Thursday, October 30, 2014

Top 10 Idina Menzel Songs







Idina  Menzel  is  someone that I've been  a fan of since  I became aware  of Broadway.  She  is one of my favorite actresses and she deserves all the accolades that Frozen has brought her as she is a National Treasure.  It's funny but  she pops  up in a lot of things,  I like.  For  instance,  she was in the Original Broadway Cast of two musicals,  I greatly enjoy,  RENT and Wicked.  And she also had  a recurring role  on Glee,  one of my favorite shows  that isn't  as good as it once was and they missed a golden opportunity by not having her on the 100th episode as  Krisitn Chenoweth  is also recurring character on Glee and they've never been on an episode together  and they even sang "Defying Gravity".  Come on, and then  of course, she was made into a huge  star with her turn as Elsa in Frozen. I came  up with the idea for this list, after watching The Tony's  and realizing, I love this woman's voice,  I swear  she could sing the phone book and make it sound pretty and that's why today,  I'm counting down my  Top 10 Idina Menzel  Songs.  With that out of the way, let's begin.


10.  Over The Moon  - RENT   (Play)














Coming  in at  # 10,  we have Over The Moon from  RENT,  now even though  she was also  in the movie and reprises  her character of Maureen,  I decided to go with the  Original  Performance and I'll be honest and say that is one  of  my  less liked songs from RENT  but in the context  of the musical,  it makes sense as  a protest  song against  having   this area tore down  and just goes to show what kind of character, Maureen is and that's  nuts.   She's  a performance artist that is dedicated to her cause  but  has wild and out and there ideas that really only make sense to her and this song perfectly captures  the character of Maureen as being someone that is well-meaning, if a little  flaky and off-kilter.





9.  Take  Me  or  Leave   Me  - RENT (Play)













Okay, this is just proof  that Idina  is great in duets and as for the context of this number,  this comes  after a rehearsal  for  the wedding between  Maureen and her fiancee,  Joanne.  And  as you can hear the two are polar opposites and  I just the song  fighting between Maureen  and Joanne  as they are just so raw and hard on each other.


8.   No Day  But  Today  (Acoustic)  - I Stand







I first  discovered  this  take  on "No  Today  But  Today"  thanks to Pandora.  Yes,  I have an Idina Menzel  station on my Pandora  and  this  is really pretty  and she does a great job of bringing out the emotions  of this song  and pain.  It's  funny but normally in RENT, this song  is  usually  sung as a group number but I first heard her solo  version again on Pandora as a part of a concert, she was doing  and surprisingly worked.  I wasn't  sure that it would  but it really does. 




7.  I Dreamed  A Dream  - Glee













Idina  Menzel  singing  one  of the best songs  from Les  Miserables.  Uhm , sold!   And  it totally  works   in the context  of the show,    Menzel  played  a woman that had given  her child  up for adoption  to a gay couple and Rachel, her daughter had always wanted to meet  her biological mother and this is the first step because she is given a tape that has her mother singing  and even  though, you see  the mother and daughter  pair  onstage singing  together, that is actually  a dream  sequence  as they had not met each other yet but they do meet in time  and this song is a great duet between the two of them. 


6.  Always  Starting  Over  - If/Then














I first heard this song  on  this year's  Tony's  and  OH MY GOD, this is why I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!  Sorry,  but  this song not only reflects  the character of Elizabeth that she plays in If/Then, in which she plays a 40 something single woman who moves back to New York to try to find her way,  this song also  reflects an older  and mature  Idina Menzel  returning to Broadway and claiming the stage again and showing that she still has it  and she's  my Queen of Broadway.  (She's  awesome)  This  type of song  is  a  "Who  Am I?"  song and from what I've read of the plot  of If/Then,  that  is what the musical  about as Idina's character  is trying to figure who she is  and  this song is asking the question,  do  I have always  have  to be someone new and not just have people  accept  me for who I am and perhaps  I'm misreading the song but  the way reading this song,  presents  this character as Idina's  most vulnerable character that she has ever played.



5. Brave  -  I Stand 





















I  found this  one while  looking  up Idina  Menzel  songs for this list and this  from third studio album  and you know what,  it's really good  and  continues  a message that seems to be persistent throughout a lot of her songs that  she is strong  and  well,  Brave  and can take whatever  life  throws  at her.  And she  can take whatever  life  throws  at her  and isn't  scared  of the challenges that may face her.


4.  For  Good  - Wicked














Yeah,  the rest of this list  is pretty much going to be Wicked  heavy  but  it's  her best  work and her greatest role  and  I know people often cite this and my number 1 as the two best songs from  Wicked  and  while "For Good"  is  fantastic and  breaks  my heart every time  I listen to it as  you hear these two friends  that meant  so much  to each other saying  goodbye  as their  paths  in life has forced them away from each other but they will never forget the lessons,  they taught one another and they were made better people for having known  each other.   I'm sorry,  but I need a Kleenex.  Just a great song with a great message of friendship and how strong, it can be.


3.  No  Good  Deed  - Wicked















This song  is the  turning point in  Elphaba's  life  as  she  has given  up  on  life  and decides  that  she will  no longer doing  any  good deeds  and embraces  the wickedness that Oz  has thrust upon her, especially  in part because she can't save the one she loves the most and   it is in this moment that  she goes from  being Elphaba  to becoming The Wicked Witch,  she is basically telling Oz, if that's who you want me to be,  if you'll get it.  And  again, just the raw emotion in her voice as she sings this number is chilling as you can  hear  the fear and anger that has been bottled up inside  Elphaba as she lets it all out.   That is one of the key factors of this song,  it has to be able to sell the anger aspect  because  she's angry at the world , she lives in for mistreating her and gives up and gives into what, they  think she is.


2.  Let  It Go  - Frozen










Yeah,  I'm  sure you were all waiting for this one  and  I'll understand if some are you, are upset that this is only # 2, again as I pointed out, my # 1 is from Wicked  and this song has a lot in common with that song  as they are both about  owning who you are and  not caring what others think of you.  And honestly,  I don't  know  what else,  I can say on this song after doing an entire Frozen Week on A Look at Disney.  Everybody and their well in the case of this film,  sister has had their say on this fantastic song that sends a great message of  own you are but my # 1 song did that first and my # 1 song  is...


1.  Defying Gravity  - Wicked



















Whatever I say, cannot  do this song  justice.  This  is  a song that  you need to listen to truly appreciate it's greatness.  Now  as  I  said  when talking  about  how "Let  It  Go"  and  "Defying Gravity"  share  a lot in common  but this  song was  the original   "Let  It  Go"  because  just like  Elsa,  Elphaba   isn't   going to let others  say  or the rules  that they  have set  for  her,  bring her down  and she will  instead chart her own path  and make her own rules.  As she  is going to accept who  she is while trying to fight The Wizard  and reveal  his sinister plans.       Honestly,   it's  not hard to see why, this  is often regarded  as the signature  song of Wicked because  it's  just  that good  and the message  behind it is  extremely powerful  and moving.  She owns   who she  is and  isn't   scared   to show  all of Oz,  who that is.



There  you have it,  my Top 10  Indina  Menzel  songs.   Gosh,  I love her.  She is such a great  talent  and it was  a treat getting to do this  special  Top 10  for you guys.     Peace!

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