Top 10 Best Pop Star Castings in Movie Musicals

MsMojo

Pop music meets Broadway meets Hollywood. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best performances pop stars who started in or were mainly known for music have given in movie musicals.

Transcript

00:00Hey.

00:01What?

00:02I just wanted to take another look at you.

00:05Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best performances pop

00:10stars who started in or were mainly known for music have given in movie musicals.

00:15I have reordered time, I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you.

00:24Number 10.

00:25Brandy – Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella

00:28Ten minutes ago I saw you, I looked up when you came through the door.

00:36My head started reeling, you gave me the feeling, the room had no ceiling or floor.

00:44This TV movie adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical employed colorblind casting.

00:49A fairly novel idea in the mid-late 1990s, this would ensure its ongoing relevance with

00:55young audiences.

00:57Brandy was hand-selected to play the title character by producer and co-star Whitney

01:01Houston, who had originally considered starring in the role herself.

01:06And Houston made the right call, as the star's voice and demeanor are perfect for this updated

01:11fairy tale.

01:12Are you the sweet invention of a lover's dream?

01:19Or are you really as wonderful as you seem?

01:29While certain contemporary critics weren't bowled over by her performance, ask any person

01:34who saw it as a kid, and they'll most likely tell you it's us.

01:38Brandy is our Cinderella.

01:409.

01:56Beyonce – Dreamgirls Jennifer Hudson was still fresh off her stint

02:01on American Idol when she won her Oscar for playing Effie White.

02:05Her career was just on the verge of taking off, but it was Beyonce who was just as surprising.

02:21Modeled somewhat on Diana Ross, her character Dina had some real-life parallels to her recent

02:27career.

02:28She and Destiny's Child had disbanded, and she was focusing on a solo career in music

02:33and movies.

02:34While different, it's a journey that has some similarities to Dina's in Dreamgirls.

02:51Her work on the soundtrack is exceptionally phenomenal.

02:54What many might have been surprised by, though, was that she could do drama.

02:58Beyonce earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

03:028.

03:03Michael Jackson – The Wiz In the 1970s, the king of pop was arguably

03:15in a transitional stage in his career.

03:18Luckily, the film adaptation of the R&B-Broadway musical version of The Wonderful Wizard of

03:23Oz would give him a chance to sing, dance, and test his chops as a movie star.

03:39It was the perfect role for him.

03:41His flexibility and dance skills brought out the humor in how the jelly-limbed scarecrow

03:46moves, but it's his tenderness that really shines through.

03:59The movie didn't have the audience turnout it deserved, which may be a reason why Jackson

04:04didn't do more work on film.

04:06It's a shame because his performance here is magical.

04:107.

04:11Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock

04:25Though its famous musical centerpiece doesn't actually take place in a prison, Presley's

04:42character does see the inside of a jail cell early on.

04:46The rock-and-roll megastar plays Vince Everett, a construction worker who starts out on a

04:51career as a musician after he's imprisoned.

04:54Presley was perfectly cast as a fish out of water, playing a country boy who's suddenly

05:08thrown into a world of cutthroat music producers and hoity-toity folks.

05:12He proved he was charming and charismatic enough to carry a movie.

05:16It was only his third film, but he ended up making almost 30 more features.

05:21Considering how this one turned out, we're not surprised.

05:306.

05:32Queen Latifah – Chicago Although she started in rap and hip-hop, the

05:36pop star who earned an Oscar nomination for her role as matron Mama Morton was no stranger

05:41to acting.

05:46Chicago is a movie all about duality.

05:49Queen Latifah is just as good in its more realistic moments as she is in her fantastical

05:54number.

06:06As a glittering jazz goddess, her When You're Good to Mama is an unforgettable scene in

06:11a film chock-full of great musical moments.

06:14Along with the Oscar nomination, Latifah was also notably nominated for a SAG, Golden Globe,

06:20and BAFTA award.

06:215.

06:22Bette Midler – The Rose This Janis Joplin-inspired rock music extravaganza

06:39is full of long sequences of its title star tearing up the stage for thousands of adoring

06:45fans.

06:46Bette Midler wasn't the film comedian we knew her to be today.

06:50She was a theater kid and cabaret singer who went legit in the pop music scene in the early

06:551970s and made her film debut here.

07:04Her character in The Rose is a rock star with substance use disorder who's at the end

07:09of her rope.

07:10She plays each scene like she's on the verge of collapse.

07:28The only time her protagonist feels fully alive is when she's on stage, and even that

07:33is precarious.

07:35But her power as a musician and vocalist is what makes the movie all the more exhilarating

07:40to see.

07:474.

07:53Olivia Newton-John – Grease

08:04Before she played Sandy, the big-voiced icon was a country and folk music star who had

08:09major success in Australia and the UK.

08:12It's hard to imagine Olivia Newton-John being controversial, but some of her success was

08:18tempered by American artists who felt she wasn't authentically country enough.

08:28Grease is what really made her catch on in the U.S. and all around the world.

08:32From playing the good girl to John Travolta's bad boy, her angelic voice and look was right

08:38at home in the 1950s set musical.

08:41Some of her songs in the movie became huge hits and helped her cultivate more pop-centric

08:46music hits that reached mainstream prominence.

08:533.

08:58David Bowie – Labyrinth To play Jareth, the double-talking, mythical

09:03goblin king, director and puppeteer Jim Henson ultimately decided he wanted a musician.

09:10It was exactly what the chemistry of his fantastical musical needed.

09:14David Bowie's eccentricity and charisma made him the natural choice.

09:27Jareth is an unforgettable character.

09:30He's a smooth, captivating and dangerous villain.

09:33As a pop star whose persona was always shifting, Bowie was the perfect person for the part.

09:47He makes us want to follow Jareth just as much as he signals his evil intent.

09:52It's all despite being surrounded by a cast almost entirely made of puppets.

10:062.

10:07Prince – Purple Rain No one can deny this 1984 classic has a perfect

10:13soundtrack.

10:14But its star turn from music superstar Prince alone is worth the price of admission.

10:28Purple Rain follows the tortured frontman of a Minneapolis band.

10:32As he navigates an abusive home life and professional disappointments, it's hard to separate the

10:38protagonist from the pop star portraying him.

10:41And that's to the movie's benefit.

10:56In the character known only as The Kid, the famously complex and enigmatic artist brings

11:01humanity to his persona.

11:04What started as something some studios may have seen as a vanity project ended up becoming

11:09a major hit with critics and audiences.

11:18Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

11:22Björk – Dancer in the Dark The Icelandic musician gives a heartbreaking

11:27performance in this depressing musical.

11:42Madonna – Evita The Queen of Pop played Argentina's former

11:46first lady Eva Perón.

12:02Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple The American Idol winner reprised the roles

12:07she played on stage to great acclaim.

12:19Fergie – Nine The pop star played Seregina and got one

12:23of the movie's most memorable numbers.

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13:04Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born She had already won a Golden Globe for acting

13:14on television, but leading a major awards contender and sharing the screen with Bradley

13:19Cooper was a tall order for anyone.

13:23But Lady Gaga seamlessly followed in the footsteps of luminaries like Judy Garland and Barbra

13:28Streisand to bring her central character to life in A Star Is Born.

13:45Portraying a singer, Ally, whose rise to stardom begins to eclipse her famous music business,

13:51Gaga dug into the story's tragic underpinnings with ease and realism.

13:56She notably got an Oscar nomination for acting, a win for Best Original Song, and an entirely

14:02new legion of fans out of it.

14:18Which pop star in a movie musical surprised you the most?

14:21Tell us your favorite in the comments!

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