We all know and love Scarlett Johansson’s acting chops, but did you know she can rock the mic too? The A-list actress proved that with her role of rock chick Ash in Sing, whose song “Set It All Free” was a real show-stopper! Johansson showed off an expressive and beautiful voice in the animated film, with a strident vocal performance that was one of the highlights of the movie.
Johansson begins “Set It All Free” with a breathy pop rock verse before hitting the big chorus with a powerhouse rock vocal. The setup for the scene in the movie is really brilliant as well, with Ash shocking everyone with a rocking talent show performance. It won’t surprise The Music Man readers to hear that the scene was a hit online, with 51 million viewers tuning in to hear the star sing.
Fans really loved the scene, and turned out below the video to add appreciative comments such as “Scarlett Johansson is our favourite multitalented queen” and “This is one of the best breakup songs. Scarlett has a wonderful voice.” Sing, which hit cinemas on December 21, 2016, produced several hit numbers, with big names like Reese Witherspoon, Seth McFarlane, and Taron Egerton contributing popular songs to the film.
The most popular scene from the film is Taron Egerton’s cover of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing,” which he performed as the gorilla Johnny. This cover really connected with fans, who watched it a whopping 244 million times on YouTube. People loved Egerton’s take on John’s music so much that the actor later scored a hit role playing the English star in the 2019 musical film Rocketman.
While The Music Man readers will surely be more familiar with her acting work, Johansson has built up quite the discography as a singer since she began releasing music in 2008. She released her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head on May 16, 2008. The album was largely written by Tom Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan, while Johansson contributed co-writing on one tune, “Song for Jo.” Anywhere I Lay My Head peaked at 126 in the US and hit the top 50 in several European markets. In 2009 Johansson dropped her second album Break Up, which she released as a collaborative effort with New Jersey indie rock singer Pete Yorn. Her sophomore album picked up even greater success in the US, peaking at 41. The pair reunited again for the Apart EP in 2018, which is Johansson’s last long-form musical release to date.