A PENARTH schoolgirl has become an internet sensation after her Welsh rendition of the hit song Let it Go from the Disney film hit Frozen was viewed thousands of times online.

St Cyres pupil Rebekah West couldn’t find a Welsh version of the song, so she translated it herself and put the video online with lyrics for people to sing along to.

Her videos have now been watched more than 50,000 times online, with people from the likes of Australia, America, and Canada watching her rendition of the song originally performed by Idina Menzel.

 

 

Rebekah, 14, originally set up her Youtube channel so she could share her songs with her cousins in Africa and keep a record of the songs she had sung.

“People started to subscribe to it and one of them asked if I could do Let it Go in Welsh,” she said.

“I looked and couldn’t find a Welsh version.”

Rebekah, who is studying Welsh at GCSE level, decided to translate the song herself, with the help of her mother Claire-Marie, who took Welsh second language A-level

She added: “It was quite hard to translate it as you have got to make sure you don’t lose the meaning of words, but you want it to retain some rhythm.

“It took about two weeks to translate the song and then I had to learn it.”

Rebekah, who also plays basketball for her school, first recorded Let it Go in July, before rerecording it after she improved the translation with the help of her Welsh teacher.

Over the last week teenager Rebekah, who lives in Dinas Powys, has been interviewed by national newspapers and radio stations after her videos were watched thousands of times online. She said that she was shocked at being thrust into the limelight.

“It’s amazing the amount of people that have been looking at it and how much the Welsh language has been shared,” she said.

“I’m really proud to be Welsh and think it’s important that people realise we have our own language.”

She added that her friends and school teachers had been impressed by her translating and singing talents.

“A few of the teachers have said that they should be setting me more homework as I must have too much spare time if I can translate a song into Welsh and sing it,” she said.

“My friends have been saying ‘just let it go’ to me at every opportunity too.”

Rebekah added that she was currently translating another Disney song into Welsh, but didn’t want to reveal it yet.

“I’m going to have to make sure it’s perfect now!” she said.

 

Watch the Welsh translation (with subtitles) of Let it Go

 

 

Pupils from Ysgol Pen-y-Garth in Penarth also sang a Welsh version of Let it Go during their 'Madoc' show at the Paget Rooms in July this year.

School head teacher Mrs Iona Edwards said a staff member had adapted the song into Welsh and although it was a "challenging" song the pupils had performed it with the school orchestra accompanying it.