Idina "Let It Go" New Years

[RippedMan]

Anyone see it on Ryan Seacrest New Year's special? Oof, rough. You'd think she'd be killing that song by now given she is the creator, but she always sounds super timid and off on it.

[theatreguy]

I thought she handled it pretty well considering she's probably tired from a long week at If/Then and had to be singing outside when it's about 20 degrees. She was able to fake it with lots of extra riffing until that final "Let the storm rage on" ... kinda hard to fake that last note.

[SweetLips]

I wish she would let it go but unfortunately she is stuck with it.

[blaxx]

until that final "Let the storm rage on" ... kinda hard to fake that last note.

That note/scream/cry for help was beyond scary, but the whole thing was off.

[gypsy101]

Has anyone here seen a performance where she's nailed that big note at the end? Even at the Oscars, it's been shaky every time I've heard her do it live.

[Bucky Builder]

The only time I can remember her nailing that last note is when she was on Jimmy Fallon. She biffed it at the Oscars, Radio city and now NYE. Why doesn't she just take it down? It sounds painful.

Edit. Just watched it: I think that was her taking it down. Didn't sound as bad as the others.

[gypsy101]

You mean where they sang it with The Roots? I remember not being impressed with that one.
Oops, just watched the end of that...she DID hit the note, but it wasn't fantastic or anything.

And I've now just watched the performance from last night, how does she even non-sarcastically say "the cold never bothered me anyway?" when clearly the temperature is not helping her one bit. I thought the Oscars was bad. That was just shaky compared to this ridiculous note. It reminded me of Eden Espinosa on some live news show in LA singing The Wizard and I and it was absolutely painful (although she was apparently sick, she's sounded phenomenal other times). I chalk this last note up to the weather (and the fact that belting whatever that note has gotten to be is not easy for Idina).

[Bucky Builder]

Don't really know what to tell ya. Menzel is probably one of the hardest working performers on Broadway right now, She can't be perfect all the time. People get sick, Voices give out. It happens. She was hired to do her job and she did it fairly well if you ask me.

[gypsy101]

The thing with Idina is, she usually sounds terrific in the studio, and is a little hit-or-miss live. Although I think she's improved over her career (her performance of Take Me Or Leave Me is better on RENT's soundtrack than the original recording) and her voice in Frozen is top-notch. I count her among the best living singers, but out of the studio she is inconsistent. I don't besmirch her for any of that, as I will fangirl for her to my dying day.

[Bucky Builder]

You say she is inconsistent outside of the studio, but have you seen her perform live on Broadway? She is very consistent in IF/THEN. Never a rogue note when I saw her (twice). Yes she has improved from her Wicked Days.

Let's also keep in mind that on a soundtrack, people are able to auto tune and make the voice sound perfect. So of course she may sound different or "inconsistent" when singing the song without help.

[tazber]

She's doing 8 shows a week singing an incredibly demanding role and it was freezing outside.

I have to give her major props for singing live instead of lip syncing.

[qolbinau]

Meh. She just couldn't hit that note but overall a decent performance, with an exciting setting/event behind it.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

It was great that she tried to loosen up and have fun, but she tried too hard to sound someone like Cher and ABBA. It's too bad that her nerves and her voice from 8 shows a week stop her from singing that last note. She learns to somehow loosen that belt because ouch, she could lose her voice if it keeps on sounding like that..

[The Distinctive Baritone]

At the Oscars, it was because she was very visibly terrified. I would be too.

Last night, she was singing outside in freezing temperatures.

That said, maybe they need to start Christine Daae-ing that note when she sings the song live...

[Tag]

"They booked Idina Menzel, but got Adele Dazeem." Oy, it made CNN news.

[BrodyFosse123]

I will give her credit to her owning the fact that she can't always sing "Let it Go". She's said this countless times in interviews that she rarely can sing it perfectly.

Here she is on Bravo TV's WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE (sitting next to Julie Andrews) talking about the Adele Dazeem situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCVSRI835Ok

[Alessio2]

Why are people always making excuses for her? I can't think of any other Broadway star or name who is as inconsistent a live singer as Idina Menzel is, especially on live televised performances. Wicked at the Tonys, Let it Go at the Oscars etc etc

[CarlosAlberto]

I thought she performed a flawless "Defying Gravity" at the Broadway Celebration in Performance at the White House event from a couple of years back. Kerry Washington was visably blown away by it - - - just check out her reaction after Idina's performance. It's actually pretty great!




Idina - Defying Gravity - White House performance

[AngelEyez]

She sang via satellite for a Japanese event yesterday morning and did much better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E1nYhAagjeA

[Auggie27]

Saw her twice in RENT, twice in WICKED, and once in IF/THEN. Extraordinary vocals each time. IF/THEN was a Sunday matinee after she'd played the show 16 times straight, recording the album the Monday (off) before. She was vocally in peak form, and took "Always Starting Over" to the roof, with musicality and passion. I'm not a groupie, just someone who sees her give her all, and deliver exciting vocals. I like the voice, it can be thrilling (as it sometimes is in the oft-maligned IF/THEN). Listen to "Learn to Live Without," from the IF/THEN album. She's got an effortless way around both the vocal demands and the emotion, and turns it into a sort of Cheryl Crow song of loss.

As for "Let it Go," it's a bitch, it's written to be sung once in a studio for an animated film. Menzel will have to negotiate its treacherous reaches for the rest of her career. It cannot always sound as it Elsa performs it. I thought she was fine at the Oscars, within the limitations of the venue and the catastrophic personal affront. She seems to be a performer who divides if not polarizes people. I think her work in IF/THEN 8 times a week is proof she's a pro who gives unstintingly. She's a star who delivers. She's not an autotuned robot, however.

[darquegk]

Elton John and Bruno Mars are pop singers who own up to the fact that they can't always sing live like they do in the studio, and would rather muff it or sing an alternate note than have to lip sync. Menzel is a pop star now, however briefly, and should be able to admit it's not a song one can sing constantly brilliantly live.

[sparepart973]

And here is Wellemeijn Verkaik (German, Dutch, British, American Elphaba and German/Dutch Elsa) singing it live...


Let It Go

[Sutton Ross]

She does eight shows a week, it was freezing out, and she's human. Give her a break. She doesn't deserve the wrath she got on Twitter.

[sctrojan65]

I agree that she's got a really good voice. The problem for me is the song. Not a fan. It's irritatingly screechy at parts and if you're going to have that element in a song you better have a singer who can pull that off. And I would dare say that isn't easy to find. And I doubt that even those who can make a screech sound good won't hit it every time. Kudos for her for trying. I think she does a good job with what she's given. For me it's the song. Not her.
She's got a brassy voice though so if anyone is going to hit it most of the time it's her. Or at least come close.

[SweetLips]

I'll throw Maria Callas in here and make a singers comparison. To some, Ms Callas was a screecher, others manna from heaven. Ms Callas, especially towards the end made recordings [and live] that were almost impossible to listen to--BUT--it was her performance, passion and complete immersion[?] into the song/role that let you forget all the bum notes.
A ballerina slips once during brilliant a 2hr performance--what do we talk about?