25 celebrities you didn’t know had music careers

Brie Larson

From teen actor, to aspiring pop star, to Oscar winner. Talk about a glow-up!

Even though so many child and teen stars before her ventured into the music industry, Brie Larson wasn’t just another pretty face yearning for pop stardom. She grew up loving music and started writing songs by age 11 when she learned to play the guitar. She started recording and posting her songs on her own website, and landed a record deal with big shot record exec Tommy Mottola from Casablanca records.

It was in 2005 that Brie finally released her debut album Finally Out Of P.E., an album for which she co-wrote many of the songs. Her singles — like “She Said” — were popular on MTV, namely on the show Total Request Live. She went on tour with teen heartthrob Jesse McCartney, which is the most 2000s thing ever, performed in malls (again, how 2000s), and even performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Unfortunately, even with all that promo and high hopes, the album was a flop.

Fast forward a few years and small movie roles later, Brie landed a starring role on the Showtime dramedy United States of Tara in 2009 and finally started getting some serious attention. She had a chance to sing again when she appeared in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, in which she played Envy Adams, badass rock chick and Scott’s bitchy ex-girlfriend. She performed the song “Black Sheep” with the band Metric for the film’s soundtrack.

Whether her music career was a bust or not, just remember one thing: Brie Larson is now an Oscar-winning actress and Marvel hero, so who really cares?