Idina Menzel can’t be put into a box.
On the Broadway stage she originated iconic roles like Maureen in "Rent" and Elphaba in "Wicked," the latter of which earned her a Tony Award. Her reputation for musicals continued to the silver screen with the juggernaut success of the ongoing Frozen franchise, which Menzel leads as Elsa. But despite that remarkable track record, musicals (on and off the stage) are only one facet of Menzel’s eclectic and expansive career.
In between creating those tentpole roles, she’s starred in television and film projects like Glee, Enchanted, and Uncut Gems, all the while consistently writing and releasing her own original music — a notoriously tricky leap for Broadway stars to make. It was her 1998 debut pop-rock album Still I Can’t Be Still, released after the success of "Rent," that first demonstrated the challenge of being accepted in the mainstream music industry as a performer synonymous with theater. After its poor commercial performance, she was dropped by her first label.
Nevertheless, she stayed the course, finding more success with pop offerings like I Stand (2008) and Idina (2016), and hit Christmas albums like 2014’s Holiday Wishes — refusing to ever just be one thing or restricted to any one lane.
That versatility has been both a blessing and a curse. "So many people in the music industry wanna put people in a box because it makes their life easier if you’re just one way," Menzel tells GRAMMY.com.
Menzel is again breaking new ground, sonically and otherwise, on her disco-inspired seventh album Drama Queen. Out Aug. 18, Drama Queen — featuring singles like "Move" and "Beast" — is a showcase for Menzel's powerhouse vocals.
The album is the latest entry in that genre’s resurgence, fitting right in amongst new offerings from Kylie Minogue and Jessie Ware, and sees Menzel collaborating with GRAMMY-winning songwriter and disco legend Nile Rodgers. Though a new genre for Menzel, the songwriting is a seamless continuation of the personal storytelling that’s forever been a trademark of her original discography.
"The music comes from stuff that I feel I need to write for myself as an artist and a woman, a lot about really owning who I am," Menzel says, adding that she hopes her personal message will prove universal — particularly for her devoted LGBTQ+ audience. It’s a community that’s not only been with her since the beginning, but one that she’s already gotten to share this new music with at recent Pride celebrations.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to express my gratitude to the LGBTQ+ community. They've always accepted me, but more than that it's what they taught me through their courage to live their lives authentically," she continues.
Ahead of Drama Queen’s release, Menzel spoke to GRAMMY.com about this latest genre-shift, what she credits for her versatility, and the challenges that come with breaking out of the Broadway box that people continually try, and fail, to put her in.
This is now your seventh album, but the first time you’re exploring this new genre. What drew you to making a disco-inspired dance record?
I really wanted to make music that grooved and got people up to dance, and not overthink what I was doing or what was expected of me. But also make music that would still be a good foundation for a big voice. So many of my favorite singers, like Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Gloria Gaynor, they had this disco moment that was incredible. They could still sing really big and yet get people moving, so I felt like that was an organic transition for me.
It feels like this kind of disco-inspired music is really having a resurgence right now, what do you attribute to the timelessness of this genre?
I think because they're just real songs, as far as the structure of songwriting. They're not as linear as everything is today. They'll go through a verse, a pre-chorus, a chorus, and then a bridge. They might even have a modulation, so for singers it's exciting because it allows us so many places to go and ways to be expressive with our voices. I think that probably resonates with people.
What’s it been like performing these new songs live? I’d imagine it’s a very different vibe than your usual setlists.
I'm having a blast. I have dancers, I have amazing background singers, we're just like throwing down up there. The bass and the grooves are so loud that I feel that vibration from the floor all the way through my solar plexus.
I used to be worried that I had different genres that I explored in my career, and would that confuse people? I thought that maybe it was going to be incohesive in some way. But as I've gotten older, I realized that my common denominator is less about the music style and more about the storytelling and my life through the music. So I can get on stage and do this disco music, and then do "Defying Gravity" and something from "Rent" and it’s actually pretty seamless.
In your documentary that came out last year, Which Way To The Stage, you talk a lot about the challenges that you’ve had releasing original music as someone known for Broadway. Why do you think it’s so difficult to make that jump?
Versatility has often been my curse. If you’re an artist that wants to explore different avenues, you often get people saying, "Oh I don’t know if you should do that," or [they] assume that people from theater are going to be overly expressive. The truth is, you can always figure out what medium you’re in. In the theater world, people want you to be a little bit more perfected, and in the pop world they want you to be more raw. But I feel that the commonality is the ability for a performer to make themselves vulnerable and take that risk and allow people to see inside you — in whichever medium, that’s the thing that resonates with people.
I also remind myself that there's a lot of really theatrical artists in the pop and rock and hip-hop world. I love Annie Lennox, she's completely theatrical. David Bowie is theatrical, even Mick Jagger. And so, I think it's just the context people get in their head about.
You grew up performing at weddings and bar mitzvahs. What role do you think that had in fostering this versatility and equipping you to bounce around these different genres?
That was everything! To me, the wedding and bar mitzvah circuit was my education. It was sort of my laboratory for experimenting with all kinds of music. You have to emulate different artists all the time and do covers, so I'm learning how to hit the songs in the right range and use my voice in all these ways.
But also then you start to realize, okay, what am I bringing to this as a vocalist? What's me now, being informed by all of these influences? But people aren’t listening most of the time, let's just be honest, so you really build a thick skin. And you have to fly by the seat of your pants when people request stuff, so I think my ability to be spontaneous and improvise was fostered in that setting. I owe all of it to those jobs, I really do.
When it comes to Broadway, you have a history of originating iconic characters. Is the creative process of developing a new story why you tend to favor original musicals over revivals?
Yeah, I got my start in original musicals and the process of standing at the piano with a young composer like Jonathan Larson, let's say, and having them bring a new song that they've written for you, your character, your voice, your inflections, and impulses…there's just nothing like that. It's also a little selfish because my life's actually easier when a character's written with me in mind.
I'd rather not do a revival where I'm walking in the footsteps of legendary other women, it makes it a lot harder. But I just really love creating new stuff that gives young composers an opportunity to share their work.
Speaking of which, one of those original shows was "Wicked," which is of course now being turned into a film. What’s it been like seeing its longevity and now handing over the baton (or broomstick) for the movie?
Well, there's a tremendous amount of pride that comes with the fact that it's going onto its next incarnation, having been a part of originating it and seeing it come to life. For me and Kristin [Chenoweth] to hand it off to such capable hands and see what they do with it is a beautiful thing, and Cynthia [Erivo] and Ariana [Grande] are perfect for it.
The bittersweet part for me is the aging thing. As a woman, to not be able to play your role because you're aging out of it is what makes it hard, and I've just been trying to be honest about that. But if anyone's gonna do it, I mean, Cynthia's gonna knock it outta the park. They're not gonna remember me after she does it!
The story is timeless and to have another generation enjoy and be changed by this musical is just what we hoped for back in the beginning.
We talked a lot about versatility and genre-hopping, is there any box left for you to tick? Anything that you haven’t done yet that you still want to explore?
Well, you mean in my career, right? Because personally, I enjoy being a basketball mom and I wanna have a farm and rescue racehorses one day. That's really where my focus has been lately.
But honestly, just to keep working with really incredible creatives. You know, people that are much better than me so that I can get better and keep learning and evolving as an artist. Nile Rodgers was my mentor on this album, and there's Justin Tranter, and Jake Shears from Scissor Sisters, who’s someone I worked with on this that really helped guide me.
I just hope people can listen with an open heart and fresh ears and hear the music for what it is and feel the joy that was intended with it.