I’ve met so many of my idols, but the one person that has eluded me is Bono. But because he’s done ‘Spider-Man,’ I keep thinking maybe, through a Broadway connection, somehow our paths will eventually merge. – Idina Menzel
My younger sister had kids before I did, and managed to earn a master’s degree while raising them as a single parent. Now she’s a brilliant second-grade teacher. I’m in awe of her ability to juggle everything and still be a great mother. – Idina Menzel
I have a wide spectrum, a wide demographic. I have the young girls, I have the gay community, I have many regular theatergoers. I do feel a tremendous responsibility and pride to be a role model for some of these young people. – Idina Menzel
Barbra Streisand, for one, is one of my idols. I’ve listened to her since I was a little kid – the first album I ever bought was ‘A Star is Born’ with Kris Kristofferson. – Idina Menzel
Usually I’m pretty myopic. It’s hard for me to multi-task, so to speak. If I’m in a show and I’m creating a character, I’m just completely into that. It’s really hard for me to do anything else like write music. I have to sort of shut down different sides of my head and just focus. – Idina Menzel
Who am I, if I’m not this singer with big high notes? I identify with my voice. But I’m more than just the acrobatics. – Idina Menzel
When I lived in London when I did ‘Wicked’ there, everyone told me the audiences might be much more reserved, but I found it was completely the opposite. They jumped to their feet sooner, even more enthusiastically than the New York audiences did, and they were just as warm and as enthusiastic and supportive as New York. – Idina Menzel
I don’t think I ever really knew the right words to ‘Hava Nagilah,’ which isn’t great for a Jewish singer. – Idina Menzel
It’s hard to absorb and to allow all that attention and accolades for ‘Rent’ because the rest of the country doesn’t know who we are. Once I walk out of the door of ‘Rent,’ and I’m on the subway, it doesn’t matter. It’s an exaggerated sense of fame. – Idina Menzel
I’m a mom – I’m lucky if I get to shower in the morning. Luckily, nail polish stays on my toes. I’ve been so bad on the upkeep, though. – Idina Menzel
As much as I appreciate people putting me in the category of these very acrobatic belters, I feel like my strength is my… interpretation and my truthfulness with songs, and I don’t want young people to think it’s all about the high notes that they have to hit. – Idina Menzel
With young people, I always say, ‘You’re not doing anyone any favours by withholding your power.’ As women, we do that a lot because we are afraid of being misunderstood or perceived as too strong. But the older I’m getting, the more I realise you have to let that go. – Idina Menzel
Everything’s always about being homogenized and following in a group. The people who stand out always have the most problems. – Idina Menzel
I have the potential to be very strong and powerful, sometimes angry, sometimes passionate. I also can be shy and withhold that because I am afraid. I don’t want to freak anybody out with my passion… So I struggle with that all the time. – Idina Menzel
I used to be someone that needed nine hours of sleep; otherwise, I didn’t think I was going to sound good when I sang, and I was very disciplined and anal about my preparation. When you become a parent, there just isn’t that time, you know? – Idina Menzel
My husband and I grew up with parents who supported our passion, and we’re grateful to them for that. It really helps you find your identity when you’re younger. It helps you become a really well-rounded person, the more you can show from different perspectives. The arts show us empathy, which is so important. – Idina Menzel
We are never doing anyone any favors by withholding our gifts from the world. It’s scary to be fierce, but you can’t compromise that for fear of losing those around you. – Idina Menzel
The sky in Texas is the most amazing sky in the whole country, I think, like you can see more sky in Texas than you can see anywhere else in the world. – Idina Menzel
I can sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you in twelve different places, but one of them is going to make you feel a certain thing, maybe it’s a vulnerability, maybe an innocence, maybe another way is sexy and soulful or bluesy whatever it is, but with singers, exploring keys, I think, is important. – Idina Menzel
They’re always so serious, the orchestras, you know? It’s always a fun contrast of that song and the genre of music. And me. – Idina Menzel
I think as women, the smarter and more powerful we are, the more it can be threatening and alienating to other people, more than with men. That’s something we need to support each other with. – Idina Menzel
I always like to sing barefoot, but when I first started doing these dates with the symphonies, I of course thought I should clean up my act, being a Jewish girl from Long Island with a little bit of a trucker mouth. So I wore a gown and some high heels. – Idina Menzel
For singers, I believe we can sing in a lot of keys. I know I have this big range, but the point is to find a key that emotionally connects people. – Idina Menzel
The more success you get, you start to be harder on yourself or more afraid of the looking glass. You have to learn to build a thicker skin because people are paying more attention. – Idina Menzel
My favorite thing of all time is a New York City weekend when there’s a blizzard. Everything gets really quiet, and everyone goes to the movies and the park. – Idina Menzel
I don’t quite know how to put it into words, but I feel for the audience that I have; I know them. – Idina Menzel