ShareThisBy JO ERLINDA G. NEBRES
When it rains, it pours.
This may well apply to award-winning Filipino-American composer Robert Lopez and his wife Kristen Anderson Lopez.
After winning unprecedented major awards – Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony – for their composition in the animated “Frozen,” the couple earned another recognition, this time at the first Radio Disney Music Award held y in Los Angeles, California.
Their compositon “Let it Go,” which was also performed by “American Idol” season 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez at the “biggest night in music for kids and families,” was honored with the Soundtraxx award or the Favorite Song from a Movie or TV Show award.
Then, Time Magazine listed the couple in its 11th annual collection of the 100 most influential people in the world comprised primarily of artists, politicians and business people.
The couple admitted that they thought Time magazine made a mistake when it included their names in the annual 100 most influential people list.
“The fact that we’re even on this list made us laugh really hard. We wrote the music for a Disney princess movie,” Kristien said.
Charry Fatima D. Garcia, reporting for Manila Bulletin, quoted Robert Lopez for being proud of his Filipino heritage.
, “My story is interesting because my father (Frank), who is part-Filipino, was born on a ship on the way to the United States from Manila. It was reportedly the last GI boat that left Manila right after World War II.”
He added, “It must have been a crazy trip for my grandmother,” who is a Filipino and Scottish-American married to his grandfather, a pure Filipino.
According to her report, Robert and Kristen have two daughters, an eight-year-old and a four-year-old. “Both of them are in the movie ‘Frozen,’ too, doing voices,” disclosed Kristen, who added that her husband kept buying “Frozen” merchandise like the book and the crowns. “We’ve got all the ‘Frozen’ stuff all over our house.”
Of his Filipino heritage, Robert said, “I’ve had a lot of connection with Fil-Am organizations in New York. I’m connected with the artistic community. What I have noticed is that it is a musical culture… (and) there has to be something in there that came to me even though my mom and my dad are not particularly musical; they don’t play. But I have so many Filipino friends who are amazing singers, writers and composers in New York City.”
According to the magazine, each person selected in the Time list had a few paragraphs about their influence written by recognizable names, including US president Barack Obama, who wrote about Pope Francis, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, who who wrote about Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, and actor Lupita Nyong’o, who wrote about director Steve McQueen.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of “South Park,” wrote the profile of the Lopez couple for the magazine, going on to laud them for their unique songwriting style.
“They are both completely steeped in the traditions of Broadway musicals, but they’re really smart and would never be happy just regurgitating what’s come before,” Parker and Stone said.
They also described the song “Let It Go,” used in the hit Disney animated movie “Frozen,” as “catchy and familiar and yet new.”
“It’s that perfect mix where a songwriter can get a song you’ve never heard before stuck in your head in 30 seconds.”
“Let It Go” won Best Original Song at this year’s Academy Awards.
Time says its 100 Most Influential People is a list of the world’s most prominent men and women. It noted, however, that those on the list are “not its most powerful, though those are not mutually exclusive terms.”
The couple was included under the artist group along with several other popular personalities like “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch, “SNL” alum and now late night show host Seth Meyers, “Scandal” star Kerry Washington, this year’s Oscar best movie “12 Years A Slave” director Steve McQueen and Oscar best actor for “Dallas Buyers Club” Matthew McConaughey, among others.
Also in the list are Pope Francis, US President Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton and Beyoncé, who appears on the cover.
Last year, Time Magazine included President Benigno Aquino III in their most influential list. The same honor was given to boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in 2009.