15-year-old girl who is the only member of the Madrigal family who does not receive a magical gift. When their "miracle" begins to fade, Mirabel takes it upon herself to save the magic, learning of her familial troubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruno Madrigal</span> Fictional character from Encanto

Bruno Madrigal is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated film Encanto (2021). He was created by directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush and is voiced by Colombian-American actor John Leguizamo. Bruno is the ostracised uncle of Mirabel Madrigal and has the ability to see the future. Much of the character's design, including his green ruana, was inspired by traditional Colombian culture.

<i>The Little Mermaid</i> (2023 soundtrack) 2023 soundtrack album by various artists

The Little Mermaid is the soundtrack album to the 2023 live-action adaptation of Disney's 1989 animated film of the same name. The soundtrack features songs from the original film, three new songs written by the original film's composer Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a score composed by Menken. The soundtrack was released digitally on May 19, 2023 and on physical CD and vinyl on May 26, 2023, by Walt Disney Records. A deluxe edition of the album was released on the same date, featuring the complete original score.

References

  1. ↑ "Transcript | This American Life, Prologue". www.thisamericanlife.org. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  2. 1 2 3 de Giere, Carol. "Writing "I Want Songs" for Musicals". MusicalWriters.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-02. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Kenrick, John (2000). "The Score". Musicals101.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ Laird, Paul R. (Jun 24, 2011). Wicked: A Musical Biography. Scarecrow Press. p. 194. ISBN   9780810877528 . Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ Gagliano, Rico; Miranda, Lin-Manuel (10 February 2017). "Lin-Manuel Miranda on 'I Want' Songs, Going Method for 'Moana' and Fearing David Bowie" (Transcript). The Dinner Party Download. American Public Radio. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Quinn, Dave (24 February 2017). "How Lin-Manuel Miranda's Oscar-Nominated Moana Track Evolved into Disney's Most Unique Ballad". People. New York: Time Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Romano, Aja (January 18, 2014). "The definitive ranking of Disney 'Want Songs'". The Daliy Dot. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Animaluco's favorite "I Want" songs". FanPop. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  9. ↑ Keane, Erin (October 23, 2012). "Great 'I Want' Moments in Musicals". WFPL News. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.