Inside Taylor Momsen's Surprising Connection To Heidi Montag
It's safe to say that Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl and The Pretty Reckless fame and The Hills star Heidi Montag aren't two people you'd usually associate with one another. However, as it turns out, Momsen and Montag's careers overlap in a surprising — and actually pretty hilarious — way.
Gossip Girl fans will be well aware of Momsen's departure during Season 4 of the hit show. As she explained to the Daily Beast, "I started modeling at 2, and then acting at 3, and then Gossip Girl when I was 12, so I wasn't really making my own decisions." She continued, "When I got to a place where I realized I was in control of my own life, and had found the right band, and everything was coming to fruition, it wasn't even a question: I was going to quit my day job."
Montag also pursued a music career outside of her so-called "day job" of starring on the reality show The Hills. Her debut album, Superficial, which was released in 2010, failed to make a positive impact on the charts. However, since then, Montag's music has found an underground following, and Life & Style even called the record "the most underrated album of all time."
Join us as we explore the surprising connection between rocker Taylor Momsen and pop goddess Heidi Montag.
Taylor Momsen wrote one of Heidi Montag's songs at a very young age
During an interview with Revolver magazine in 2010 — the same year that Heidi Montag's debut album Superficial was released — Taylor Momsen opened up about being a songwriter. Specifically, Momsen revealed that she'd co-written one of the tracks on Montag's album, and she was less than impressed that the reality star had adopted the song. Momsen told Revolver (via Access), "I wrote a pop song [called 'Blackout' when I was 8] and recorded it with a producer as a demo. Heidi Montag from The Hills just recently sang it and put it out as her single [laughs]."
But Momsen didn't stop there. In fact, the former Gossip Girl star had some pretty scathing words for the reality TV starlet, especially concerning the fact that the track was supposedly penned by a child. "I'm like, 'OK, dude, you're singing an 8-year-old's words, but that's cool,'" Momsen told Revolver. Discussing how "Blackout" ended up on Montag's album, Momsen revealed, "It's so funny because I didn't shop it or anything and I get this call going, 'Did you write a song for Heidi Montag?' and I'm like 'What?”'
Heidi Montag couldn't care less who wrote her favorite song
Speaking to Life & Style in 2018, Heidi Montag revealed that when she first recorded her version of "Blackout" for her album Superficial, she had no idea that the actress responsible for playing Gossip Girl's Jenny Humphrey had written it. "Believe it or not, Taylor Momsen wrote 'Blackout' with Cathy Dennis. But I didn't know that until I cut it," Montag told Life & Style. "Cathy played it for me and it was love at first listen — and I knew I needed to record it."
In fact, Montag was so enamored with the Momsen-penned track that she felt a personal connection to it almost immediately. "It really felt like my anthem for Spencer [Pratt]," the reality star told the publication. "It was just so us, and explained perfectly how I felt about being with him. And the creator of The Hills actually loved it so much that he wanted to play it during our wedding on the show, but the higher-ups at MTV said no."
Despite Momsen's critical comments regarding Montag's decision to release the track, Lauren Conrad's former BFF has zero regrets about adopting the song as her own. "I think 'Blackout' is forever one of my favorite songs," she told Life & Style. Momsen might not like her surprising connection to Montag, but the reality star is far from bothered by any hatred being flung her way. XOXO.