Actors With Embarrassing Music Careers
Plenty of actors are multi-talented performers with the skills to move from the screen to the recording studio in pursuit of a music career. Will Smith, the Fresh Prince himself, easily plays both sides of the industry — as does Miley Cyrus, who found fame thanks to her own Disney show before she dared to unleash her wild wrecking-ball-riding side as a pop star. Juliette Lewis, Hilary Duff, and Anna Kendrick are all actresses who have earned their fair share of music-loving fans, as have actors Kevin Bacon, John Stamos, and even Russell Crowe.
However, not all TV and movie stars have been successful when it comes to testing out their singing skills. In fact, some have ended up releasing music that was called out for being "bizarre" and even "mortifying." Eek! From a former fictional lifeguard that probably should have stuck to the beach to an iconic figure who played a space-based explorer but apparently has no singing ability in real life, check out these actors with embarrassing music careers. While we applaud those on this list for putting themselves out there, just try not to cringe when you hear the kind of unexpected, unimpressive, and downright unpopular music they've released over the years.
David Hasselhoff sang about a cartoon penguin
You know what they say: Don't hassle the Hoff! And that certainly applies to David Hasselhoff's music career. With 14 albums to his name and a rather devoted German fanbase, the former Baywatch star may not have won any Grammys for his tunes, but he hasn't let the lack of acclaim in the United States stop him from creating the kind of songs that keep him rockin'. "Whether he's taken seriously or not, Hasselhoff ... sings karaoke with a grubby Sunset Strip rock band like he's changing the world," according to The Guardian.
If you're keenly interested (or morbidly curious) about what that sounds like, then be sure to check out 1985's Night Rocker, which has a Knight Rider-like vibe, or 2015's "True Survivor," which was the lead track for the Swedish short film Kung Fury and came along with what Billboard called a "bonkers" music video. You also can't miss his 2004 album, The Night Before Christmas, because who doesn't want to hear Hasselholf croon the holiday classics?
But even those songs can't compare to 1993's "Pingu Dance," which was based on the popular penguin-populated children's show. "Okay, everybody, this is the Pingu prance / I want everybody up to do the Pingu dance," Hasselhoff says before launching into the song. "My name is Pingu, come on, dance to the beat / It's easy if you try, just watch my feet ... Pi Pi Pi Pi, Pi Pi Pi Pi, Pingu!" Sing it, Hoff!
Tom Hardy was a rapper
Tom Hardy seems to have a knack for being whoever and whatever he wants to be when the cameras are rolling. The respected actor has played everything from the clone of a Star Trek captain to Mad Max navigating Fury Road. But he wasn't as successful when it came to transforming himself into a rapper.
"I started out rapping when I was 14 or 15. Because I come from a nice middle-class neighborhood, it was a very hard sell," Hardy told the BBC back in 2011. Despite the difficulties, he managed to land himself a recording deal: "I used to be with the guy who managed Leela James and Lauryn Hill, Pras, the Fugees and all that ... I've recorded loads of stuff but it's never been released."
Thankfully, the internet provides for us when record labels fail to come through. A mixtape titled Falling On Your Arse In 1999 found its way onto Bandcamp (via Reddit) — however, it was sadly taken down (or replaced). The tracks apparently listed Hardy as Tommy No. 1, which sounds like a character that the actor could surely nail onscreen. The star made his music with Eddie Too Tall, who told Complex in 2018 that the two "made the album in [his] bedroom with no mixer or any kit other than an Atari ST running an AKAI sampler and two Technic 1200 decks." Oh, to hear Bane throw down a few lines in that "controversial" but oh-so-memorable voice.
Lindsay Lohan failed to release an 'iconic song'
Miley Cyrus may be one star who went from Disney fame to being a Grammy-nominated singer, but it doesn't look like Lindsay Lohan will be following in her footsteps. Although Lohan got an early start in the business and tried to cross over into music with songs like 2005's "Confessions of a Broken Heart" and "Drama Queen," she never reached the kind of success for which she was surely aiming.
"Why did we forget about Lohan's music? Perhaps she didn't have one iconic song to remember her by," USA Today explains, and it didn't take long for things to nosedive as her "musical career started going sideways after her second album."
But that didn't stop Lohan from dropping "XANAX" in 2019, a song that she only shared via Instagram, if you're wondering how you missed it. "As a piece of art, 'Xanax' feels at war with itself," according to Rolling Stone. "The song is built around a slowed-down sample of Alice Deejay's 1998 song, 'Better Off Alone,' retrofitted to seem like a Swedish House Mafia-type beat." Adding that the tune features "a cacophony of cheesy synths and finger snaps that battle against dark and muted lyrics," the overall opinion is that it's "a full-on fever dream." Or perhaps even a nightmare.
Bruce Willis embraced an alter ego to release music
Thanks to his action hero status, Die Hard star Bruce Willis can seemingly do no wrong. But that's not quite true. Take his attempt at a music career, for example. Back in 1987, Willis released an R&B covers album titled The Return of Bruno. The collection gave us tunes like "Devil Woman," which features the actor ripping away on a harmonica before singing about landing in jail and being given "two clear vials" by a mysterious woman, before being told, "Now, son, they make you fly." Oh my! Or pop on "Respect Yourself" and inevitably be left asking if the actor-turned-whatever-the-heck-this-is does indeed have any respect for himself.
Thankfully for the star, HuffPost notes, "As a society, we love Bruce Willis ... which is why, as a society, we have conveniently forgotten Willis' foray into the recording industry." Although, to be fair, it wasn't really Willis performing, "It was his alter ego, a blues singer named Bruno Radolini."
While it would be understandable if Willis wanted to forget about his past foray into a failed music career, Vulture reported that it's actually "an aspect of his career that Willis himself parodied in his first [Saturay Night Live] appearance." At least Willis can laugh at his own attempt at becoming a blues singer. He certainly seems to take it less seriously than others on this list (*cough Eddie Murphy cough*).
Eddie Murphy's music career involved a collaboration with Snoop Lion
For someone who's known as a comedic actor, Eddie Murphy takes his good-times-boasting music career pretty darn seriously. Hitting the scene back in the '80s with songs like "Party All the Time" — which was written and produced by (the controversial) Rick James – and "Put Your Mouth On Me," the actor has made some drastic pivots over the years when it comes to his unexpected sound. "Country, heartland, reefer anthems, and music that 'sounds like you'd play it at a strip club' — there's nothing Eddie can't do," The Guardian noted, while outlining Murphy's "bizarre music career." That was in 2013, when the actor released a reggae song, "Red Light," with Snoop Dogg (who was going by Snoop Lion at the time).
Murphy talked to Rolling Stone about the collaboration, saying, "Well, I loved Snoop from ever since and when he turned into Snoop Lion, I was checking to see how he was coming." Explaining that he "tracked that song around the same time" that he heard about Snoop's new identity, the comedian continued by saying that the iconic performer could simply "jump on this track" since he "wanted to have a rapper on it." Murphy claimed, "It was like just meant to be."
However, according to one YouTube commenter, "The most impressive thing about it: Eddie Murphy is not all the members of the band." It may indeed have been more noteworthy had it been made Klumps-style.
Mark Wahlberg gave listeners good vibrations but not the best music
Before he was Mark Wahlberg, the famous actor who's appeared in popular films like Boogie Nights and Ted, he was Marky Mark of the Funky Bunch. The group — which also consisted of Scott Ross (Scottie Gee), Hector Barros (Hector the Booty Inspector), Terry Yancey (DJ-T), and Anthony Thomas (Ashey Ace) — hit the scene in the early '90s and brought the world "Good Vibrations" while also sharing their "Wildside" with fans. While Wahlberg was kind of following in his brother's footsteps, a.k.a. Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids on the Block, the younger sibling was certainly doing his own thing with his hip hop-ish vibe and shirtless style.
While Mark (or should we say Marky Mark) could understandably be embarrassed about his past music career, he told Entertainment Tonight in 2018 that he would be willing to revive it if Drake, Post Malone, Justin Bieber, Nas, or Jay-Z were willing to work with him. While we don't know if they'd be on board, the actor revealed to NME a year earlier that he was "working on some other things" with DJ Khaled. Although it turns that they might be more focused on working out and making movies than teaming up for new music.
Alyssa Milano refused to release her music in the U.S.
Alyssa Milano was once one of America's sweethearts thanks to the fact that she starred as the young Samantha Micelli on Who's the Boss during the '80s. However, what you might not have been aware of is the fact that, at the same time, she was also adored by fans in another part of the world for a very different reason: she was a pop star in Japan.
As a teenager, Milano signed a four-album contract with a Japanese record label and each of the albums were so popular that they all went platinum, according to the Los Angeles Times. With that kind of success, you may wonder why U.S. audiences were largely unaware of her songs. It turns out the decision to keep her music away from American fans was a choice that the actress-singer deliberately made herself.
"A lot of actors who release albums here are laughed at," Milano told the publication in 1991. "I'm not interested in crossing over. I'd much rather have it released where it's appreciated than laughed at." Frankly, she may have a point. Just watch Milano's music videos for "What a Feeling" and "Look In My Heart," which are undeniably adorable though kind of cringe-worthy all at once.
Steven Seagal 'lived out his Guitar Hero ambition'
"Any great warrior is also a scholar, and a poet, and an artist," Steven Seagal once said, according to Loud and Quiet, which is apparently why the movie star, who's known for roles in action-packed films like Under Siege, On Deadly Ground, and Exit Wounds, is also a musician. In fact, he may consider himself to be more of a music man than an actor if his heart has anything to say about it. "I've been a musician since childhood, and music is my first love," he claimed.
Indeed, The Guardian acknowledged the actor's "lifelong love of the blues," while describing his live performance, which includes a "goateed Seagal [going] about his business with the same air of unhurried detachment as does his enduring screen persona." However, that's where any association to Seagal's onscreen vibe ends, as there is apparently "nothing Hasselhoffian about his performance, no winks at his day job or crowd-pleasing quotes from Fire Down Below."
While Seagal's music may not bring him the same kind of fanfare that his movies kick up, Loud and Quiet notes that "with the two albums under his 7th-dan Aikido black belt — the awful Songs from the Crystal Cave and passable Mojo Priest — Seagal lived out his Guitar Hero ambition." From action-movie hero to Guitar Hero may not be what we expected from Seagal, but we doubt anyone is brave enough to say anything rude about his music to his face.
Don Johnson 'hardly' had a pop music career
Back in the '80s, Don Johnson was at the peak of his career thanks to Miami Vice, which may be why he thought it would be a good idea to release music. In 1986, Rolling Stone wrote about the actor's debut album, stating: "Yes, you heard that right: Don Johnson has made a record. Already you're thinking: Spare us, sweet Jesus. Not another TV-star pop move. Not another David-f**king-Hasselhoff, or some hideous New Age Jim Nabors."
With that kind of, er, support coming his way, Johnson released "Heartbeat." It came along with a video that features the star giving off a very James Crockett vibe, as he sings, "I don't care what you say / You can give it away / Your money don't mean much to me ... I've been standing by the fire / but I just can't feel the heat." You know what they say: If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Or, in this case, if you can't feel the heat, maybe get out of the recording studio.
While the Los Angeles Times was willing to admit that "Johnson has solid pitch and acceptable control," that wasn't exactly a rave review. The star himself told Vulture that it when it came to his time in the music side of the industry, it was "hardly a pop career." Instead, Johnson said, "It was a passion that I was able to realize, let's put it that way."
Leonard Nimoy gave the world 'highly illogical' covers
The late Leonard Nimoy was famous for playing the highly logical character Spock on Star Trek, however, even he attempted a music career that was arguably "highly illogical." According to The New York Times, the actor released music "to the delight of his fans and the bewilderment of critics." Frankly, although "his speaking voice was among his chief assets as an actor, the critical consensus was that his music was mortifying." Not just embarrassing, but downright mortifying!
Want proof of just how awkward it was? Just consider the fact that Nimoy recorded five albums that included songs like "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" (yes, the hobbit) and "Maiden Wine," which warns "young ladies" to "value your wine" and "be watchful of young men in their velvet prime." Of course, he also took on covers, but steered clear of space-based songs like David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and The Kinks' "Supersonic Rocket Ship" to instead deliver his own versions of Peter, Paul, and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer" and "Put a Little Love In Your Heart" ... which probably should have been left to Annie Lennox and Al Green.
William Shatner: the unfortunate king (or captain?) of spoken word songs
Leonard Nimoy wasn't the only Star Trek actor to attempt to boldly go where they maybe shouldn't have gone when it comes to their creative projects. William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain Kirk, also embarked upon a music career. And, if it can be believed, he may lead the weirdest music career of all these actors, primarily due to the fact that he's "a guy who admits he can't really sing," according to The Star. Instead, he's the star behind a series of super strange spoken-word songs.
Another singer (if we can call him that) who likes to tackle covers, Shatner has done his own whacky versions of Pulp's "Common People," the Beatles' "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds," and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," just to name a few. He also released country music, as well as what Rolling Stone deemed was a "surreal" video for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Despite any criticism that Shatner's music might receive, he's apparently really into his tunes. While talking about the holiday album he released in 2018, Shatner Claus, he admitted to The Star, "I'm scared, I'm frightened, by how good I think the album is." Listeners may have also been scared, but probably not by how good it was.