5 reality TV stars who tried to make it as singers
In news we didn't anticipate in any way, shape or form, Megan McKenna has knocked Taylor Swift off of the top of the iTunes chart with her singles High Heeled Shoes and Far Cry From Love.
Nope, your eyes do not deceive you. We really typed that sentence. It really happened.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. Prior to her stints on Ex On The Beach, Celebrity Big Brother and TOWIE, Megan dreamed of being a country singer and auditioned for Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor. Her most recent reality TV jaunt involved the Essex native trying out her tunes in Nashville and, well, it seems as if all her dream-chasing paid off...
TOWIE's Megan McKenna is set to sign a huge record deal
The only way is country music, apparently.
But if you thought reality stars trying out their luck in the music biz is a rarity, you'd be wrong. Where Megan has gone, countless others have gone before her. From Kim Kardashian to Joey Essex, here are some reality TV aficionados who have (successfully and unsuccessfully) made the leap...
Kim Kardashian
What: Jam (Turn It Up)
When: March 2011
Why: We have songwriter and producer, The-Dream (the man partly responsible for Rihanna's Umbrella and Beyoncé's Single Ladies), to thank for this one. He contacted Kim K way back in 2K10 and proposed they work together on something fun. You know who else thought it would be a good idea? Kanye.
"[The-Dream and Kanye] gave me good advice," Kim told TRL in 2011. "They asked me what I do for fun, and I said, 'I go shopping, I hang out with friends.' And was told, 'We go to the studio for fun. Come have fun with us. Don't think too much about it.'"
Fast forward three years and Kim K has some big regrets about her foray into pop music...
"If there’s one thing in life that I wish I didn’t do... I don’t like it when people kind of dabble into things they shouldn’t be." Kim told Andy Cohen. "And that I don’t think I should have. Like, what gave me the right to think I could be a singer? Like, I don’t have a good voice.”
Paris Hilton
What: Stars Are Blind
When: June 2006
Why: Capitalising on her fame in the early aughts, when The Simple Life was all the rage and diamante flip phones were a big deal, Paris turned her hand to singing and basically hasn't stopped since. Co-produced by Fernando Garibay (Lady Gaga's co-collaborator), Stars Are Blind hit No.18 in the US charts and received an impressive 563,000 downloads. Not bad, Hilton.
Speaking to Billboard in 2013, Paris seemed pretty chuffed with her efforts: "Shooting the music video was so much fun, and I had the best time doing it, and was so proud when it came out and everyone loved it so much."
It's catchy, we'll give her that.
Joey Essex
What: Reem
When: sometime in 2011
Why: Why not? Teaming up with girl band Miss Millionaire, the club bop features Joey not-quite-talking, sort-of-singing the lyrics 'I wanna look reem, smell reem, be reem, reem'.
Despite Reem not being all that successful, Joey told the Daily Mirror in 2014 that he still reckons he could break the music industry: "I’m gonna learn to play guitar. I reckon I could be a pop star. I can’t really sing but to be a pop star all you have to do is stand there and play guitar, then talk over it."
Heidi Pratt
What: Higher
When: February 2008
Why: Fans of The Hills will be familiar with Speidi - a couple comprising of Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag (for those of you who didn't dedicate your teen years to watching a wealthy group of Cali teens live the dream in Hollywood while you sat on the couch eating coco pops out of a mug) - and Heidi's brief flirtation with a solo career.
Despite shelling out millions, Heidi's time in the music biz wasn't a total success: "I spent $2 million on my music career, and it didn’t happen for me," the reality star told RadarOnline.
Jess Wright
What: Dance All Night
When: September 2012
Why: Much like Megan, Jess harboured a desire to be a pop star long before she appeared on The Only Way Is Essex and even formed a girl band, named Lola, in 2010 with none other than... Megan! Yep, the TOWIE stars sang together before they found fame on the reality show.
Peaking at No.36 on the UK Singles Chart, Jess' Dance All Night was commendable and she's since released two other songs: Dominoes and Come With Me. Speaking to the Mirror in 2016, Jess said that a duet with her former co-star, James Argent, wasn't totally off the cards: "We have always loved a little sing song together. Maybe the next time we're down the pub we'll do a bit of karaoke!"
Sounds like a collab in the making, guys.
