Today marks the release of Gossip Girl alum Leighton Meester's long-awaited debut album. Arriving several years after her foray into glittery electro-pop (featuring a less cringeworthy Robin Thicke) failed to ignite the charts, Heartstrings is a lush - albeit brief - revelation. The sequel to Amanda Leigh that Mandy Moore is unlikely to ever give us, marital bliss be damned, Heartstrings is chock full of tightly crafted songs that are sure to be day-trip-to-the-beach staples next summer, well worth the scrapped collaborations and recalibrations and proof of Meester's artistic versatility.
Meester is far from the first, or last, screen actor to flex her vocal muscles and venture into the Billboard jungle. But she does stand among the smaller group of those who stand a chance of coming out the other side in one piece - critically, at the very least. Under the cut, we revisit several actors before Leighton who tried to have it all, to varying degrees of success/embarrassment.
Milla (Jovovich), The Divine Comedy (1994)
Before there was Heartstrings, there was The Divine Comedy. A passion project years in the making, Milla (as she was solely billed for her first and only foray into music) funneled a variety of inspirations into this peculiar, dreamy record. Citing such influences as Kate Bush and the Cocteau Twins, Jovovich fought against being kept in the box when recording the album, which ultimately went on to be comprised mostly of poems she had written at the age of 15 and set to such instruments as the dulcimer and mandolin. Though ultimately a commercial disappointment, critics raved about The Divine Comedy, with one calling it one of the nineties best kept musical curiosities. Unfortunately, plans for a second album were never fully realized.
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Scarlett Johansson, Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008)
It should have come as no surprise when in 2008 screen bombshell Scarlett Johansson announced plans to release her debut album - she had, after all, auditioned for a West End revival of The Sound of Music in 2005, and performed with The Jesus and Mary Chain at the 2007 Coachella Music Festival. But who would have expected Anywhere I Lay My Head to consist entirely of sleepy, creepy Tom Waits covers (with the exception of one original, “Song for Jo”), with background vocals by David Bowie and production from David Sitek? Critics were mixed, drawing comparisons to Warhol muse Nico with varying degrees of positivity. ScarJo’s singing bug would not be cured, however, and in 2012 she lent her vocals to the soundtrack of documentary Chasing Ice, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in the process.
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Bruce Willis, The Return of Bruno (1987)
The Die Hard star’s debut album was released as an accompanying soundtrack to an HBO mockumentary of the same name, and features a strange collection of R&B tracks supported by an impressive cast of backing musicians (among them Ruth Pointer and The Temptations). The album - sung by Willis as his alter ego, legendary blues singer Bruno Randolini, - peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200, with first single “Respect Yourself” hitting #5 on the Hot 100. You can’t make this shit up.
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Rock Hudson, Rock, Gently: Rock Hudson Sings the Songs of Rod McKuen (1970)
By the 1970s, O.G. Hollywood beefcake Rock Hudson had seen a significant decline to his star in Hollywood - no longer the young, All-American hunk of such classics as Pillow Talk and All That Heaven Allows, these days Hudson was more B-movie fare. He tapped good friend and poet Rod McKuen to write him some songs, and from the 30 recorded they whittled their sessions into the 14-track Rock, Gently. It’s an interesting body of work, folksy and at times melancholic, with Hudson’s voice surprisingly suited to the compositions. A rare one, as well - there’s no sign of any sort of re-issue beyond the initial vinyl pressing, though those curious can hear the album in full via YouTube.
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Fran Drescher, Eye For An Eye (Single, 2009)
Not an LP, but I felt this bared inclusion simply because... listen to Fran Fine! Arguably the most grating voice in primetime television history is nowhere to be found on this quietly powerful track, released on iTunes to little fanfare in 2009. Fran's voice is at times smokey, at times thick as molasses... and, wait, I lied, it gets a little extra near the end there. Nonetheless, an unexpected gem from the flashy girl from Flushing.
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Stephen Collins, Stephen Collins (2003)
Released at the height of 7th Heaven’s success, TV’s once most upstanding father figure’s self-titled debut is as schlocky a blend of doo-wop and ballads as one can bear to fathom. From the MS Paint cover art to bone chilling covers of such standards as “Fools Rush In,” I’m almost sorry to inform you this ever happened.
sources: youtube and my wealth of ultimately useless trivia
NOTE: i know there are tons of others i could have listed, but i a) got lazy and b) figured it'd encourage more comments if i didn't list everything/allowed the stans to finally freak out over that classical album rdj made, etc. feel free to talk about your favorite tracks on heartstrings, too!
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