10 Worst Movie Musical Singers of All Time, Ranked

Musicals have recently seen an extreme boost in popularity, in no small part thanks to the influx of Broadway adaptations and remakes over the last three decades. Usually cast with high-profile celebrities, these new musical films have either brought something refreshing and new to the genre or have been duds in their execution. A large reason for the latter can often be due to questionable singing performances from those in the cast.

Whether it is due to a simple miscasting, a sore lack of the proper vocal range, or just an absence of passion put into it varies, and that’s not to say that their acting is bad. Some musical performances may lack vocal quality, yet still have a passionate performance that comes through. But when their singing is terrible to the point where it affects their overall performance, that’s when it becomes truly unforgivable.

10

Seth Rogen

Pumbaa in ‘The Lion King’ (2019)

In a film that’s otherwise a disservice to the original animated masterpiece, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen’s takes on Timon and Pumbaa are among the highlights of the 2019 version of The Lion King. They strike a good balance between honoring the original while successfully bringing enough of their personal charm to their characters to overcome their ugly, far-too-realistic character designs. But while Eichner manages to do a decent job with Timon’s vocals during “Hakuna Matata,” Rogen’s parts make for a rather terrible singing performance.

Granted, Pumbaa, of all characters, isn’t meant to be an especially strong singer by any means, but even by those standards, Rogen is clearly struggling. Even Ernie Sabella could hold the moderately strong tune when doing the character’s voice. Because of this, a moment that was classically charming becomes almost unbearable to listen to. Thank goodness that the only singing they did in Mufasa was in a brief gag that gets dismissed almost immediately.

9

Ansel Elgort

Tony in ‘West Side Story’ (2021)

Most of the time, the problem with an actor miscast in a musical is their clear talent in their acting, but a lack of adequate vocal range for the role. In the case of Ansel Elgort’s performance in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, the right vocal range is very much present, but the lack of clear passion he puts into the role is evident from the get-go. In many scenes where he sings opposite his co-stars, it’s clear that Mike Faist and Rachel Zegler are doing the heavy lifting.

Some might argue that’s an acting decision, given that this Tony is clearly meant to be a disengaged kid constantly reminded of his rough upbringing compared to the original, more uplifted Tony in the 1961 film. But given that everyone else in the cast seems to perfectly bridge the gap between gritty realism and musical theater stylization, it means he lacks a certain charisma that’s necessary for the romantic lead.

8

Emma Watson

Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (2017)

The 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast has been divisive to say the least, but one of several elements that remains hotly debated by both critics and Disney fans is Emma Watson’s take on Belle. Some consider her to be perfectly cast, with her brainy charm and real-life characteristics working well in the role. But there are many who consider her performance, especially her singing parts, sorely lacking for one of Disney’s best princesses.

Watson’s singing is pretty weak, with the extremely obvious auto-tuning making for a rather pointed distraction during the otherwise well-staged production numbers she performs. On top of that, her delivery lacks the sense of conviction and passion that Paige O’Hara had in the original. While the rest of the cast, including Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, Josh Gad, and Luke Evans, all do a fine job, Watson’s performance is best suited to moments that do not rely on her musical ability.

7

Johnny Depp

The Wolf in ‘Into the Woods’ (2014)

While Johnny Depp may have been able to deliver a passable singing performance as the title character in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, he fell rather flat with his take on the Wolf in Into the Woods. Depp only appears as the wolf in the Red Riding Hood (Lila Crawford) portion in the film’s first act, but it’s still enough to leave a bad taste that lingers as the film goes on.

Though he only sings one song before his eventual off-screen demise, his performance is easily one of the worst parts of the film. Wearing a cartoony zoot suit that clashes with the rest of the film’s medieval aesthetic, his singing is easily the weakest out of the entire cast. On top of that, the creepy subtext of his song, “Hello Little Girl,” a song usually sung to an obviously adult actress, is amplified to extremely inappropriate levels when it’s sung to an actual little girl.

6

Russell Crowe

Javert in ‘Les Misérables’ (2012)

Much has been said about Russell Crowe’s infamous performance in Les Misérables. In this epic, West End masterwork, he plays Javert, a former prison guard turned police inspector with an ironclad sense of right and wrong. If this were a non-musical version of the story, his performance would be a perfect take on the stoic, quietly self-righteous man beginning to realize his methods are far from absolute. Unfortunately, on top of portraying this complex character, he also needed to sing. But the truth is that Crowe is not as bad as many have made him out to be.

At his worst, he’s still keeping in tune and knows how to phrase his melodies. The problem is that, because of his training in folk and rock, his range is far more naturalistic and basic as opposed to the grandiose stylization present in a musical with high emotion like Les Misérables. Because of this, the aesthetic makes Crowe’s vocal struggles all the more obvious, especially when put together with the likes of celebrities with clear Broadway-level skill like Hugh Jackman and Eddie Redmayne.

5

Gerard Butler

The Phantom in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (2004)

When the much-anticipated film version of The Phantom of the Opera entered pre-production, many names were thrown around to play the titular romantic monster. With the likes of Antonio Banderas, Hugh Jackman, and even Matthew McConaughey up for consideration, it certainly covered a wide spectrum of actors. But then, director Joel Schumacher cast Gerard Butler in the role after seeing his performance in Dracula 2000, and the Phantom fandom has been divided ever since.

The Phantom is, by definition, meant to be an amazing vocal teacher, so it makes sense for his own vocal talents to match. But casting Butler, a man with no prior music experience whatsoever, was not exactly the best decision to reflect that. Which is not to say Butler is bad in the role itself. He clearly shows a mixture of monstrous rage and gentle vulnerability. But his voice, which would be more appropriate for a heavy metal soundtrack rather than grand operatic theater, can’t help but sound like he’s struggling to carry the weight of the role on his shoulders.

4

Rebel Wilson

Jennyanydots in ‘Cats’ (2019)

Making Cats, a musical with an extremely minimalistic story and no true lead characters, into a feature film was already a nigh-impossible task. But beyond the film’s lazy attempt to add a sense of structure, poor directorial choices, and the uncanny CGI, there was also the issue of casting. Many like to point to James Corden as the worst performer involved, but that doesn’t mean Rebel Wilson’s performance as Jennyanydots should go unmentioned either.

“The Old Gumbie Cat” song is perhaps the worst song sequence in a musical in recent memory, and that’s not even going into the mice and cockroaches. Instead of being just one of several voices throughout a number heavily dependent on a three-part harmony, she takes over the primary vocals overall, and her choice of singing only one part of the harmony leads to a total disconnect between the orchestrations and her voice. Wilson is a Pitch Perfect alum, so we know she can sing, but this part, which was only aggravated by her infamously bad improvisations, was not the right choice.

3

Nipsey Russell

Tin Man in ‘The Wiz’ (1978)

While the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical The Wiz has some issues, it’s still got unique production design and great performances from the likes of Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, and Ted Ross. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some clear instances of miscasting. While Diana Ross is too old for Dorothy and Richard Pryor doesn’t even bother singing, easily the worst offender in the cast, in both performance and singing, is Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man.

Half the time, he’s more speaking his parts than singing them, making for a very stilted performance. And contrary to what some may believe, stiffness is not what you want with the Tin Man, who is meant to be the most soulful out of the entire cast in both the story and the musical. It’s especially egregious since he gets not one but two songs in the span of five minutes, which is more than Michael Jackson does before getting consigned to duets and backup for the rest of the score.

2

Gal Gadot

The Evil Queen in ‘Snow White’ (2025)

There are many problems with Disney’s live-action remake of their first animated masterpiece, Snow White. The soundtrack, for the most part, is not one of them. The songs, written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, are far from bad and do help to fill in some voids in the original story. In particular, the Evil Queen’s new song, “All is Fair,” is a wonderfully wicked highlight of her power-hungry, vain nature, with a deeply sinister composition.

It would be the next great Disney villain song… if it weren’t weighed down considerably by the lackluster performance of Gal Gadot. Her post-Wonder Woman performances have been met with widespread mockery by critics and audiences, but her take on the Evil Queen might be her most reviled character yet. And unlike other Disney villains, that’s not a compliment. Her vocal inflections do not carry the gravitas needed for the role, and given that her only musical experience before casting was her infamous “Imagine” video, her singing voice isn’t much to write home about.

1

Pierce Brosnan

Sam Carmichael in ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2008)

Not all the main cast members of Mamma Mia! are exactly Broadway-level in quality, yet no star in the film has earned quite as much of a bad singing reputation as Pierce Brosnan. His natural charisma makes Sam a likeable romantic figure, but his singing leaves oh so much to be desired. His main numbers, duets with the far better Meryl Streep, are some of the most unintentionally melodramatic numbers you will ever see in a musical, coming across less as romantic declarations of lost love and more like listening to your dad singing ABBA while drunk.

His vocals were so infamous among detractors of the first film that in the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, his singing parts are limited to an extremely brief and subdued reprise of “SOS” before being relegated to the chorus. For as much as his singing should be mocked, it should also be appreciated when both the actor and creative team recognize inhibitions and try to fix them.

Next: 10 Best So-Bad-They’re-Good Musicals, Ranked