Idina Menzel (/ɪˈdiːnə mɛnˈzɛl/– correct pronunciation, thank you very much) rose to prominence  for her performance as Maureen Johnson in the Broadway musical Rent, a role which she reprised for the 2005 film version.  In 2004, she won a Tony Award for the role of Elphaba in Wicked. And you probably recognize her as playing Lea Michele’s biological mother on Glee.

Now Menzel is celebrated for her performance as the voice of snow queen Elsa in Disney’s film Frozen and as the powerhouse voice behind the Oscar-winning song “Let it Go.”

In case you missed it, and just for fun, here is Idina Menzel performing “Let it Go” with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots.

Click to Watch

Menzel will be returning to Broadway this year in the musical If/Then.

The song “Let it Go” was actually written and composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. They specifically wrote the song with Menzel in mind, referring to her as “one of the most glorious voices of Broadway and an icon in musical theater.”

“Let It Go” was also recorded by Demi Lovato and released as a single. Lopez & Lopez selected Lovato because of her own personal life. “She had a past that she’s pretty open about that is similar to Elsa’s journey of letting a dark past and fear behind and moving forward with your power.” Lovato indeed identified herself with the song’s context, stating “It’s so relatable.”

Ironically, the Menzel version was more popular in radio airplay.

Since Frozen’s premiere and Let it Go’s popularity, numerous covers of the song have popped up all over Youtube. One of the more interesting: The Piano Guys’ cover version mixes parts of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, “L’inverno” (Winter) from The Four Seasons into the original. Watch Here. 

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And why did John Travolta, who introduced Menzel’s performance of “Let it Go” at the Academy Awards, mispronounce her name (“the one and only Adele Dazeem”)? According to E! Online it was possibly nerves. Our theory: the text on the teleprompter was incorrect. Other names were mispronounced during the show — Ellen introduced Kristen Bell as “Kristen Bi-el”.

[1] Credit: The Wall Street Journal.

[2] Credit: PR Newswire. 22 October 2013.