Christina Aguilera in the film Burlesque
This week, Burlesque is to be released and it stars Christina Aguilera in her debut film role. She stars alongside fellow music to movie crossover star Cher.We thought it would be the best time now to go through the top music to movie crossover stars.
First on the list would have to be Mr Will Smith, who started out life as one half of pop rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. He then starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air which was a huge hit and has since become popular through re-runs on numerous TV channels. It wasn't until Michael Bay's Bad Boys and then Independence Day that Will Smith really found his feet in the movie industry, since then he's been the first actor to star in 8 consecutive number one films and 8 consecutive films to break $100 million. The last album he brought out was in 2005, but he's mainly focussed on films at the moment with the third Men In Black due for 2012.
Mark Wahlberg went down a similar route as rapper Marky Mark in Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (amazing name). Since then, he's appeared in Max Payne, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm and is currently promoting his new film The Fighter, which was nominated for a number of Golden Globes and looks likely to get more nominations come Oscar season.
Those two are the two who are most famous now for their film roles rather than their music. Jennifer Lopez is one woman who has managed to crossover both and is equally famous for both her acting and her singing. She started out life as a backing dancer before moving into films such as Out of Sight and Maid In Manhattan. Recently, she signed a new record deal with Def Jam and in June it was reported that she was in talks to appear as a judge on American Idol.
There's two men who have had much more successful careers as musicians but are also fairly well respected as actors, those are Frank Sinatra and Justin Timberlake. Frank Sinatra worked as a singer and actor, he is maybe most famously connected with The Rat Pack, a group of singers who were around at the same time playing shows. He is considered one of the greatest singers ever, but has also bagged himself a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for From Here To Eternity and a Best Actor nomination for The Man With The Golden Arm.
Timberlake has only recently started to make his move into films but is impressing people quickly, especially with his turn in The Social Network as Napster founder Sean Parker. He started out in boy band N-Sync and then made his way onto a solo career with huge success. His first big film was Alpha Dog, and since then he's voiced two Shrek films and will provide the voice of Boo-Boo in Yogi Bear, alongside a number of other films. However, it's with his part in The Social Network that he most impressed and will get plenty of work from that.
Those are the top five crossover stars but the list does go on. Eminem has appeared in 8 Mile and is set to star in boxing film Southpaw. 50 Cent has appeared in a number of films, along with other rappers including Ice Cube, Mos Def, LL Cool J and Ludacris.
Female pop stars have popped in and out of films as though at will and with very little success for the most part. Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Sarah Harding, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Queen Latifah.
It remains to be seen whether Christina Aguilera has the acting skills to her name, but the female pop star doesn't have the best track record, so she has her work cut out to prove anyone wrong.
FemaleFirst - James Butlin
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