Menzel is usually classified as a mezzo-soprano. For the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", Sharon Eberson wrote "Possessing a voice that could be categorized as coquettish to flat-out belter and everything in between—and with a stage presence to match—she usually is labeled a mezzo-soprano. But why pigeonhole someone so intriguingly offbeat?" Eberson continued that the singer "interprets songs as much as an actress as a singer, and therein lies her connection to the music and her fans." Describing Menzel as a loud, "full-volume soprano" similar to Broadway actress Ethel Merman, Stephen Holden of "The New York Times "wrote "The sound she creates when she belts in her high soprano register is a primal cry embedded in her being that insists that we listen and pay attention." Holden continued, "Depending on the song, voice can sound babyish and demanding, or it can sound grand and imperial."