Short but sweet! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the movie musical performers that made an impact despite their relatively short screen time.
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00:00 "You weren't invited." "That's the best kind of party, little girl."
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the movie musical performers
00:10 that made an impact despite their relatively short screen time.
00:13 [Music]
00:21 Number 10. Tina Turner, Tommy. The Who's rock musical is a surreal trip through the aesthetics
00:27 of the mid-70s. Elton John's appearance as an outlandish pinball champion is a delight,
00:38 but it's the brief sequence starring another music icon that's the movie's standout cameo.
00:42 As the aptly named "Acid Queen," Tina Turner enters Tommy to the sound of a lively drumbeat.
00:47 [Music]
00:54 Administering some alternative medicine to the title character,
00:57 she dances across the screen as the increasingly bizarre house of horrors unfolds around her.
01:02 Her quivering, tortured smile acts as the perfect punctuation to the fever dream of a scene.
01:07 [Music]
01:16 Number 9. Aretha Franklin, The Blues Brothers.
01:19 "You're living with me now, and you're not gonna go sliding around with your old white hoodlum
01:24 friends." "But babes, this is Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers."
01:29 There are many legendary cameos in this spirited musical comedy, including blues musicians Ray
01:34 Charles and James Brown, but it's Aretha Franklin's role we're left thinking about the most.
01:39 "You better think about what you're saying. You better think about the consequences of your
01:43 actions." "Oh, shut up, woman."
01:45 "You better think, think, think about what you're trying to do to me, yeah. Think, think, think,
01:50 let your mind go, let yourself be free." Franklin plays the proprietor of a Chicago
01:54 Soul food restaurant, whose husband is a semi-retired guitar player in the Blues Brothers'
01:59 old band. After cutting the brothers down to size, she launches into her hit song "Think"
02:04 and gets the whole restaurant dancing.
02:06 "Now I need you, without each other, ain't nothing you can do, yeah, yeah. Think about
02:14 what you're trying to do to me, to the bottom line, think about it right now."
02:18 It's a barn burner of a number and a truly hilarious scene. All in all, she appears on
02:23 screen for around seven glorious minutes.
02:25 Number 8. Leslie Ann Warren - Victor Victoria
02:29 In this 1982 gender-bending musical comedy, a female singer, played by Julie Andrews,
02:35 pretends to be a man who also happens to be a drag queen.
02:38 "You know, when you took that wig off, I just couldn't believe it. King still doesn't."
02:44 "I'm flattered."
02:45 Leslie Ann Warren's shrill, ditzy, and hilariously vicious Norma Cassidy is a force of nature.
02:51 Her constant misreadings of situations, paired with her insistence that everyone else is out
02:56 of the loop, makes for a classic comedy of errors. Her bawdy musical number "Chicago,
03:01 Illinois" is a highlight of the film.
03:02 "A town so smart, it's spelling starts with C-H-I-C. Chic!"
03:12 If you can steal a scene from Julie Andrews, James Garner, and Robert Preston, you're doing
03:17 something right. It should come as no surprise that she earned an Oscar nomination for her
03:21 efforts.
03:22 "They made Chicago a winner. Chicago is a killer."
03:29 Number 7. Steve Martin, Little Shop of Horrors.
03:33 Even though a major plot point revolves around his character Oren Scrivello,
03:37 Steve Martin isn't actually in Little Shop of Horrors for very long.
03:40 "You're quite the little chatterbox tonight, ain't ya?"
03:43 "Oh, sorry."
03:43 "Sorry what?"
03:44 "Sorry, doctor. Doctor. Sorry, doctor."
03:47 "You gotta train 'em, huh, Stu?"
03:50 Scrivello is a heightened parody of the bad boy archetype.
03:53 He's a sleazy, sadistic Elvis wannabe whose entire ethos is abuse,
03:58 and whose career as a dentist is just a disguise for his desire to inflict pain.
04:02 "Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood, and teaching would suit you still less.
04:08 Sound be a dentist, you'll be a success."
04:13 Although it's not much of a disguise, Martin creates a character who's just begging to be
04:17 fed to a carnivorous plant from outer space.
04:20 "He's so nasty, treatin' her rough. Smackin' her around and always talkin' so tough.
04:24 You need blood and he's got more than enough."
04:26 Just as iconic was Bill Murray's brief cameo as Orin's pain-loving patient.
04:31 They're the sadomasochistic comic duo we didn't know we needed.
04:35 Number 6. Fergie (9)
04:38 Despite its stacked cast, including several Oscar-winning performers,
04:49 this 2009 musical adaptation failed to capture the humor or magic of the original stage show.
04:54 But one performer stood tall, delivering what is arguably the movie's best moment.
04:58 "Live today as if it may become your last!"
05:04 Yes, Fergie delivered the goods in an all-too-brief appearance in 9.
05:08 As the pouty and seductive Seregina,
05:11 her heavily choreographed number "Be Italian" is a highlight in an otherwise uninspired movie.
05:22 Nailing the number's chair-based dance moves and showcasing her range as a singer,
05:27 Fergie gave it her all in a committed and memorable performance.
05:30 Number 5. Timothy T. Mitchum and Carol Woods (Across the Universe)
05:35 A Beatles jukebox musical set against the backdrop of Vietnam War-era turmoil,
05:40 Across the Universe is full of unique and often intense arrangements of Beatles songs.
05:45 "Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be."
05:54 The movie itself is polarizing, but even the biggest skeptic can get behind this one.
06:00 One of the most heartbreaking moments is Timothy T. Mitchum and Carol Woods'
06:03 mournful rendition of "Let It Be."
06:05 "Whisper words of wisdom, let it be."
06:12 The performers only appear briefly, but played against Mitchum's character's death in the 1967
06:17 Detroit riots and the funeral of a young soldier, the scene leaves a lasting impact.
06:22 Woods' heartfelt and haunting wailing on the chorus is bone-chilling and raw,
06:26 drawing out the original song's religious and existential themes.
06:40 Number 4. Cher (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)
06:44 "To the woman of this and every hour."
06:47 Arriving just in time, Cher sweeps into this gloriously messy sequel and injects a dose of
06:55 utter fabulousness. The pop icon shows up as Ruby, the mother of Meryl Streep's Donna,
07:01 which is a hilarious and fitting tribute to Cher's timeless look,
07:04 considering the two are only three years apart in age.
07:06 "I wish she was here."
07:08 "She is."
07:12 Her entrance is grand enough, but the twisting of Abba's song about two soldiers in the Mexican
07:17 Revolution to fit her character's backstory makes the whole performance pure camp.
07:32 Like the performer herself, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again isn't afraid to take big swings.
07:36 Number 3. Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters (Annie)
07:41 Coming in near the end of the story to help Carol Burnett's Miss Hannigan swindle a billionaire,
07:54 Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters add some much-needed stakes and pizzazz to Annie's final
07:59 act. Rooster, a man so oily he leaves streaks across the screen, and Lily, a peroxide blonde
08:05 with a voice like a busted horn, are two of the nastiest villains to ever disgrace the stage or
08:10 screen. Curry and Peters bite into these roles with relish. Musical legends in their own right,
08:21 the two really kick things into high gear for their performance of "Easy Street,"
08:25 a lively number they sing alongside Burnett.
08:28 Number 2. Sid Cherise (Singin' in the Rain)
08:36 The extended dance sequence begins as a ballet showcase for star, choreographer,
08:40 and co-director Gene Kelly, but he's nearly knocked silly by the long and elegant legs
08:45 of rising star Sid Cherise. Credited only as "dancer," Cherise was hand-picked by Kelly to
08:50 be his dance partner for the sequence. The two are a match made in heaven. Cherise's
09:03 captivating and elastic movements are every bit as impressive as Kelly's. Some of it is so steamy,
09:09 it's a wonder it got past the infamously harsh censors of the time. Without a word,
09:13 the two have what might be one of the most romantic dance duets in Hollywood.
09:17 And she's not even his leading lady.
09:21 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:33 Rita Moreno (West Side Story)
09:36 The original Anita came back in a new role and killed the movie's biggest number.
09:40 (Ricky Martin - "Somehow, Someday")
09:54 Meatloaf (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
09:56 His song is just as memorable as his violent death.
10:00 (Glenis Johns - "Mary Poppins")
10:11 Glenis Johns, Mary Poppins. Meet Mrs. Banks, mother, activist, and crusher of the patriarchy.
10:17 (Mary Poppins - "We're Clearly Soldiers in Petty Coats")
10:22 Loretta Devine (Dreamgirls)
10:36 This original Broadway cast member stops by to inject some smooth vocals.
10:40 (Loretta Devine - "I Miss You")
10:48 Yacek Coleman (Moulin Rouge)
10:50 Who can forget this gravel-voiced performance of Roxanne?
10:53 (Yacek Coleman - "Roxanne")
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11:19 Number 1. The Nicholas Brothers - Stormy Weather
11:22 Featuring an all-African-American cast, this 1943 musical boasts an impressive
11:27 roster of stars, and songs by some of the era's best composers.
11:31 (Fred Astaire - "The Greatest Movie Musical")
11:39 It also features what Fred Astaire called the, quote, "greatest movie musical number
11:43 he had ever seen." Performed by Cab Calloway and his orchestra, Jump and Jive is a delightfully
11:49 upbeat number with a show-stopping dance segment performed by the Nicholas Brothers.
11:53 (Fred Astaire - "The Greatest Movie Musical")
12:06 In their precise, technically ambitious, and absolutely thrilling routine,
12:10 the brothers keep turning up the dial. And just when you think they've shown us everything,
12:15 we get the piece de resistance.
12:16 (Fred Astaire - "The Greatest Movie Musical")
12:31 The two begin leaping down a huge staircase, over each other's heads, landing in a split each time.
12:37 It's a feat of rhythm, timing, and acrobatics that's breathtaking to watch.
12:42 What movie musical performance was all too brief for you? Tell us in the comments.
12:46 (Fred Astaire - "The Greatest Movie Musical")
12:58 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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