The Transition From Dialogue To Lyrics: The Case Of Actors And Celebrities-turned-singers

By Author: Bei Maniago
Total Articles: 16
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The entertainment industry is like one big pond, where all the fishes co-exist in the same environment. Because of this co-existence—which isn't always peaceful—there are times when the fishes sometimes fulfill roles that are not part of their original tasks, perhaps because of changes in the trends, the species that surround them, and the ecosystem they live in. This happens in the entertainment industry too, particularly in Hollywood where there is a very thin line between roles.

Movie actors sometimes tackle serious fares in Broadway, like what Julia Roberts, Katie Holmes, and Hunter Parrish did. More often, singers and musicians cross the border and try their hands on acting. Beyonce, whose songs and lyrics are engraved in everyone's consciousness, is a common example, with her notable take on the 2006 film Dreamgirls. Justin Timberlake (who transitioned from boyband member to formidable musician who created music and lyrics not just for himself but also for other notable artists) has appeared in a number of films like Shrek 3 and has been seen in a number of sketches in Saturday Night Live.

Then ...
... there's the rare case of actors and celebrities temporarily giving up their scripts to take the microphone. In Hollywood, there are already a number of celebrities who tried their hands on singing. Their songs are often hit-and-miss in the hits charts and the composition of their songs— from the music to the lyrics—are average at best. Nonetheless, they did not hesitate to tackle on lyrics instead of scripts.

A recent example is Paris Hilton, the socialite heiress who appeared in the hit reality show The Simple Life. Her self-titled album Paris managed to reach the top ten of the Billboard charts—a feat for a celebrity who wasn't exactly well-liked because of her well-known exploits. The lyrics of her popular song Stars are Blind are often parodied, much like Paris herself, but it became a sleeper dance music hit because of the lyrics' not entirely nonsensical but still confounding composition.

Among the celebrities who turned to music, Paris Hilton may already be considered as a success; she will never reach the status of Beyonce or Justin Timberlake, but at least the album did fairly well.

Hayden Panettiere, on the other hand, was already a household name as an actress thanks to her role in the hit show Heroes when she released her single Wake Up Time. The music and the lyrics of the song somewhat copies Hilton's attack on the music industry; as if they know that they would be more successful as singers of dance tracks rather than serious songs.

The same can be said about Heidi Montag's single. Heidi (from MTV's The Hills) has released a number of songs since 2007, and their lyrics do not betray the sensibilities of the viewers of the hit reality show.

A notable inclusion in this list would be a number of the cast from Disney Channel Original Movies such as Ashley Tisdale, Vannessa Hudgens (both from High School Musical) and Demi Lovato (from Camp Rock). Their songs and the consequent lyrics are aimed for the Disney audience—catchy pop tracks with child-friendly lyrics to appeal to a wider audience.

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