The earliest memory I have of seeing an established music star appear in a movie was watching Elvis Presley in ‘Viva Las Vegas‘ on TV as a kid with my mother.
My mother was a huge Elvis fan growing up and loved his movies but it wasn’t until 1984 when my favorite artist (Prince) appeared in a movie that I understood how someone could be so mesmerized watching their musical hero on the silver screen.
It’s no secret that ‘Purple Rain‘ has remained my number one all-time favorite movie but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s our number one movie on this Top 10 list (okay, maybe it does).
Before we get into the countdown, I would be remiss if I didn’t give ‘honorary mentions’ to LL Cool J for his role in 2003’s ‘S.W.A.T.‘ and to Ludacris for his ongoing role in the Fast & Furious franchise.
Movies considered for this list were films in which a musical artist went beyond a ‘cameo’ and held a starring role. Some artists on this list are actually more famous for being actors than musical talents such as Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg but still meet the criteria.
Now a local Las Vegas resident, Wahlberg shelved his ‘Marky Mark‘ persona decades ago becoming one of Hollywood‘s bankable stars and producers. His comedy, ‘The Other Guys‘ co-starring Will Ferrell is one of the funniest cop comedies since Eddie Murphy‘s ‘Beverly Hills Cop‘ and secures a top 5 spot.
In addition to headlining the Halftime Show at last year’s Superbowl, Rihanna became America’s youngest self-made female billionaire. She joined the all-female leading cast of ‘Ocean’s 8‘ in 2018 playing a computer hacker named ‘Nine Ball‘ and kicks off our Top 10 list at number ten.
It will be interesting to see which new and upcoming artists make the transition to the big screen in the coming years but until then, here are the top movies featuring our favorite artists.