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March 9, 2014

Fil-Am composer wins Oscar for Frozen’s Let It Go

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Filipino-American composer Robert Lopez won Best Original Song during the 86th Academy Awards and made many Filipinos proud when “Let It Go,” the song he penned for the popular Disney movie “Frozen.”


The songwriting couple's triumph with "Let It Go" for Disney'sFrozen, made Lopez, at age 39, the 12th and youngest member of the EGOT family – the select group of artists who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Prior to his Oscar, Lopez had bagged three Tony Awards, a Grammy for The Book of Mormon, and a Daytime Emmy for his work on the show The Wonder Pets. Other notable EGOT members are Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg, and Scott Rudin.
Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez via Yahoo! Philippines
According to reports. is the circle’s 12th and youngest member,  Lopez won a Tony in 2004 for best original score for “Avenue Q.” He also has two Daytime Emmy Awards, in 2008 and 2010, for outstanding achievement in music direction and composition for “The Wonder Pets.” In 2011, he won two Tonys for best book of a musical and best original score. A year later, he won a Grammy for best musical theater album for “The Book of Mormon.”

Earlier in the ceremony, “Frozen,” a story about a bond between two royal sisters in an icy Scandinavian kingdom, took home the award for Best Animated Feature Film.

In an interview with the media, Lopez credits his involvement in the movie “Frozen” to his wife.

“I think part of the reason they wanted us was because of her,” he said, referring to Kristen. “She has this great head for story. I think they wanted ‘Frozen’ to benefit from her story talent and our musical instincts.”

The musical soundtrack and hit anthem “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel have sold more than 1 million copies each and inspired thousands of YouTube videos by young girls singing the tune.

Lopez said “Let It Go” has become his “biggest surprise” and “biggest joy.”

“In our wildest dreams, somewhere in the past, you kind of dream about maybe getting an award. What you don’t dream about is having a song like this that touches so many people. That’s been the biggest surprise and the biggest joy. We have our reward every day on YouTube.”

“Filipino pride. I’m so excited. I’m just sending love to the Philippines,” he said.

“I know they’ve had a tough year and I just send out my feelings to them,” he added, referencing the catastrophic Typhoon Yolanda, which battered the country last November, killing thousands.

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