Hey everyone! I want to take a minute to make an important announcement about this site.

No, don’t panic! It’s not going anywhere! I, however, am. The time has come for me to gracefully bow out of maintaining Idina-Here. I have loved every minute of it, and am grateful to Kim, the site’s creator, for entrusting me with this jewel. Don’t you fret, though; I’m not leaving the Idina fandom – not even close! (I know you were all worried, right?) I’ll be getting more involved with the official side of things, and I look forward to being able to use everything I’ve learned from this site and all the fans I’ve met and talked to over the last four years to shake things up a bit.

So, what becomes of Idina-Here if I’m departing? Just as Kim passed the “torch” to me, I am passing it to my dear friend – and the source of nearly all the videos added in recent years – Jill. She’ll handle everything from here on out (Twitter, tumblr, Formspring, etc), so any questions about the site that you’d normally ask me, come Monday, she’s your gal! Her contact information and bio will be added this weekend.

Thank you, Jill, for taking over this project. I know you’ll do it justice. :)

Over and out,
♥ Erin

This is pretty much one of those annoying self-promotion posts. I apologize, but I’m competitive, so…

Nominations are currently open for the Shorty Awards, an award that honors the best in social media, aka Twitter. It’s an actual award “show,” judged by an academy after public nominations are complete. There’s even a ceremony in NYC and winners get a legit award and everything (acceptance speeches have to be 140 characters or less!).

So if you love this site, and think that we have effectively utilized Twitter to deliver top-notch, relevant, and breaking news about Idina, then I ask for your vote. And hey, there might be something in it for you, too!

To nominate the site, simply tweet the following:

I nominate @idina_here for a Shorty Award in #fansite because [your reason].

That’s it! Everyone who votes for us is eligible to win an autographed photo of Idina. You do not need to vote more than once, as votes are not counted multiple times by the Shorties, and thusly won’t be counted by us (though if you already have multiple Twitter accounts, feel free!). Nominations (and contest entries) are accepted through January 31, 2011. I’ll pick a winner at random from all tweeted nominations on February 1. If you voted for us prior to reading this, don’t worry, your vote still counts for the contest!

The Top 6 nominees become finalists, and from that point they are reviewed and voted on by the Real-Time Academy, and winners are chosen. If we happen to win (which would be awesome!), I’ll come up with an kickass prize to give away.

So, crossies!

Congratulations to Vicki! She correctly named all 20 songs and was drawn as the winner of our NAME THAT TUNE contest and will receive an autographed photo of Idina! I know a few lyrics really stumped some of you, so here are the answers for your peace of mind:

1. What If (Rhydian)
2. Let Me Fall (I Stand)
3. Take Me or Leave Me (RENT)
4. No Good Deed (Wicked)
5. You’d Be Surprised (Here)
6. Don’t Let Me Down (I Stand)
7. It Only Hurts When I Breathe (Joe’s Pub)
8. I Will Be There (Ray Charles)
9. Take A Bow (Elaine Paige)
10. Minuet (Still I Can’t Be Still)
11. Coffee (See What I Wanna See)
12. I Dreamed a Dream (Glee)
13. Straw Into Gold (Still I Can’t Be Still)
14. Look At Me Now (The Wild Party)
15. Butterfly (2009 Tour)
16. Endgame #3/Chess #3 (Chess in Concert)
17. Jealous (Joe’s Pub)
18. Forever (I Stand)
19. Damsel In Distress (Desperate Housewives)
20. Rise Up (Live Performances)

We’ll have more contests in the nearish future, so good luck for the next one!

This past week we held a Contest Idea Contest on Twitter to come up with some new ideas for contests to kick off the New Year! I picked Sarah’s suggestion to have a lyric contest. For her winning idea, she will receive an autographed photo of Idina. And now it’s your turn to have a chance to win one as well!

THE CONTEST

– Name That Tune!

THE HOW-TO

– Correctly identify the song title to which the following lyrics belong.
– Email the list of titles to contest[at]idina-here.com with NAME THAT TUNE in the subject line.
– Songs are not limited to Idina’s solo studio recordings, but she does sing every line listed.
– Pretty much all of the lyrics can be found on this site!

01. Would you take the chance and make the change
02. I swear this isn’t who I’m meant to be
03. So be kind and don’t lose your mind
04. One question haunts and hurts
05. It’s you who brings me peace
06. If time stood on its head
07. Let’s have a drink, I won’t bite
08. Guess I was just a fool, the way I treated you
09. All the world loves a clown
10. I’d like to have babies with you
11. Ouch, right?
12. But the tigers come at night
13. Leaping Rumplestiltskin’s wall
14. I’ve been pillowed and paid
15. She’s the rain on your tongue
16. I tried to be that cynical but blew it
17. You won’t be running back to this life I’m living
18. Too much has been said
19. I’ve got tasty treats to tempt you
20. I know it’s you who’ll shelter me

THE RULES

– You have until January 5, 2011 at 11:59 pm ET to enter.
– Contest is open to everyone of all ages and in all countries.
– Winner will receive one (1) 8″x10″ photo autographed by Idina Menzel.
– Winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries. Selection will be made January 6, 2011 and notified at that time. 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 at random, and so on, until the prize is accepted. The winner will be announced on Twitter and this site upon confirmed acceptance.
– Questions? Comment!

Idina popped up on Entertainment Tonight tonight in a clip about her Dove mentoring involvement! Check it out below. Thanks to Jill for the vid!

“Entertainment Tonight” – December 31, 2010
Description: A segment covering Idina’s mentoring of the Dove Sing4All winners.
Time: 0:37 | Size: 7.5 MB
© ET
Format: .m4v
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ YOUTUBE ]

By the way, come back tomorrow for a new contest to win a photo signed by Idina!