ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — Dove Hair Care and award-winning actress and singer Idina Menzel invite America’s best glee clubs, choirs and groups of 3 to 10 musically-inclined friends to compete for their own brush with greatness. The “Dove Hair Care Brush with Greatness Sing4All” video contest will give one team a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform the iconic Rodgers & Hammerstein song “My Favorite Things” live onstage at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on December 28, 2010.

“As a performer on Broadway, TV and in film, the hot set lights and constant styling have certainly damaged my hair, but Dove takes care of the damage so I can keep focused on one of my favorite things – singing,” said Menzel. “I am excited to help choirs, glee clubs and singing groups around the country win a chance for their own brush with greatness and an opportunity to showcase their incredible musical talent.”

HOW IT WORKS:

Beginning today through November 21, groups of 3 to 10 people are invited to submit a video performance featuring the complete lyrics to “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music.” Viewers are encouraged to vote on their favorite video performance at DoveSing4All.com to help determine the four finalist teams.

On December 3, the four final teams will be announced, and each will receive a gift package from Dove Hair Care and a personal coaching session (via video conference) with Broadway icon Idina Menzel. From December 3rd – 20th viewers will vote for their favorite of the final four videos at DoveSing4All.com to determine the Grand Prize Winners. The Grand Prize winning team will be announced on December 22 and will have the ultimate experience of performing “My Favorite Things” as the opening act at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on December 28 in New York City.

“We are thrilled to offer America’s singing groups an amazing opportunity to celebrate one of their favorite things and showcase their talents on such a prestigious stage,” said David Rubin, Dove Hair Care Marketing Director. “The contest reflects our philosophy of encouraging women to focus on doing their own favorite things because Dove takes care of their hair damage.”

Entries must include at least 3 and no more than 10 on-camera participants – 13 years of age or over. The complete, original lyrics to “My Favorite Things” along with the Official Contest Rules are available on DoveSing4All.com

“Dove Brush With Greatness Sing 4 All” – October 27, 2010
Description: Idina partnered with Dove to promote their “My Favorite Things” singing contest.
Time: 1:00 | Size: 19.7 MB
© Dove
Format: .flv
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ STREAM ]

“The Tube” – October 26, 2010
Description: Idina discusses the Dove Sing4All contest.
Time: 0:23 | Size: 4.6 MB
© Entertainment Tonight
Format: .m4v
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ YOUTUBE ]

Sesame Street’s official YouTube channel revealed exclusively today Idina & Taye’s segment from the upcoming November 1 broadcast. Check it out below – super cute!

“Snuffle Sneeze” – November 1, 2010
Description: Idina & Taye help kids learn about the word “allergic” in the Word on the Street segment.
Time: 1:25 | Size: 19.7 MB
© CTV | site exclusive
Format: .mp4
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ YOUTUBE ] | screencaps

After going through a ton of entries, the winner of our 5th anniversary Here giveaway contest is Natalie A. Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated. We had over a hundred entries, awesome! I know there were a few tough questions in the contest, so here are the answers. I’ve also linked them to where on the site they can be found for those who were stumped.

Part I: Trivia
- Where was the first concert held in which Idina performed “Here?”
The Zipper Theatre, New York City

- What was Here‘s release date?
February 10, 2004

- Who was the photographer of the Here album cover?
Fabrice Trombert [It's the name of the album!]

Part II: Scavenger Hunt
- The first image ever added to the photo gallery


- The most viewed image in the photo gallery


- Your favorite picture of Idina (just for funsies, no right or wrong answer!)

Part III: Finish That Quote
- “Make love to the chair.”
(Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson, 3/2/06)

- “I am so proud to be in a musical that celebrates women.”
(2004 Tony Awards acceptance speech)


- “We will not tolerate hate any longer.”
(We Give A Damn campaign ad)


- “We do it in the shower. Everybody does it, you know. I just do it for a living.”
(Manny the Movie Guy’s Enchanted interview)


- “Don’t take the L.I.E., it’s bumpada bumpada traffic.”
(Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson, 3/2/06)


- “[My husband's] not with me on the tour, so I have to cuddle with myself.”
(Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson, 8/4/08)


- “When I sing, do people die?”
(This Morning, October 13, 2008)


- “Hi, I’m Idina. I’m Taye Diggs’ wife and I’m my own self.”
(Live w/ Regis & Kelly, March 10, 2006)


- “It’s okay to be who you are, and it’s okay to be figuring it out.”
(AOL Sessions interview)


- “A kielbasa’s a sausage, isn’t it?! Well, I can play that too! Hullo!”
(Wedding Singer Days stories)

Also, BroadwayWorld has [finally] released video footage from Idina’s “Tweet Up” last week! Watch it below.

Twitter Conference – October 13, 2010
Description: Idina meets w/ NYC tweeters/bloggers to promote her symphony tour.
Time: 10:34 | Size: 92.7 MB
© BroadwayWorld
Format: .m4v
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ STREAM ] | photos

Last night in the US, PBS aired In Performance at The White House: A Broadway Celebration, featuring a who’s-who from the theatre community performing an intimate concert for the Obamas (and other famous and/or important people). It will be made available for streaming on PBS.org if you would like to watch the entire program. However, if you just want to bear witness to Idina’s two amazing performances…here you go!

In Performance at The White House – October 20, 2010
Description: Performing “Defying Gravity” at a special Broadway celebration concert (filmed July 19, 2010)
Time: 4:12 | Size: 51.6 MB
© PBS | Thanks to Jill! site exclusive
Format: .m4v
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ YOUTUBE ] | screencaps

In Performance at The White House – October 20, 2010
Description: Performing “What I Did For Love” at a special Broadway celebration concert (filmed July 19, 2010)
Time: 3:40 | Size: 45 MB
© PBS | Thanks to Jill! site exclusive
Format: .m4v
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ YOUTUBE ] | screencaps

Due to one of those annoying malware infections and Google blocking access to the site to most everyone, the Here contest has been extended until Friday, October 22, at 11:59 pm ET! Scroll down for more contest info.

I have more good news! I think/hope/pray that I finally found the vulnerability that was allowing the malware infections to occur, so they should stop! If you do, however, ever get any kind of a warning when you visit the site, please Tweet me to let me know. The sooner I find out, the sooner I can remove the dangerous software.

In case you missed Idina’s adorable “appearance” on Nickelodeon’s The Wonder Pets!, you can now download the clip in the video archive. Idina was a special guest star in an Alice in Wonderland-themed episode of the Emmy Award-winning children’s television program, voicing the Queen of Hearts.

The Wonder Pets! – October 15, 2010
Description: Idina as The Queen of Hearts.
Time: 7:28 | Size: 91.9 MB
© Nickelodeon | site exclusive
(Thanks to Jill!)
Format: .m4v
[ DOWNLOAD ] | YOUTUBE ]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photos from this week’s Tweetup at Joe’s Pub have been added to the gallery. Click the thumbnails below to view.

On October 12, 2004, the original version this website, originally titled “Idina Menzel ~ Here: The Ultimate Fan Base,” was launched. One year later, on October 14, 2005, it was re-launched on a dedicated domain with a completely new design and a ton of new and exclusive content, entitled IDINA-HERE.COM. The site has grown and evolved alongside Idina’s career to become the best (if I do say so myself) and most complete source of information about Idina, her life, and her career, both past and present. It’s been fun to become so involved here, and it’s an honor to announce that today is the 5th anniversary of the birth of this site as we now know it!

To celebrate this achievement, and to thank all the visitors for being awesome and making this site what it is with the contributions, comments, and hits, we are holding a contest in honor of this website’s inspiration and namesake. Sharpen your pencils and your minds, this one is a doozy, because the prize is a doozy! If you’re stumped, keep in mind that all answers can be found somewhere on this website.

THE PRIZE

THE CONTEST

Part I: Trivia

- Where was the first concert held in which Idina performed “Here?”
- What was Here‘s release date?
- Who was the photographer of the Here album cover?

Part II: Scavenger Hunt

- The first image ever added to the photo gallery
- The most viewed image in the photo gallery
- Your favorite picture of Idina (just for funsies, no right or wrong answer!)

Part III: Finish That Quote

- “Make love to the _______________.”
- “I am so proud to be in a musical that celebrates _______________.”
- “We will not tolerate _______________ any longer.”
- “We do it in the shower. Everybody does it, you know. I just _______________.”
- “Don’t take the L.I.E., it’s _______________.”
- “[My husband's] not with me on the tour, so I have to cuddle with _______________.”
- “When I sing, do people _______________?”
- “Hi, I’m Idina. I’m Taye Diggs’ wife and _______________.”
- “It’s okay to be who you are, and it’s okay to be _______________.”
- “A kielbasa’s a sausage, isn’t it?! Well, I can _______________!”

THE HOW-TO

E-mail your answers to contest[*at*]idina-here.com (replace [*at*] with @) with ANNIVERSARY CONTEST in the subject line. DO NOT attach any images; a link to the image is sufficient. Your entry should have content like this:

Part I
- the answer
Part II
- http://www.idina-here.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=510&pid=16560
Part III
- “the missing word(s)”

Deadline to enter is October 22 at 11:59 pm ET!

THE RULES
- Winner will receive one (1) autographed copy of Idina Menzel’s album, Here.
- Contest is open to everyone of all ages and in all countries.
- Limit one (1) entry per person/email address. Multiple entries will result in disqualification.
- Winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries and notified on October 23, 2010. Winner must accept prize within 24 hours by responding to notification e-mail and providing the requested information. If winner does not respond, another will be chosen from the remaining correct entries, and so on, until the prize is accepted. The winner will be announced on this website & Twitter upon confirmed acceptance.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask them here in the comments. I ask that ALL questions are posted in the comments so that other people may who may have the same questions may read the questions and my answers.

GOOD LUCK!

CONTEST CLOSED

This afternoon, Joe’s Pub in NYC played host to a [somewhat surprise] “Twitter meeting” with Idina. Bloggers and Tweeters from the New York area were in attendance and were able to ask Idina questions about her life and career. They utilized #IdinaTour on Twitter to Tweet her responses, so if you’re curious, click the link and you can go back and read it as it unfolded live! However, if you’d prefer a summary of significant points, Theatermania has summed it up quite nicely. You may read her interview below.

Tony Award winner Idina Menzel sat down with the press at Joe’s Pub on October 13 to discuss her upcoming national tour and other aspects of her life and career.

Menzel will be performing with symphony orchestras around the country, October 28-February 3, beginning with a three-night stint at the Kennedy Center. Those concerts will be conducted by Marvin Hamlisch, and Menzel will be singing some of the composer’s songs, including “What I Did For Love,” which she recently performed for President Obama for a special taped performance at the White House to air beginning on October 20 on PBS. “Marvin and I really hit it off,” she says of their initial meeting earlier this year.

Menzel said that performing at the Kennedy Center will be “a piece of cake” compared to her previous appearance there, when she helped pay tribute to Barbra Streisand at the Kennedy Center Honors. She also revealed that Streisand sent her a thank you note, which now sits next to her Tony Award in the New York City apartment that she and husband Taye Diggs live in part of the year, along with their now 13-month-old son.

Streisand, not surprisingly, is on the singer’s wish list of people to duet with, as are Bono, Michael Bublé, and Christina Aguilera. However, none of those people are slated to be on Menzel’s new CD, which she plans to begin recording later this month, and which will include a mix of standards and original material.

The actress also stated that she had been informed by producers of the still-to-be-filmed Wicked movie that she would not be playing Elphaba because of her age. “But I have an idea for them,” she says. “Why don’t we do it like Avatar and there could be this beautiful green creature with the essence of me and my voice.”

As for other work in Hollywood, Menzel offered no specifics on any upcoming reappearance on Glee, though she did state that “it would be perfectly fine” if she worked on an episode with former Wicked co-star (and former Glee guest star) Kristin Chenoweth.

She also said she hopes to be part of the sequel to the hit film Enchanted, in which she starred opposite Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey, and would like to do more film and television work. One thing she has filmed recently is an upcoming episode of PBS’ Sesame Street alongside her husband.

Menzel also told reporters that she is in the process of creating a new foundation called “A Broader Way” that would fund a summer camp in the Berkshires for underprivileged girls. Menzel’s plan is for the campers to put on a show that she would later produce for one night on Broadway.

As for her own return to musical theater, Menzel added that she has some projects in the early development stage, and that she is hoping to originate a role. “I just don’t see myself as a revival girl,” she notes.

Photos from this event are now in our gallery. Also, keep an eye on YouTube for footage from the attendees. We’ll be tweeting relevant links and photos when they surface!

p.s. Check back tomorrow for an awesome contest!