Entertainment

Idina's New Play Takes Advantage Of Name Flub

by Lia Beck

One of the biggest stories from this year's Oscars, other than the winners and the pizza, was John Travolta's total mispronunciation of Idina Menzel's name. I don't even know if you can call it a mispronunciation. He just called her by an entirely wrong and made up name which sounded like Adele (or Adela) Dazeem. Now, Travolta's Idina Menzel flub has become promotional gold. Netflix and Mendel's latest Broadway play have taken the unfortunate mistake and used it to advertise Menzel's work.

In a clip that is sure to go down in Oscars history (at least for the next couple of weeks), Travolta introduced Idina Menzel's performance of "Let It Go" from Frozen by saying, "The wickedly talented, one and only, Adele Dazeem." The best part is how together Travolta sounds and how confidently he says the name even thought he was wayyyy off. The incident inspired a Twitter account for "Adele Dazeem," John Travolta name generators, and a never-ending urge in all of us to watch Travolta's flub over and over again.

Netflix used the popularity of Adele Dazeem to promote the streaming of Rent in which Menzel starred in 2005. Netflix tweeted, "Don't miss the wickedly talented Adela Dazeem in RENT streaming now." The tweet has been retweeted nearly 1,000 times because social media users flock to Adela Dazeem like sheep.

Menzel's new Broadway show, If/Then used a similar tactic to promote the musical which starts Wednesday. "You know her name!" And they know this was great timing!