"I Can't Let Go" is an original song introduced in the fourth episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled " The Song". It was written by

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadw ...

and

Scott Wittman Scott Wittman (born November 16, 1954) is an American director, lyricist, composer and writer for Broadway, concerts, and television. Life and career Wittman was raised in Nanuet, New York, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and a ...

. Within the show's universe, it was written by songwriting team Jimmy Collins ( Jeremy Jordan) and Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus) for their musical ''Hit List''. In the episode, Broadway star Veronica Moore (

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

) is rehearsing for a one night only concert with the help of Tom Levitt (

Christian Borle Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in ''Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in ''Something Rotten!''. Borle also ...

) and Derek Wills (

Jack Davenport Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''This Life'' and ''Coupling'', and as James Norrington in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. He has also appeared ...

) and struggling to figure out the direction that it should take. Karen Cartwright (

Katharine McPhee Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In May 2006, she rose to fame as the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.'' Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records on Janua ...

) learns that they are looking for some songs for the show and call Jimmy and Kyle to see if they have a song that can be used and help them get a foot in the door. They come over and try to pitch some of their songs to Tom, who tells them their songs are good, but none of them are right for Veronica's style. Kyle suggests that they'll write a song, even though they only have a few hours to do so. Kyle and Jimmy struggle over the next few hours to come up with a song that's right for Veronica and the show. They eventually finish, but Derek refuses to hear it because Veronica and her mother aren't comfortable with Derek's more sexed-up direction and want to do the songs she usually does. Jimmy storms off and gets high, but Karen convinces him to come back and show that he's got thick enough skin to handle rejection. Meanwhile, Tom has looked at the song and determines that it is really good, and gives it to Derek and convinces him to use it. At the end of the concert, Veronica introduces the song to the audience and sings it, with Jimmy and Kyle watching from backstage and finding out for the first time that their song really is being used. Veronica's performance gets a standing ovation, and she motions to Jimmy and Kyle to come out on stage and she introduces them to the audience (which is also being filmed by the Bravo network), introducing them and their music to a wider audience than they've ever had before. The song is currently available as a single and has sold 11,000 digital downloads as of March 6, 2013.Idol Chatter, USAToday.com, 03-06-2013, "'Idol' sales report: Underwood, Phillips, Clarkson, etc."
/ref> On Sunday, February 22, 2015, Hudson performed a special version of the song (with some lyrics rewritten for the occasion) live as part of the memorial segment of the

87th Academy Awards The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...

show aired on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television network.

References

External links

"The Song"
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{authority control 2013 songs Jennifer Hudson songs Songs from Smash (TV series) Songs written by Marc Shaiman Songs written by Scott Wittman