These are the singers who failed in the seventh art
You can't be good at everything. This expression seems to fit like a glove to many international stars who are true phenomena in the world of music, but who, when trying their luck in the seventh art, were devastated by the critics. Madonna is considered the queen of pop and Britney Spears is the princess, Michael Jackson is the king, however, none of the three made it in the cinema and it was not for lack of trying. The first was the only one whose work was praised by the critics, when she played the role of Evita Péron, in the film Evita , however, all her other performances were considered mediocre.
The Weeknd is the latest case of failure as an actor and not even the millions of fans he has around the world saved him from the disgrace regarding his most recent film, Hurry Up Tomorrow , which premiered on May 15th of this year. In trying to prove his worth in acting, the artist ended up adding his name to several stars who had hugely successful careers in music, but never managed to stand out as actors. This is the case of Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Prince, Christina Aguilera, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift .
The 10 artists featured in this article are known all over the world, and their songs are easily sung or hummed even by those who are not their fans. Their musical hits are played on the radio, are part of soundtracks, and are present in the intimate moments of many fans and followers, but the truth is that, if we ask these same fans about roles they have played in cinema, it is most likely that many will barely remember these roles and some will even question whether they actually made it into the seventh art.
Being a good musician does not mean being a good actor, and the more famous an artist is, the more the spotlight shines on them, allowing them no room for error. It remains to be seen whether those who have not yet died have given up on acting once and for all, or whether we will still see them try out other roles.
Rihanna: Worst Supporting ActressRihanna's first major film project came in 2012 with Battleship, an alien war film based on the classic board game Battleship. Her performance was panned by critics and ended up earning her the award for Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzie Awards, which honor the worst films and actors of the year.
Crossroads, released in 2002, was the first and only film starring Britney Spears. Fans were eager to see the pop princess on the big screen, but critics panned her performance. “It’s not a music video, it’s not a movie; it’s an extended advertisement for the product that is Britney,” The Washington Post noted at the time.
Madonna: Awarded as worst actress of the centuryThe singer won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Evita (1996), but even this successful work did not prevent her performance in the seventh art from being considered mediocre in comparison to her indisputable musical career. The Queen of Pop was elected the queen of the Razzie Awards and won the honorary award for Worst Actress of the Century at the 2002 ceremony.
The Weeknd: Not even the fans could prevent failureHurry Up Tomorrow is the title of The Weeknd's sixth album, which reached number one on the charts in several countries, but it is also the title of a film in which Abel Tesfaye, the singer's real name, plays a fictional version of himself in a thriller centered on a troubled pop star. The film received devastating reviews and not even the musician's millions of fans could prevent it from failing at the box office.
Taylor Swift: $100 million lossTaylor Swift is the richest singer in the world, but even she can make a mistake. And she did so when she made the leap to the big screen as part of the cast of one of the most critically panned films of recent years: the adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. The film won six Razzies and was one of the biggest cinematic flops of 2019, generating a loss of around 100 million euros.
Prince: Production marked by controversyPrince made his film debut in Purple Rain in 1984, to great acclaim, but his second film role was a disaster that ruined his potential acting career. He directed and starred in Under the Cherry Moon, which was marred by controversy when he fired director Mary Lambert during filming to take over the project himself. Madonna turned down the lead role, which went to Kristin Scott Thomas, while Terence Stamp left the project weeks after filming began. The final result failed to win over audiences or critics.
Christina Aguilera: Didn't return to the moviesChristina Aguilera starred in her first film in 2010. In the musical Burlesque, the singer plays a girl full of dreams who moves to New York and ends up in a music club run by Cher. The New York Times critic noted that Aguilera spends “much of the film singing and dancing,” so she “doesn’t have much time to embarrass herself.” The artist has not returned to the movies.
Michael Jackson: Three failed attemptsThe King of Pop made his film debut as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz in 1978, but neither critics nor audiences were impressed with his performance. Ten years later, he released the documentary Moonwalker, which was a huge sales success on VHS, but was never released in US cinemas. Michael Jackson would try his luck in cinema again with Ghosts, in 1996, directed by Stephen King, and shown at the Cannes Film Festival. However, not even the five roles he played in the film earned him any recognition as an actor.
Mariah Carey: "The worst performance by a pop star"A New York Daily News review described Mariah Carey's performance in Glitter as "the worst performance by a pop star since Madonna's Shanghai Surprise". The singer blamed the film's failure on its release date: "It doesn't matter if it was the best work of my life, anything that came out the week of 9/11 was never going to work."
Harry Styles: "It sinks the film around him"In 2017, former One Direction member Harry Styles not only made his solo debut as a singer, but also landed a small role as a soldier in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed film Dunkirk. His music career has been a huge success, but the same cannot be said for his subsequent film roles. The artist has appeared in Eternals, Don't Worry, Darling and My Policeman, and The Guardian questioned the musician's casting in the latter's lead role: "He's drowning, and that sinks the film around him."
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