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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