25 celebrities you didn’t know had music careers

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Speaking of Japan, Alyssa Milano wasn’t the only actress to find musical success in Asia. Jennifer Love Hewitt also found fame in Japan, but she attempted what Alyssa never wanted: crossing over in the United States.

When she was only 12 years old, JLove got signed to a record deal and released her debut album, Love Songs, in 1992. The album was only released in Japan but was finally unleashed on American audiences five years later. The album’s lead single was the actress’ cover of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”, which is an interesting choice to introduce yourself as an artist to the world. Hewitt became a certified pop star in Japan, which she says is because the Japanese “love perky music. The poppier the music, the better.”

After getting cast on Party of Five, she was signed to a new record deal stateside with Atlantic Records. They rushed out her next album, Let’s Go Bang (a questionable title for a girl her age, but whatever), to capitalize on her recent rise in fame thanks to the popular sitcom. The teenager was trying to juggle it all, but the album and singles failed to make an impact on the charts. The same thing happened with her third self-titled studio album the following year, and she was dropped from Atlantic.

A few years later, in 1999, she recorded the song “How Do I Deal” for the teen horror flick, Know What You Did Last Summer soundtrack, which she starred in alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr. Then in 2002, she was signed to another record deal, this time with Jive, and released her fourth album BareNaked.

The album was more successful than her previous releases. The lead single, also titled “BareNaked”, charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, Adult Top 40, and Top 40 Mainstream charts. Jennifer has mostly stayed in the acting world in recent years but hinted at a country album in the past. Who knows what the future holds for JLove!