We Gleeks are more than satisfied with our fill of Glee now that the fourth season is in full swing. But that doesn't mean we wouldn't love to see even more of our fave cast members. Looks like that's what some top music execs are hoping, too, being that Lea Michele, Naya Rivera, and Amber Riley have all reportedly sealed solo album deals!
Rivera signed with Elton John’s music management company, and she’ll be releasing a sexy dance-pop track titled “My Heart” as her first single, while Riley has an R&B album in the works (no official release date either). And as for Rachel Lea Michele? She broke BIG news via Twitter yesterday, tweeting, "Just had a very exciting music meeting and am proud to announce that im officially on the road to making my first album! I'm so excited!" Aww! So are we! But, hrmm, will the rest of the world be?
What I mean is ... will Lea, Naya, and Amber have a real shot at climbing the charts? Being played on top 40 radio? Going all Carly Rae Jepsen on us? In other words, morphing into legit pop stars? Even though Lea Michele's recipe for solo album success ("songs where girls can just roll down the windows of their car or dance around in their rooms in their underwear, like, 'I hate my ex-boyfriend!' or 'I'm so in love!'") sounds awesome, I'm not so sure.
Maybe it's because they've all become so well known as Glee stars -- Lea, of course, is also known for her Broadway work -- but I worry there's a chance they've pigeonholed themselves. That people may only see them being successful in that context. It's been very hard for TV and stage stars to crossover and be pop stars. You don't have to go that far back to see it doesn't really work very well -- just look at the High School Musical kids or even Miley Cyrus. Not too many hit singles comin' outta that bunch.
Nonetheless, maybe Glee stars all have a secret weapon ... Gleeks. Some of us will download just about any song they're singing! Guess we'll just have to wait and see if that translates to pop stardom.
Are you looking forward to the Glee stars' solo albums? Do you think they'll be able to compete as pop stars?
Image via FOX
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Comments 4
I think the success or failure of each of these artists will boil down to the quality of music released. But please, let's avoid comparing Lea Michele to Miley Cyrus. That, in my book, is pretty much the equivalent of comparing a peacock to a pigeon. The major difference is that Lea Michele can really sing.
And in reality, I think what you're looking at is amazing singers that broke into the TV industry, which is just as hard to do as TV stars breaking into the world of singing. Why? Because it's really rare to find someone who really truly is that "triple threat." Most actors aren't all that great of singers. (Note that I said most, not all.) That's what makes GLEE such a knockout punch- because it combines dancing, singing, and acting. It's like peeking into the world of Broadway while sitting at home. And it's brilliant.
So . . . if we know Lea, Amber, and Naya can sing (we do,) then what will determine whether they make it as pop artists is the song choices, and whether the songs they come out with work for their voices, and have the necessary catchiness to get stuck in people's heads and be played over and over and over. And assuming the songs are worth listening to, I think they'll have the whole "pop star" thing in the bag.
With the right song choices and publicity, yeah, they already have a strong fan base, also, excellent voices.