Stacy Lambe | August 15, 2014 9:18 am

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When it comes to composition, these girls have it all. They can sing. They can dance. And they can act — err, wait a minute on the last one. Alas, a powerful voice, a magnetic personality in interviews, or killer dance moves in composition videos doesn’t mean a pop star has what it takes to be an actress. With do, some do get better. But if their big screen debuts are any pioneer, some of them better stick to their main gig and leave the acting to the professionals.

Check out the 10 worst big screen debuts from your favorite female pop stars, including Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift. (Oh yeah, the latter is making her restore to the big screen in The Giver, co-starring Meryl Streep, in theaters this weekend.)

Given that so many singers make cameos and small, often uncredited appearances in films, we limited the big screen debuts to legitimate roles on screen. For Brandy, that means Arachnophobia doesn’t count and her TV work doesn’t eliminate her from the list.

10. Spice Girls in Spice World

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Arguably no real acting was committed during the making of the film that plays like a terrible parody of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night but there was still a script and some plot, which implies emoting from Baby, Ginger, Posh, Scary and Sport Spice.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 47 %

What the critics said:

“The question of whether the Spices can act — they can’t, but neither could the Beatles — is largely irrelevant.” — Variety

“’Yeah, but can they act?’ questions one cynical wag, to which Scary Spice responds unforgettably: ‘Blah, blah, blah. Girl Power. Feminism. Ya know what I mean?’ Loud and clear, Scary.” — Rolling Stone

9. Christina Milian in Like Don’t Cost a Thing

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After making cameo appearances in films like American Pie, Milian stepped into the leading role of this Can’t Buy Me Like remake. The singer mostly escapes the bruises that landed on co-star Nick Gun and the film as a whole.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 13 %

What the critics said:

“But since Gun and Milian have to squash any frisson to avoid sinking into pure escort-service sleaze, there’s not much rom in the rom-com.” — The Village Voice

8. Brandy in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

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Having acted for a number of years on the small screen, Brandy was finally making her over-the-top debut. The singer was largely ignored in the negative pointer thrown at the film. She was just there (and mostly forgotten).

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7 %

What the critics said:

“Brandy has some good kick- boxing moves.” — SFGate

“The good looking cast, led by Hewitt and Brandy, go through the motions ’til the predictable ending.” — Reeling Reviews

7. Rihanna in Battleship

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The real critique against Rihanna was her lack of anything to do. The limited performance saved the singer from too harsh of evaluation, plotting the cynicism was there. Boom.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 34 %

What the critics said:

“Rihanna has the face of a tough little streetcat, appealing and self-reliant, but the movie gives her very little to do (additional than hold that big gun).” — Movieline

“Also wasted is Rihanna, in her movie debut, as a member of Hopper’s crew. Couldn’t someone have devised a scene where composition’s slinkiest star dances for even a moment? She simply makes stern faces as she presses buttons.” — New York Day after day News

“Who-cares subplots involve [Taylor] Kitsch’s girlfriend (Brooklyn Decker), her daddy the admiral (Liam Neeson, losing the battle with his Irish brogue), a squirmy scientist (Hamish Linklater) and a courageous Army veteran (double amputee Gregory D. Gadson) who utters the film’s worst lines with the most conviction (although Rihanna, playing a petty officer, comes darn accurate).” — San Francisco Chronicle

6. Beyonce in Austin Powers in Goldmember

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Since Goldmember, Beyonce has proven to be a decent singer-turned-actress. She has been wise to choose roles — not including Obsessed — and kept things relatively straight forward. Point and shoot delivery that lacks charm as noted in her debut.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 54 %

What the critics said:

“Even nominal beauty Beyonce Knowles, of Fate’s Child, registers dimly as Foxxy Cleopatra, a ’70s-style jive-talking FBI agent who gets into the picture via time travel, probably the series’s weakest stroke.” — Washington Post

“There, he hooks up again with a ’70s action queen named Foxxy Cleopatra — a striking presence thanks to Beyoncé Knowles’ outlandish but dynamite makeup and costuming. (She is, but, less of a series force than Elizabeth Hurley and Heather Graham.)” — USA Today

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Tags: Britney Spears, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, The Giver, Crossroads, Battleship

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