"Evermore" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical fantasy film Beauty and the Beast (2017), a live-action remake of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name. Originally recorded for the film by English actor Dan Stevens, who performs the song in his starring role as the eponymous Beast, "Evermore" was first released as a single by American singer Josh Groban on March 3, 2017. Stevens' version became available on March 10, 2017 when the film's soundtrack was released online, while Groban's cover is played during the film's closing credits.
In the animated film, the Beast barely sings because Menken and original Beauty and the Beast lyricist Howard Ashman had not been able to determine a moment in the film during which it would have been appropriate for the character to perform his own song. Initially, Menken had especially wanted the Beast to perform "If I Can't Love Her", a song he and Rice had written for the character to sing in the stage adaptation of the animated film, in the remake, but ultimately decided that an entirely new song that establishes that the Beast has finally learned how to love instead would be more suitable due to the film's three-act structure.
"Evermore" is a somber Broadway-influenced power ballad; its lyrics explore themes such as true love, heartbreak, loneliness and sacrifice. In Beauty and the Beast, "Evermore" is performed by the Beast shortly after he releases Belle from the castle so that she may return to the village and aid her father. Despite knowing that freeing her will further jeopardize his chances of becoming human again, the Beast realizes he loves Belle and ultimately sacrifices his own happiness in return for hers. Critical reception towards "Evermore" has been mostly positive, with both film and music critics dubbing it the best of the remake's original songs amidst comparisons to "If I Can't Love Her". Critics frequently recognized Stevens among the cast's best vocalists and agreed that "Evermore" was a strong contender for a Best Original Song nomination at the 90th Academy Awards, however it was not nominated for the category.
Writing and recording
Director Bill Condon had originally envisioned including most songs from the Broadway musical adaptation of Beauty and the Beast in the remake. However, Disney ultimately decided to recruit composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice to write entirely new songs for the film instead. Original Beauty and the Beast composer Menken reunited with Rice, with whom he had previously collaborated on Disney's animated film Aladdin (1992), to write three new songs for the remake. Rice once again replaced original Beauty and the Beast lyricist Howard Ashman, who had died shortly before the animated film's release, similar to the manner in which he replaced the lyricist to aid Menken in writing new material for the 1994 stage adaptation. Menken believes the songs he and Rice had written for the stage musical would not have translated well to the screen due to structural and pacing differences between the two formats.
In the animated film, the Beast does little singing apart from a brief solo during "Something There" because Menken and Ashman had been unable to agree upon a suitable moment during which the Beast could perform his own song. However, Menken considered it imperative that the character sing a solo in both the stage and live-action adaptations because he believes the Beast is actually the story's protagonist "whose life has changed in the most dramatic way." In the stage production, the Beast performs the ballad "If I Can't Love Her" after he frightens Belle away from the castle, wondering how he can possibly love anyone since he struggles to love her. Menken and Condon had debated whether or not to re-use the song in the remake; despite Menken's strong attachment to "If I Can't Love Her", the musical number was ultimately omitted because it had been written specifically to conclude the first act of a Broadway musical. Screenwriter Stephen Chbosky had originally suggested that the character receive a new song to perform some time after he has saved Belle from the wolves, although Menken and Rice had considered re-writing the song's lyrics into "Now that I've lost her" to better suit the scene. Due to the remake's three-act structure, Menken and Condon concluded it would be best to replace "If I Can't Love Her" with a song that better depicts the Beast's feelings for Belle after he has finally learned to love her and realizes she is no longer his prisoner, while accepting the grim reality that releasing her would ultimately decrease his chances of becoming human again. Rice further convinced the composer to substitute "If I Can't Love Her" with a more appropriate song, joking, "it would be like writing 'Don't Cry for Me Brazil'," referring to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", a song he wrote for the stage musical Evita.
The songwriters determined that the moment Beast releases Belle and fears that he might have lost her was the only suitable moment in which the character could sing in the film. Menken also agreed that the moment Beast realizes Belle is no longer his prisoner would be a "more satisfying moment" for a musical number. Originally entitled "For Evermore", "Evermore" was written by composer Menken and lyricist Rice. The last of the three original songs written for the remake, "Evermore" was completed considerably late into production after the filmmakers finally agreed that the Beast should perform his own. Written in Spring 2015 in London, England, Menken quickly composed its melody before Rice contributed lyrics revolving around the Beast releasing Belle. Actor Dan Stevens, who portrays the Beast and performs "Evermore", had little singing experience prior to being cast in the film. Before "Evermore" was written, Condon informed Stevens that he would be singing a new song in his role as Beast. Having not sung professionally since childhood, Stevens was required to retrain his singing voice, the process of which he found challenging. To prepare for the recording, Stevens received extensive vocal coaching from vocal coach Ann-Marie Speed in addition to working closely with Menken. Stevens first recorded a "guide track" for "Evermore" before he and Menken revisited the track to modify specific lines and notes. To make the actor sound more "beast-like", sound engineers digitally modified Stevens' voice, which Menken produced with Matt Sullivan and Michael Kosarin. Auto-Tune was used to make Stevens' voice sound lower and heavier. Menken continued making minor changes to the song well into production. On recording a new song, Stevens said, "the pressure's sort of off — but it's also on — because it doesn't have to sound like it did before, but it should sound good enough to sit alongside the music that's already pretty great." Stevens agreed that the song is "a big, romantic, soaring number" about the Beast lamenting "I've fallen in love with her, and now she's buggered off, woe is me", while "If I Can't Love Her" is "How am I going to fall in love with her?" Replacing "If I Can't Love Her" with "Evermore" helped make the songwriters eligible for an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
Stevens' version of "Evermore" was released on March 10, 2017 as a track on the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. Menken's demo version of the song is included on deluxe editions of the album.
Context and use in Beauty and the Beast One of at least nine significant ways the remake deviates from its source material, "Evermore" is among the film's songs that emphasize the sadness and loneliness of both the Beast and Belle's situations. Occurring approximately two-thirds into the film, the song assumes a role that was originally occupied by the song "If I Can't Love Her" in the Broadway musical, identified by Fred Hawson of ABS-CBN News as "a grand moving solo" during which the Beast sincerely expresses his undying feelings for Belle. In Beauty and the Beast, "Evermore" appears as a solo performed by the Beast shortly before "The Mob Song" as the film approaches its dramatic climax. After the Beast and Belle (Emma Watson) share a dance in the castle's ballroom to Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson) singing "Beauty and the Beast", the couple has a conversation during which the Beast learns how much Belle actually misses her father, Maurice (Kevin Kline). Finally admitting that Belle is no longer his prisoner, the character sings "Evermore" shortly after he releases the heroine from the castle, insisting that she return to her village and protect Maurice from Gaston (Luke Evans). Believing that Belle has been lost to him forever, the Beast is heartbroken by the character's departure and laments his misfortune by performing "Evermore", accepting that releasing his former prisoner makes breaking the enchantress' spell more difficult, even impossible. Serving as a culmination of both the Beast's personal and emotional journeys, Tracy Goldman of The Cornell Daily Sun observed that the song "adds more depth to the character" by "highlighting the changes he goes through throughout the movie."
Similar to "If I Can't Love Her", "Evermore" provides the Beast with "a stronger voice". The song occurs at a pivotal moment in the film during which the Beast bemoans his decision to release Belle, uncovering both his inner pain and character growth as he voices "a sad sense of longing". For the first time, audiences learn exactly how the Beast feels when he frees Belle to rescue Maurice. In the musical sequence, the Beast continues to climb higher up the turrets of his castle to watch Belle as she rides away on her horse and gradually disappears into the distance. The orchestra increases and swells as the anguished Beast continues to climb. Menken explained that the character watches Belle leave while thinking to himself "I know what love is now, and it's wonderful, even though I'll never see her again". "Evermore" captures the Beast's agony as he watches the woman he loves leave him. Whereas "If I Can't Love Her" allowed the character to remain in one location for three minutes, the film required him to be somewhere different from where he began the end of the song. Condon observed that the song reflects the Beast's actions, both musically and lyrically ascending as the character "climb[s] higher and higher in the castle so that he can still keep sight of her and so that he can see her for as long as he possibly can."