'CMA Country Christmas' Will Be More than Country

To kick off the holiday season each year, ABC airs its most festive TV concert, where some of the biggest names in country music get together on one stage and perform covers of all the classic holiday hits. CMA Country Christmas is a five-year-old tradition that is guaranteed to brighten your holiday season with performances by massive country superstars like Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes, Dan + Shay, and Brett Eldredge. But the most surprising name on the CMA Country Christmas lineup this year is Idina Menzel. The Tony Award-winning Broadway star is by no means a country artist, so why is she on the list? Because Frozen's critically acclaimed show tune "Let it Go" is the only song that really mattered this year.

CMA Country Christmas 2014 was filmed in early November on site in Nashville, and the Country Music Association let it slip that Idina Menzel gave one of the biggest and most surprising performances of the night. When it airs Dec. 1, country music and Frozen fans alike will be in "Let it Go" heaven, because Idina not only rocks the award-winning song, but she also does it alongside the celebration's host — Sugarland's multi-talented leading lady Jennifer Nettles.

You might be saying to yourself, "Jeez, that song again, really? It's not even country." But it doesn't have to be. Some of the songs you hear on the night will be new, but almost none of them will be considered country. Sure, many of the artists will put their own spin on some of the classics, but that's still what they are — the classics. In other words, you don't have to be a country artist to sing the traditional Christmas tunes.

I can't see any reason why "Let it Go" shouldn't become a seasonal classic. Released in November 2013, Frozen became one of the highest-rated Disney films of all time and it managed that feat during the holidays. And the song itself is about snow, after all. Country or not, Idina Menzel deserves to be up there and so does the song.

You can disagree with me on the holiday-theme to the song, but I can promise you no one will be forgetting Idina's name next year. "Let it Go" was nominated for seven awards and won five of them — including the Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Young girls everywhere idolize the animated Elsa and everything she stands for, and that's why it was the most important song written all year. It means a lot for a strong female figure to make such an impact on a generation, and that's why Idina's version trumps Demi Lovato's pop version on the charts. And luckily, it's just festive enough to make the list for the AMC Country Christmas lineup.

With any luck, Idina will also debut one of her brand new tunes from her 12-song Christmas album Holiday Wishes . But if not, her performance of "Let it Go" is guaranteed to bring down the house all on its own. I have the CMA sneak peek currently on repeat, and I personally cannot wait to see Idina duet with one of country's biggest stars.

Images: Image Group LA/ABC; Giphy (2)