SHOCKER: Hearing my name mangled at Oscars took me out of that comfort zone, says Idina Menzel.
By Geoffrey Rowlands
You may know Idina Menzel as Adele Dazeem. John Travolta certainly did when he introduced the 42-year-old singer and actress at the recent Academy Awards ceremony.
“It threw me for about eight seconds,” Idina laughed. “The crazy thing is it’s not as if John didn’t know me and he was word perfect in rehearsals. But whether I was Idina Menzel or Adele Dazeem, I had to get out on stage and sing Let It Go so I pulled myself together and gave the performance.”
Anyone switching on their television immediately after Travolta’s name malfunction would never have known there had been a problem. Idina gave a spectacular rendition of her Oscar-winning song.
“Maybe it concentrated my mind. I’d felt nervous beforehand but not too bad. I imagined I was with my son Walker singing the song to him in the bathtub. Hearing my name mangled took me out of that comfort zone but perhaps gave me an even greater determination to perform well.
“I suppose it was quite funny really. I believe a Twitter account has even been set up for Adele Dazeem. But I hope the fallout from John’s mistake doesn’t last too long. He was so embarrassed and apologetic. I don’t want him to feel even worse by people continually reminding him of what happened.”
Appearing at the Oscars was by no means Idina’s first experience of awards ceremonies. After graduating from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, she was cast as Maureen Johnson in the Broadway production of Jonathan Larson’s rock musical, Rent. The role earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.
“Appearing in Rent was a wonderful experience. I was enormously lucky to have such a fantastic role so early in my professional career. It was also a special time in my personal life. I met my future husband, Taye Diggs, who was another member of the cast.”
In addition to more roles in the theatre, television and on film, Idina had the opportunity to record her debut solo album, Still I Can’t Be Still.
“That was in 1998. I can’t say it went well. I was only really known by theatre-goers at that time. The album only sold about 10,000 copies. I was dropped by Hollywood Records and didn’t release another major label album until I Stand in 2008.”
Although Idina may not have been a force on the chart scene, she did become a star of stage and screen. Her greatest triumph was as the witch Elphaba Thropp in the stage musical, Wicked, a role for which she won four awards including the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.
“I loved playing Elphaba and was delighted that so many other people enjoyed my performances. Winning the Tony was incredible. I didn’t know this when Let It Go first entered the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 but I felt very proud when I learned I was the first person to win a Tony Award for acting and have a top 10 hit single.”
Taken from Disney’s sensationally successful animated film, Frozen, Idina performs Let It Go in her role as Princess Elsa of Arendelle. “It’s a wonderful song from a wonderful film. I really wanted to play Elsa. I even got together with Kristen Bell, who plays my sister Anna, before we did the audition read-through to prepare ourselves as best we could.”
Does Idina regard her success with Let It Go as the possible catalyst towards regular appearances in the pop charts? “No, not really. I’ve had some chart success with songs performed in my role as Shelby Corcoran in the TV show, Glee. But these and the enormous popularity of Let It Go have developed from acting roles.
“I’m looking to continue performing in stage and television musicals. I’m really excited about my current Broadway role in If/Then. But I also hope to make more solo albums so it’s possible that I might record some big hit songs on these.”
IN BRIEF
The Birds of Satan
Anyone familiar with Chevy Metal will have already heard The Birds of Satan. A side project created by Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, he was joined by bassist Wiley Hodgden and guitarist Mick Murphy to perform covers of songs by bands such as Queen, Black Sabbath and Van Halen. But the boys wanted to write and perform their own material which can now be heard on The Birds of Satan’s newly released debut album. “We still want to play the covers as Chevy Metal so decided on a different band name for our own songs,” Taylor explained. “The new album contains all kinds of metal songs. Everything from speed metal to a metal ballad. It pays homage to the music I love.”
All seven songs on their self-titled album can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/thebirdsofsatan.
Klaxons
Klaxons release their third album, Love Frequency, on June 4. But the English new rave indie rockers have already posted three of the 11 tracks online. Their latest posting, Atom To Atom, joins Children of the Sun and There Is No Other Time, along with five remixes of the latter, at (no www.) soundcloud.com/klaxons. If you enjoy their music, all but one of the tracks on their second album, Surfing The Void, can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/klaxons-1. The missing song, Twin Flames, was released as a single. The accompanying video is available to view at www.youtube.com/watch?v=umS0sw8_D30. The band’s Mercury Music Prize-winning debut album, Myths of the Near Future, can be heard in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNW1BR8lGJg&list=PLLzF2a-_zru_Wn0_ibPKvlo3BgHSBQI6P
First Aid Kit
Sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg, better known as Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit, found international chart success with their 2012 sophomore album, The Lion’s Roar. They are back now with a third studio album, Stay Gold, which is set for release on June 10. Lead single, My Silver Lining, is already available to hear at (no www.) soundcloud.com/firstaidkit. Those who enjoy their music can find 27 First Aid Kit tracks taken from the duo’s first two albums and their Drunken Trees EP at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC57z-oDPLs&list=PLA13352F130DF5F03
Little Dragon
Also from Sweden are indietronica outfit Little Dragon. The band’s fourth album, Nabuma Rubberband, will be released on May 12. Two of the tracks have already been issued as singles. Their latest release, Paris, was named ‘hottest record in the world’ by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. A rip of the song as it was played on Zane’s show is the first posting at (no www.) soundcloud.com/littledragon.
Klapp Klapp, the lead single from their new album, is also posted on the SoundCloud page. So too are remixes of the song along with numerous tracks from Little Dragon’s earlier LPs and EPs.
Girl Talk/Freeway
Hip hop musician / producer Girl Talk, real name Gregg Gillis, has teamed with fellow Pennsylvanian Freeway, real name Leslie Pridgen, to create a six-song EP, Broken Ankles. The recording can be heard and downloaded for free at www.datpiff.com/Girl-Talk-Freeway-Broken-Ankles-EP-mixtape.594399.html. It has been created as a continuous mix with no breaks between songs.
Despite this, Tolerated, which also features Waka Flocka Flame, has been issued as a stand-alone single. The video, which is not for the squeamish, can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySZHeosB0rI
