Lady Gaga and Alana Haim in Oscars contention as more pop stars crossover to film and TV

House of Gucci star Lady Gaga has loads of Oscars buzz surrounding her, as more pop music stars are fast becoming critically acclaimed actors.

Lady Gaga is a contender. So is Alana Haim. As the 2022 Oscars seasons kicks into gear, both musicians are being touted by fans and pundits as potential Best Actress nominees.

If Gaga gets the nod for her scene-stealing performance in House Of Gucci, it will be her second shot at securing an Academy Award for acting after being nominated in 2019 for A Star Is Born.

She did bag the Best Original Song trophy that year for the No. 1 smash Shallow from the film.

The Lady and the Oscar; Gaga is in the running for a 2022 nomination for House of Gucci. Picture: AFP.

Haim has been widely praised and already bagged a clutch of critics’ choice awards in America for her debut film role in the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie Licorice Pizza, starring alongside seasoned hands including Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper.

Pop superstars have often featured at the Oscars in the Best Original Song category over recent decades with Adele, Sam Smith, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Phil Collins, Elton John and Lionel Richie among those who have the golden man propped next to their Grammys.

Alana Haim stars alongside Cooper Hoffman in Licorice Pizza. Picture: Supplied.

But just as extensive is the club of singers and songwriters who have made the bold leap from music video performances into serious acting side hustles.

The Oscars voters have recognised the dramatic turns with wins and nominations for popular singer from Barbra Streisand to Cher, Will Smith to Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Hudson to Queen Latifah.

Just as music biopics and documentaries continue to be a boom genre for the big screen and streaming platforms, so directors and casting agents are bolstering the star power of their projects with big names from the music world.

Here’s some of the current crop of singers turned actors juggling film shoots with their tour schedules.

All eyes will be on Styles when he makes his leading man debut in Don’t Worry Darling. Picture: AFP.

Harry Styles

The Watermelon Sugar star made his feature film debut in Dunkirk in 2017 but 2022 is shaping up to be his break-out year on the big screen.

Styles will star in his first leading man role in the thriller Don’t Worry Darling, slated for release in September, alongside Olivia Wilde, Florence Pugh and Chris Pine.

Of course fans will be flocking to this one to witness the genesis of his relationship with Wilde, who also directed the film.

Styles is also the star of the romantic drama My Policeman alongside The Crown’s Emma Corrin. Filmed in London last year, the movie is set in the 1950s and features the former One Direction singer as a gay policeman who marries Corrin’s school teacher character while also in a relationship with a museum creator.

That film is in post-production and yet to confirm its release.

Jennifer Hudson starred as Aretha Franklin in RESPECT. Picture: Quantrell D. Colbert

Jennifer Hudson

The American Idol find transitioned from that singing factory straight into her Best Supporting Actress winning role in Dreamgirls in 2006. And then scored a recording deal.

Since that illustrious debut, JHud has juggled her recording career with film and television work, featuring in the acclaimed Empire series, the polarising movie adaptation of Cats and last year in Respect, handpicked by the Queen of Soul herself Aretha Franklin for the role.

Hudson will lend her voice, alongside rappers Snoop Dogg and Will.i.am in the animated feature Pierre The Pigeon-Hawk.

Columbian pop star Maluma will star alongside Jennifer Lopez in Marry Me. Picture: Getty.

Maluma

The Columbian music star is sure to sizzle alongside Jennifer Lopez in Marry Me which is due to hit screens next month.

One of the biggest Latin pop stars on the planet, Maluma’s vocal talents were also employed in Lim Manuel-Miranda’s animated smash Encanto, which has already picked up a Golden Globe and is widely tipped to feature in the Oscars nominations.

Puerto Rican pop force Bad Bunny is also booking more film roles after appearing last year in Fast and Furious 9 and Narcos: Mexico and will act alongside rapper Offset in the film American Sole currently in pre-production.

Yola will play rock’n’roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the Elvis biopic. Picture: Joseph Ross

Yola and Gary Clark Jr

Baz Luhrmann likes to sprinkle pop dust over his magical movies; who can forget Kylie Minogue as The Green Fairy in Moulin Rouge!

So it’s intriguing to note the singers he has cast in his much-anticipated Elvis biopic which he shot on the Gold Coast in between pandemic outbreaks.

Expect a lot of buzz about the performance of English singer songwriter Yola who will play the Godmother of Rock’n’roll Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

American blues guitar hero Gary Clark Jr will also appear in the biopic, slated for release mid-year, as the legendary musician and songwriter Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup.

The Weeknd partners with HBO for his star vehicle The Idol. Picture: AFP.

The Weeknd

One of the most influential artists of his generation will test whether his creative genius and star power translate to acting in The Idol.

He has created his own star vehicle in partnership with HBO and Euphoria’s Sam Levinson about a nightclub owner turned self-help cult leader who develops a complicated relationship with a rising pop star.

Other musicians in the cast include multi-talented Australian creative Troye Sivan, The All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter.

Originally published as Lady Gaga and Alana Haim in Oscars contention as more pop stars crossover to film and TV