Which Actors Can Sing?

My friend Nick over at http://alienhits.blogspot.com/ put me on his blogreel! Yay! I feel very cool because I sent him my blog and he told me he liked it. Especially since he has a book deal and two (? Please correct me Nick) books coming out and his blog is so well written and people send him music to review and everything. Nick is responsible for introducing me to such bands/artists as Girls Aloud, Mika, The Killers, The Fratellis, and The Ark. Joe would NOT like to thank him for that since he mostly hates all those musicians. But for anyone who likes or loves pop music go to Nick's blog, you will be able to name-drop all these cool bands no one else has heard of and be like, oh they're SO big in Sweden right now, what you haven't heard of them?
True Story: Sometimes I ask Nick about new artists he thinks I should check out, and last year one time we were hanging out and he told me there's this girl that I might like, she's popular in Europe but she could end up getting big here over the summer her name is LADY GAGA. Yeah.

Here's me in a new Labels blouse. I am not going there any more I swear I know you're sick of me wearing something from that place every day. But hang in there I have two more items to debut including the 7 FOR ALL MANKIND JEANS I GOT FOR $30 OH SORRY AM I TALKING IN CAPS I'M JUST KIND OF EXCITED.

At this point in the post, you might be wondering about the title. To be honest, I kind forgot what I was going to talk about for awhile there but I happened to see the title and now I'm back on track.

Tori and I watched Nine today, and let me tell you, it was ok. That's pretty much all I have to say about it. But it brought to mind the idea of actors cast in roles that require them to sing, and how well they pull it off. As far as Nine is concerned, everyone did pretty well, no one I was blown away by. There are a few musical performances that have taken me by surprise. These are my picks for actors who can actually sing, keeping in mind I haven't seen every musical ever made, and all these are pretty recent examples.

Renee Zellweger: Can sing. First on my list, because she was the most surprising. She may not be the world's most proficient singer, but she has style and she uses what she's got. She growls and flirts and uses phrasing and dynamics better than many other singers with better technical vocal performances.

Ewan McGregor: CAN SING. I'm serious. You girls know what I'm talking about.

Zooey Deschanel: Can sing. Some people might say "Of course she can sing, she has a band, duh." But I include her because her vocal performances in movies are above and beyond anything she has ever done with She & Him. See this clip from Elf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp3UoqOkFJo. And I wish the band in Yes Man was real, the song they play in the end credits is killer. Also, LOOK WHAT I FOUND ON YOUTUBE DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER THIS MOVIE!?!!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rctEtQoeZ8&feature=related

And here are a couple from the other end. They can carry a tune, sure, but put their voices up against anyone on the above list and it's not so pretty.

Nicole Kidman: Can't sing.

Johnny Depp: Can't sing.

In conclusion, if you want to see a musical, see Once. A movie starring two musicians who have never acted before in their life. Can I express how good they are? Not without typing in all caps. I'll spare you. And if you want to see a movie with the number nine in the title, see District 9. SOO GOOD. Oops I tried not to use caps again but it just happened.

Soooo...that's my opinion. What do you guys think?