Top 10 Movie Singers VS the Real Thing
Are we seeing and hearing double? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at performers who embodied famous singers on screen and comparing them to their real-life counterparts.
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00:00♪ Well, you may go to college, you may go to school ♪
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at performers
00:08who embodied famous singers on screen
00:11and comparing them to their real-life counterparts.
00:14♪ We'll keep on turning, we'll never keep on burning ♪
00:20Number 10, O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube,
00:24straight out of Compton.
00:25This 2015 biopic covering the formation and dissolution
00:29of the hip-hop group N.W.A.
00:31got a lot of authenticity points for its casting.
00:34You're kind of being a hoe right now, Eric.
00:36O'Shea Jackson Jr. portrayed founding member Ice Cube.
00:40In a way, Jackson had his entire life
00:42to do research for his role.
00:44The real Ice Cube is his father.
00:46♪ When I'm called on, I got a sword on ♪
00:49♪ Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled on ♪
00:51Critics singled out Jackson's performance
00:53for its intensity and faithfulness
00:55to his father's persona onstage and off.
00:58Jerry, you know I don't know
00:59what none of this legal shit mean.
01:01All right, none of us do.
01:03We're gonna need a lawyer before we sign anything.
01:05Everybody else has already signed.
01:09I thought you knew this.
01:10In performance, it's easy to see the resemblance.
01:13From the way he holds the mic
01:14to the way he looms over every audience he performs for,
01:17he studied his father well.
01:19♪ I still can't swallow bread and water ♪
01:22Number nine, Taron Edgerton as Elton John, Rocketman.
01:27As the piano-playing singer and musician
01:29who was known for extravagant costumes and timeless hits,
01:32Taron Edgerton had a big pair of shoes
01:35and pink sunglasses to fill.
01:38Elton.
01:41Elton what?
01:44♪♪
01:51John.
01:53This highly stylized musical bio-pic
01:56recreate some of Elton John's biggest hits and greatest moments. Even when perched at his piano,
02:02the real man is a force of nature. Though we're not sure the real Elton John ever defied gravity,
02:12Edgerton nails John's incredibly animated style of performance. The fact that the actor performed
02:17all the songs himself, mimicking John's phrasing and forceful way of singing,
02:21just makes it even more impressive.
02:318. Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash
02:34Walk the Line
02:35Longtime film critic and Johnny Cash fan Roger Ebert wrote in his review of this Oscar-winning
02:41biopic that Joaquin Phoenix must have been lip-syncing to the original tracks.
02:52He was shocked when the credits came up and he found out the actor was providing the voice
02:56himself. Capturing Johnny Cash's voice might not be nearly as hard as embodying his trademark
03:02brooding persona. On stage, Phoenix deftly recreates Cash's tics, like the way his mouth
03:11hangs open, or that lip-curling smile, or the way he would turn his head upward at the end of a
03:16lyric. These all seem like little things, but they all come together to resurrect the man himself.
03:287. Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla Perez
03:33Selena. Overseen by the late Tejano music star's family, this loving and
03:37heartbreaking biopic is as in love with its subject as her millions of fans were.
03:46If there's one word that describes the real Selena's stage presence, it's effervescent.
03:57Jennifer Lopez makes sure to always show us her joy at being on stage,
04:02performing for the people. The movie includes faithful recreations of key live performances.
04:07Lopez smiles, twirls, and pours her heart out against Selena's unmistakable vocals on the
04:13soundtrack. While true fans will never forget the difference, the movie and its star create an
04:22almost hauntingly accurate tribute to her infectious energy and unmatched charisma.
04:346. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury
04:37Bohemian Rhapsody. Wiry, cheeky, and sprightly,
04:41the Queen frontman had loads of charm and a fierce command of the stage to back up his
04:46insanely good voice. Bohemian Rhapsody's climax is a heart-stopping restaging of Queen's legendary
04:58appearance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Oscar winner Rami Malek must command the screen for
05:04almost 20 minutes, the length of the real set, and never once break the illusion.
05:16His look as Freddie Mercury isn't as convincing to the naked eye. It's the gravitas he brings
05:21that sells the performance. Just as Mercury's working the Live Aid crowd,
05:26Malek is working the viewer. It's a dizzying and uncanny experience.
05:345. Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison – The Doors
05:42Director Oliver Stone's biopic is a wild and psychedelic ride through the coolest spaces of
05:48the 1960s. Reviews about the movie were pretty mixed. Star Val Kilmer's transformation
06:04into the effortlessly cool frontman of the title band was widely praised though.
06:08The Doors' legions of fans were entranced by Morrison's poetry and magnetism.
06:20Kilmer matches the real artist's intense passion, somewhat vacant stare, and ethereal connection to
06:25the audience. He caresses his mic like a lover's face. He sways like a man constantly under the
06:31influence. The events of the film have been disputed by people who were there,
06:34but Kilmer's performance is dazzling.
06:414. Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf – La Vie en Rose
06:46This biopic follows a singer who underwent massive physical transformations that changed
06:50the way they performed. Edith Piaf, the French chanteuse, was known for her slight
07:00frame and her big voice. When she donned the distinctive makeup, French actress Marion
07:11Cotillard was already astonishingly close to the woman she was playing. However, Piaf's expressive
07:17and melodramatic style of performance was another thing altogether. But that wasn't a problem.
07:27Cotillard won an Oscar for the way she brilliantly echoed Piaf's desperation
07:31and grand gestures. She nailed her powerful stances, standing proudly in place,
07:37hands dug into her hips as she plows through one tragic French ballad after another.
07:493. Austin Butler as Elvis Presley – Elvis
07:53Few artists have been as imitated as the King himself.
07:58It would be easy for the actor playing him to rely on cliches. The growl of a voice,
08:06the hip swinging, and the famous thank you very much are the old faithfuls for any Elvis
08:11impersonator. But Austin Butler is no impersonator. He's a chameleon. Infusing all the Presley tropes
08:17with new life, he doesn't just make us understand what made Elvis so exciting.
08:28He reinvents him for the 21st century audience. From his younger and more vivacious days to his
08:33later life, where just getting through a show is a struggle, Butler isn't mimicking Presley.
08:39He's channeling him.
08:442. Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles – Ray
08:48Famed music writer Robert Christgau called Jamie Foxx's Academy Award-winning performance in Ray
08:54an impossible feat. In the 2004 biopic Ray, Foxx was given permission to get so unbelievably close
09:04to the real man on screen by the genius of soul himself. Foxx specifically replicated the
09:13distinctive way he walked and talked, but it's the particular way his version of Ray Charles
09:18performs that stands out. He copied exactly how the soul singer and pianist's hands looked as
09:23they pounded the keys, and the way he rocked side-to-side in time to the music.
09:35Foxx's impression was so credible, Kanye West featured him on the track
09:39Gold Digger, which also features a Ray Charles sample and interpolation by Foxx.
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10:061. Angela Bassett as Tina Turner – What's Love Got To Do With It?
10:11Despite dealing mostly with her tumultuous marriage to Ike Turner,
10:15What's Love Got To Do With It is really a testament to Tina Turner's survival and inner strength.
10:27Few artists looked as powerful, as beautiful, and as in control on stage as Turner.
10:33She seamlessly blended rock and R&B vocals with spectacular choreography,
10:38something that feels commonplace now.
10:46Angela Bassett is a revelation as Tina Turner. She moves with all the assurance and strength
10:51of a seasoned rock star. The three-minute montage of her performing Ike and Tina's
10:56signature song, Proud Mary, is almost as electrifying as any performance from Tina herself.
11:02What's your favorite music biopic performance? Let us know in the comments.
11:06Clang, clang, clang went the trolley. Ding, ding, ding went the bell.
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