Buzz
Celebrities, for better or for worse, often venture into the music industry. However, when a celebrity is known for excelling in another field, it can be difficult to picture them in the music scene, and sometimes it's best they remain outside it. Yet, there are a few unexpected gems, though not necessarily for the right reasons.
Whether they began their careers in music before finding success in other areas, or rose to fame and developed an overconfidence in their musical abilities, here are ten celebrities who, to our surprise, released songs.
10. Brie Larson—She Said
Before achieving her film career success, Brie Larson briefly explored the music world. After a series of minor roles in her youth, Larson tried her hand at music and released an album in 2005 titled 'Finally Out Of P.E.'
The album's title perfectly reflects Larson’s musical style—bubbly teen pop, which was quite fitting since she was just sixteen at the time. 'She Said' was the lead single, though it failed to make much of a commercial impact.
Larson grew frustrated with the music industry when her own self-written songs were sidelined in favor of tracks her record label wanted her to perform. Essentially, Larson didn’t want to be shaped into the artist her label envisioned, so she walked away from it all.
9. Macaulay Culkin (The Pizza Underground)—Pizza Gal
The concept behind Macaulay Culkin’s band, 'The Pizza Underground,' is a bizarre parody of the Velvet Underground, and 'Pizza Gal' is just one of the peculiar tracks Culkin has put out.
The Pizza Underground takes many of the Velvet Underground’s classic songs and reinterprets them with pizza-themed humor—yes, you read that correctly. 'Pizza Gal' is a parody of 'Femme Fatale' by the Velvet Underground, musically close to the original, but with pizza-inspired lyrics replacing the original ones.
Culkin described it as 'one of those good ideas you have when you’re drunk and you wake up and forget about it… but we’re taking it to the end of the joke.' There’s a reason these kinds of ideas only pop up after a few drinks—they’re awful.
8. Andy Murray—Autograph
Tennis player Andy Murray teamed up with Novak Djokovic and the Bryan Bros Band to offer a prime example of why celebrities should sometimes stick to their expertise, whatever that may be.
In 2009, this collaboration produced the song 'Autograph.' The track humorously chronicles the struggles Andy Murray faces when signing autographs for his overenthusiastic fans. 'Autograph' is as cringeworthy as it sounds.
Murray attempts to rap in the song, delivering lines like 'during Wimbledon it really gets crazy. My hand cramps up and my mind gets hazy' and 'I sign and sign, but the line doesn’t end. Wake me up tomorrow, let’s do it again.'
We can all agree that Autograph is a disaster, but is it really that bad that fans would actually want an autograph? Maybe stick to tennis after all.
7. Naomi Campbell—Love and Tears
The somewhat notorious model Naomi Campbell ventured into the music scene to expand beyond her modeling career. In 1994, she released an album called Baby Woman, with Love and Tears as its lead single.
Surprisingly, Love and Tears isn't as awful as one might expect from a model-turned-singer, but it still showed that Campbell lacked real potential in music, marking it as her first and final single and album.
The album Baby Woman was met with negative reviews from critics and struggled commercially, finding only modest success in Japan.
6. Frankie Muniz (Kingsfoil)—What Your Mother Taught You
Frankie Muniz, the star of *Malcolm in the Middle*, had a short stint with indie pop band Kingsfoil between 2012 and 2014, where he contributed to their single What Your Mother Taught You.
As a long-time admirer of the band, Muniz auditioned for Kingsfoil, and they gladly welcomed him into the fold. He played drums on their 2012 album *A Beating Heart is a Bleeding Heart*, from which the track What Your Mother Taught You originated. Kingsfoil wasn’t the first group to have Muniz on board; he also performed with the band You Hang Up before joining Kingsfoil.
The song is a classic indie pop song, with a sound reminiscent of Coldplay. Despite this, Muniz left the band in 2014 due to scheduling issues with filming *Hot Bath an’ a Stiff Drink 2*.
5. Steven Seagal—My God
Martial artist and well-known tough guy actor Steven Seagal stepped into the music scene with his debut album *Songs from the Crystal Cave* in 2004, which gave rise to the track My God.
Although Steven Seagal is a fairly skilled guitarist, *My God* shows that with enough fame and fortune, and the ability to land a roundhouse kick to the face, nothing can stop you from putting out music.
My God is a peculiar, dancehall-influenced song that takes aim at the concept of religion in an overly simplistic manner. Seagal tries to add irony to his lyrics with lines like, “Why do you force your will with a gun, let’s start another holy war,” followed by the chorus, “My God is better than your God, My God is bigger than yours.” The result feels more laughable than meaningful, especially coming from Steven Seagal.
Incredibly, Seagal was able to recruit Stevie Wonder to play harmonica on the track, but even the legendary Wonder couldn't save the song.
4. Clint Eastwood—Bar Room Buddies
Bar Room Buddies was recorded by Merle Haggard and Clint Eastwood for the 1980 film *Bronco Billy* (LINK 11). Released as a single the same year, the song became an unexpected success in the country music scene, hitting number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.
Country music legend Merle Haggard carries the quirky duo with his musical prowess, while Eastwood gives it a go with singing but can’t quite shake off his signature gravelly voice. The song narrates the wild, drunken adventures of two bar room buddies engaged in some “Old chug-a-lug-a-lugging.”
Bar Room Buddies is a fun, albeit nonsensical, tune, but it still brings joy, staying on the country charts for a notable thirteen weeks.
3. Bruce Willis—Under The Boardwalk
Before he became John McClane, Bruce Willis adopted the persona of Bruno Randolini — his soul and R&B singing alter ego, who found success in the late 1980s.
In 1987, Bruce Willis released his debut album *The Return of Bruno*, which featured a mock documentary about Willis’ musical alter ego. On the album, Willis, or Bruno, covered *Under the Boardwalk* by the Drifters, which was also released as a single. Supported by backing vocals from the Temptations, the song struggled commercially in the US but somehow climbed to number two on the UK charts.
It's evident from the song that Willis is far more suited to portraying the rugged cop with a heart of gold on screen than he is to singing. *Under the Boardwalk* is undeniably cringe-worthy, with Willis unable to hit those high notes, relying mostly on his impressive group of backing musicians to prop him up.
Willis went on to record another album, *If It Don’t Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger*, in 1989, before ultimately embracing the on-screen Bruce Willis persona we all know and love today.
2. Ricky Gervais (Seona Dancing)—More To Lose
Seona Dancing was a brief new wave duo from the '80s, fronted by none other than comedian and actor Ricky Gervais. The duo was a quintessential example of '80s new wave — featuring big hair, makeup, and a heavy dose of androgyny.
Resembling a second-rate '80s David Bowie, More to Lose showed that music wasn't Ricky Gervais' true calling. The track struggles to break free from the dull clichés of the '80s new wave era, leaving it both forgettable and unforgettable. Though Gervais’ new wave look is striking, it raises the inevitable question: how did we get here?
Seona Dancing dropped a couple of singles in the 1980s that largely flopped before disbanding in 1984. However, More to Lose surprisingly gained traction in the Philippines, enjoying considerable airplay through the decade. Bill Macrae, the other member of the band, never reached the fame of Gervais and disappeared into obscurity after their breakup.
1. Val Kilmer—Frontier Justice
After delivering a convincing portrayal of Jim Morrison in the 1991 film The Doors and learning guitar for Top Secret, Val Kilmer took his musical talents further with the release of Val Kilmer: Sessions With Mick in 2007.
Kilmer joined forces with his friend Mick Rossi to pen a series of tracks for the album. One standout, Frontier Justice, is a haunting blues number where the protagonist recounts the killing of his lover’s lover. Eerie yet well-crafted, Kilmer’s surprisingly solid vocal performance makes the song stand out.
Frontier Justice was initially released on Kilmer’s MySpace music blog before the full album Val Kilmer: Sessions with Mick was independently launched on his personal website.
