Idina Menzel -- or Adele Dazeem, as John Travolta likes to call her -- took to the stage on Oscar night to sing Frozen's Academy Award nominated (and eventually winning) song "Let it Go." For a song that's probably really tough to sing live, she did it justice and fans were likely happy to hear a live version of the tune they've been singing for months. Well, Menzel gave them yet another performance last night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Instead of getting decked out in a gorgeous dress and singing to an orchestra, she sat down with Jimmy for a pre-recorded segment and jammed with The Roots, accompanied by classroom instruments. She nailed it.
Maybe it was the more casual atmosphere or maybe the acoustics were better. Maybe there was less disconnect between Menzel and the band, which allowed her to stay in time with the music. Whatever it is, it worked and she sounded perfect, changing up a note or two to give us a slightly more original performance of a song some of us have listened to over and over, making it a little bit new in the process.
For those who are curious, here's who was playing what in the band:
Jimmy Fallon - toy blocks, bass drum, Casio keyboardIdina Menzel - triangleQuestlove - kazoo, jingle sticksMark Kelley - kazooKamal Gray - xylophoneJames Poyser - melodicaLuke - ukuleleTuba Gooding Jr. - lemon shakerFrank Knuckles - bongosBlack Thought -- tambourine, chimes
Also, it took me a second, but the letters on Fallon's blocks were likely a reference to the title of the song, "Let it Go."
Menzel's performance at the Oscars would've been memorable on its own, especially considering how anticipated it was, and the fact that they saved her performance for last of the four nominated songs being performed. But it was made even more memorable by the fact that John Travolta mispronounced her name when he introduced her. And by mispronounced, we mean it sounded like he made up a whole new name. The flub has since been spoofed pretty thoroughly with a list of Travolta movie quotes said wrong.
If you're a Frozen fan, you don't want to miss this video, which has Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana singing "Love is an Open Door" live! And you can watch Idina's performance of "Let it Go" at the Oscars below:
