For the First Time in Forever

The song was composed relatively late in the production process in June 2013.[2] This was only five months before the film's November 27, 2013 release date, when the filmmakers were scrambling to make the film work after realizing in February it still wasn't working.[3][4][5][6]

The original version of the song contained a line about "I hope that I don't vomit in his face," which was deemed unacceptable by Disney as a reference to bodily fluids.[7] The Lopezes' daughter, Katie, came up with the replacement line that ended up in the film: "I wanna stuff some chocolate in my face."[7]

As for the reprise, there was originally a different confrontation lyric for the scene where Elsa strikes Anna with her powers entitled "Life's Too Short" (the premise being that life is too short to waste it with someone who doesn't understand them), which itself would have been reprised later when the sisters realize that life's too short to live life alone. As the characters evolved throughout the writing process (specifically Elsa was turned from a villain to a tragic hero), the song was deemed too vindictive and was instead replaced with a reprise of this song, to create a motif.[8] "Life's Too Short" survives as a demo track on the Deluxe Edition of the movie soundtrack, and part of the melody was reused in Frozen Fever for the song "Making Today A Perfect Day".

When the necessity of a reprise dawned upon Anderson-Lopez, she wrote it in only about 20 minutes, and then successfully pitched it on her own to the Disney production team, as Lopez was already with the team in Los Angeles trying to fix "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"[9]

Italian actresses and singers Serena Rossi and Serena Autieri and the Italian cast of Frozen were awarded best foreign dubbing worldwide

Several other language versions of the song have been successful. The Japanese-language version called "Umarete Hajimete" (生まれてはじめて, "For the first time in life") was sung by Takako Matsu and Sayaka Kanda, who played Elsa and Anna respectively. It appeared on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in between April and June 2014, peaking at number 19, and was popular enough to be certified platinum for 250,000 digital downloads by the RIAJ in September 2014.[10][11] The Korean-language version, sung by Park Ji-Yun and Park Hyena, reached 129 on the Gaon Singles Chart being downloaded 14,000 times, while the reprise version peaked at 192 with 8,000 downloads.[12][13] The Italian version, along with the whole Italian adaptation of the movie, was awarded best foreign dubbing worldwide by Disney.[14]

Anna picks up three ducklings while singing the original version of the song.

Both iterations have received very positive reviews. NeonTommy described it as "A classic “I want” song (think Part of Your World or When Will My Life Begin?) with a sprinkle of self-awareness", and said "this song puts a nice new spin on a familiar form...Lopez and Anderson-Lopez keep the tune fresh, and Kristen Bell’s charming and bright delivery of the peppy lyrics is endearing."[24] GeeksOfDoom said "Who would have guessed that Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel would make such a nice duo? Bell adds some humor with her effervescent spirit and amusing lyrics, whereas Menzel lends the signature Broadway voice. You know a song provides further significance when it moves the story, as opposed to stops the film completely, and this one perfectly represents the former. “First Time” conveys Anna’s hopefulness and openness, contrasting with Elsa’s close-minded and fearful vibe."[25] In a negative review, SputnikMusic said "“For the First Time in Forever,” with its lyrical clunkers like “Don't know if I'm elated or gassy / But I'm somewhere in that zone” and poor performance decisions like the ham-fisted pause before Elsa “opens the gates” and Anna’s meaningless harmonization shortly thereafter, represents the downhill slide and subsequent face-first mud landing of the soundtrack over the course of its runtime".[26] The Hollywood Reporter described it as a "big number", and "the centerpiece of the original songs".[27] StitchKingdom said: "The ‘I Want’ song, the composition and lyrics feed off Anna’s frenetic and anxious energy and awkwardness, a classic example of mixing sophistication with silliness".[28] Rochester City Newspaper wrote " For the First Time in Forever suffers from a fairly run-of-the-mill chorus tune, but smartly makes up for it with catchy verses, amusing lyrics (“Don’t know if I’m elated or gassy / But I’m somewhere in that zone!”) and a great performance from Kristen Bell, showing off protagonist Princess Anna’s quirky side while still longing for a ball, a man, and some basic human interaction."[29]

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[30]	Gold	35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[32]	Gold	500,000
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel performed both songs together at the Vibrato Grill Jazz Club in Los Angeles to celebrate the film.[33]

During the first ever Rose Parade Halftime performance, the North American tour cast of the Broadway show performed the first rendition, with Anna interacting with the spectators.