Singing Spells

♫ 'Cause love expressed through song
Is a weapon like the queen has never seen! ♫

—Snow White to Prince Charming^src

A Singing Spell, also known as a Singing Wish, is a spell featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the fifteenth episode of the fourth season.

One form of singing spell is based on the similar spell from Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Description

Singing spells can be cast by various different means, including a deity's enchantment, a potion or a fairy granted wish. ("Poor Unfortunate Soul," "The Song in Your Heart")

It can be used to remove someone's singing voice. The person who is affected by can speak and talk normally, but cannot sing like they used to do anymore. It can be achieved through the enchanted seashell or an enchanted music box made by Potioncraft. ("Poor Unfortunate Soul," "The Song in Your Heart")

It can also be used to enchant someone's singing voice, even though the person cannot "sing". When the fairy granted wish is made by Snow White, a giant population starts to sing with a music in the background. It appears that the songs and the lyrics are improvisations. However, the people who are affected can also control themselves and choose not to sing. Dark Ones are immune to being forced to sing by this spell. ("The Song in Your Heart")

History

Before First Curse

Born to King Poseidon and his unnamed wife, Ursula is named after a sea goddess of the same name. As a child, she is taught to sing from her mother, who used to sing at Glowerhaven. After her mother is killed by a pirate, Poseidon holds a grudge against humans, and he makes his daughter lure sailors at sea to their doom with her singing voice. Ursula complies, nearly killing the crew aboard the Jolly Roger, but she lets them go at the last moment. While Poseidon is disappointed in her actions, she argues that her singing is the only memento of her mother, and doesn't wish to use her gift to harm others. At her insistence that not all humans are bad, he orders her to obey his wishes as long as she lives in his kingdom. She rebels, stealing a magic bracelet from his vault, which gives her human legs. With plans of going to Glowerhaven, she begins singing at a pub to earn gold for the trip. After Ursula captivates an audience with her voice, Hook, captain of the Jolly Roger, befriends her and offers to take her to Glowerhaven. However, she later learns from Hook that her father asked him to trap her singing voice within an enchanted shell in exchange for squid ink, which he desires for vengeance against an evil man. Instead, Ursula steals the ink from Poseidon's vault for him just as her father arrives to take the procured item away. Angered that his only hope of revenge has been crushed, Hook removes Ursula's singing voice so Poseidon can never use his daughter to sink another ship again. Shattered at this betrayal, Ursula decides she no longer wants to be a mermaid and uses her father's trident to transform her tail into tentacles. She claims that the whole sea will be at her mercy because of her newfound power and that even her father will come to fear her. ("Poor Unfortunate Soul")

When Snow White wishes for her unborn daughter to have the chance of a happy ending, the Blue Fairy casts a spell to make everyone sing the song they have in their hearts. This results in Snow and Charming, Hook, and Regina singing, along with everyone else in the Enchanted Forest, in addition to the spell also affecting Zelena in Oz. Their songs include Powerful Magic, Revenge Is Gonna Be Mine, The Queen Sings, Love Doesn't Stand a Chance and Wicked Always Wins. In an attempt to make Rumplestiltskin see that she is more powerful than her sister, Zelena creates a spell to seal away the singing enchantment, discreetly giving it Regina in a box, in the hopes of later revealing to Rumplestiltskin that the spell was her creation. The songs are captured but later put in Emma's heart by the Blue Fairy, who erases the memories of everyone to ensure the songs remained safe because Emma will need them for the future when she faces a prophesied battle on her own. ("The Song in Your Heart")

After Second Curse

Desiring restore Ursulas singing voice, which he once sealed into an enchanted shell, Hook summons Ursula's father Poseidon, who can restore his daughter's voice. Poseidon apologizes to Ursula for using her singing voice for bad deeds and he expresses regret over not cherishing her gift to honor her mother's memory. After regaining her voice, Ursula fully reconciles with her father and decides to go home with him. Before leaving, she tells Hook about Mr. Gold's scheme to dethrone Emma as Savior and make her evil. Ursula also explains that Emma gave everyone their happy endings in this world, and once she is not the Savior anymore, only then can the Author give the villains what they want. ("Poor Unfortunate Soul")

After Third Curse

Years later, Emma is about to have her heart crushed by the Black Fairy, but the evil woman finds herself unable to because of the song hidden within it. With this song to strengthen her, Emma harnesses enough of her own magic to break the vile woman's freezing spell on her family. ("The Song in Your Heart")

Trivia

Cultural References

Disney

Hook steals Ursula's singing voice by trapping it inside a glowing seashell, just like Ursula does to the Disney version of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. The yellow/green rays emanating from the seashell when Ursula's voice is taken, and when it is returned to her, are similar to the Disney film. ("Poor Unfortunate Soul")

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Four
"A Tale of Two Sisters":	"White Out":	"Rocky Road":	"The Apprentice":	"Breaking Glass":	"Family Business":	"The Snow Queen":	"Smash the Mirror":	"Fall":	"Shattered Sight":	"Heroes and Villains":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Darkness on the Edge of Town":	"Unforgiven":	"Enter the Dragon":	"Poor Unfortunate Soul":	"Best Laid Plans":	"Heart of Gold":	"Sympathy for the De Vil":	"Lily":	"Mother":	"Operation Mongoose Part 1":	"Operation Mongoose Part 2":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Six
"The Savior":	"A Bitter Draught":	"The Other Shoe":	"Strange Case":	"Street Rats":	"Dark Waters":	"Heartless":	"I'll Be Your Mirror":	"Changelings":	"Wish You Were Here":	"Tougher Than the Rest":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Murder Most Foul":	"Ill-Boding Patterns":	"Page 23":	"A Wondrous Place":	"Mother's Little Helper":	"Awake":	"Where Bluebirds Fly":	"The Black Fairy":	"The Song in Your Heart":	"The Final Battle Part 1":	"The Final Battle Part 2":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Archive

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.