Last July, the playlist of the month was actors turned artists, and so this month I’m flipping it around. This time, I’m offering 10 songs from artists who then went on to star in films once they were famous. As per usual, you can listen along on Spotify.
- ‘Gotta Tell You’ by Samantha Mumba. Samantha Mumba was big news when her debut album came out in 2000. In 2002, she had a starring role in The Time Machine, loosely adapted from HG Wells’ novel.
- ‘Popular’ by Ariana Grande. Whilst Ariana initially found fame on TV, she’s best known as a singer who has more recently moved into acting in films. This is from the Wicked (part one) soundtrack, where she was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress.
- ‘Magic Dance’ by David Bowie. Labyrinth wasn’t Bowie’s first film role, but it’s certainly his most well-known. At least, it is in the UK, where it performed far better at the box office than in the US, and exposed a whole generation of young people to Bowie’s crotch.
- ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna. Rihanna voices Smurfette in yet another upcoming Smurfs film, but she’s also known for starring in Ocean’s 8.
- ‘Shallow’ by Lady Gaga (and Bradley Cooper). Lady Gaga was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her performance with Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born, coming around a decade after her first single, Just Dance, was released. ‘Abracadabra’ is a big hit in our house.
- ‘Obsessed’ by Mariah Carey. Carey’s film debut was in Glitter, which is apparently best forgotten about (I haven’t seen it), but she was lauded for her appearance in a more recent film, Precious.
- ‘Work It Out’ by Beyoncé. This was actually Beyoncé’s debut solo single – not the more widely played Crazy In Love that followed a year later. It was released to promote the third Austin Powers film, Goldmember, where Beyoncé plays the supporting role of Foxxy Cleopatra. Later, she would also star in Dreamgirls, the Diana Ross/Supremes biopic.
- ‘Spotlight’ by Jennifer Hudson. Speaking of Dreamgirls, Hudson was another singer-turned-actor who co-starred with Beyoncé in the film.
- ‘Try Again’ by Aaliyah. Aaliyah’s acting debut was in the film Romeo Must Die alongside Jet Li. This song, as well as being one of her best known, was also released to promote the film. Sadly Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash a year later, in 2001.
- ‘Believe’ by Cher. Cher has starred in a fair few films, alongside her singing career, and won an Oscar for her role in Moonstruck.