Super Bowl 2015 National Anthem: Idina Menzel of 'Let It Go' fame to belt 'The Star-Spangled Banner'

Will Idina Menzel keep her rendition of the national anthem under two minutes?

First off: If you need your young children to shush for the national anthem of Super Bowl XLIX, the one Idina Menzel will sing, just tell them that Elsa is singing.

Second: No, joking that Menzel is closer to the Super Bowl — because she's singing the anthem — than Johnny Manziel is not funny. Step up your pun game, fool.

Third: The statute of limitations for Adele Dazeem jokes was up a long time ago, but you can bet that someone's going with ADELE DAZE 'EM on Twitter during the anthem.

Menzel is a long-time Broadway star: She originated one of the roles in Rent, which is 20 years old this year, and won a Tony for playing the role of Elphalba in Wicked, which debuted in 2004.

She's basically the Broadway star of this generation, and there's no question that she's among the few with mainstream appeal, especially after crossing over to movies and television as the voice of Queen Elsa (and the singer of parent-pestering timeless tune "Let It Go") from Frozen, and a recurring role on Glee. Menzel's up for another Tony this year, will appear in an upcoming short, Frozen Fever, that will run prior to Disney's live-action remake of Cinderella, and is embarking on a three-continent world tour in May.

This is her moment, essentially, and she's a great enough singer to sear herself into a billion minds with a great rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" like Whitney Houston once did.

And if you're looking to bet on the ever-popular over/under of the Super Bowl national anthem: Go over. We have ample evidence Menzel's version will not be short.

Here's her rendition of the anthem before the final game of the New England Patriots' undefeated 2007 regular season, a showdown with the New York Giants that would eventually beat them in the Super Bowl. Even though it's hard to hear because of the recording, Menzel starts singing at either 0:26 or 0:27, and finishes at 2:02 — a robust 1:34 or 1:35. And that's pre-superstardom!

Menzel also sang the national anthem at the 2014 MLB All-Star game, and clocked in at 1:57 (it's from 2:20 to 4:17 above).

And she's stretched a rendition of the anthem to nearly three minutes before, for a Macy's special televised on the Fourth of July last year.

All three of those renditions are quite good, to my ear, but they're all a bit long. The current over/under for the anthem at Bovada is 2:01. The Super Bowl is the biggest single performing stage in the world. And Menzel has never been hotter than she is right now.

If you want to bet, bet on showy and not subdued — and bet the over.

Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1wSu7pY