Scarlett Johansson

For all of you who are panicking a little and going, “OMG! I didn’t even know they were together! What about Ryan?!” don’t worry! Ryan Reynolds is still very happily married to our dear ScarJo and I’m talking about her collaboration with Pete Yorn in the album, Break Up.

In the midst of her hectic filming schedules, Hollywood actress, Scarlett Johansson shows that she still has time for another love in her life: music!

The 24-year old New York-bred actress has recorded a song with the 34-year old New Jersey-bred singer/songwriter, Pete Yorn. The song is entitled, Relator. You can listen to the song here because it’s already streaming on the record’s website.

The two will collaborate on a series of duets for an album titled, Break Up, which will be released on September 8, but has already given people a taste of what’s to come with the released single. According to the USA Today, Scarlett recorded her parts on the album in two afternoons only sometime in 2006, two years before she released Anywhere I Lay My Head, which is, on the other hand, a compilation of Tom Waits covers.

Pete says that the album is inspired by Serge Gainsbourg’s recordings with Brigitte Bardot in the 1960s. In fact, his album concept came to him in a dream.

Anyway, Break Up, which is produced by Sunny Levine, consists of eight original songs, all written by the singer/songwriter, plus a cover of Chris Bell’s I Am the Cosmos. It follows a relationship with its affair-ridden life span, with all the love, getting together, and other relationship-related feelings, which culminates with a break-up.

Both Pete and Scarlett are buried in work this year. Pete is set to release his latest album on June 23 entitled, Back and Forth, while ScarJo, as we all know, is in the middle of filming Iron Man 2 as one of the sexy villains.

Scarlett Johansson is slated to do another album this year. And so, I was inspired to look at some of the reviews of her last album, As I Lay My Head. Actually, I’ve listened to some of the song in her album, and surprisingly, she has a good, husky voice, one that can rock you to dreamland.

But anyway, here are some of the reviews:

The girl’s got indie cred, no doubt. Lost in Translation wrapped her in a dynamite alt-rock soundtrack, and she’s sung with the Jesus and Mary Chain. So it makes sense that, for her debut, Scarlett Johansson takes on the indestructible songbook of indie totem Tom Waits. Produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, the experimental result finds her draped, sonically speaking, in costumes as ornate as those 16th-century period gowns she rocked in The Other Boleyn Girl…she’s a faintly goth Marilyn Monroe lost in a sonic fog. Sometimes that’s fine: “I Wish I Was in New Orleans” is carried by a haunting music-box melody, “Fannin Street” has lush choral vocals bolstered by David Bowie, and “Song for Jo” (the set’s sole original) sweeps the singer along in sound whorls recalling “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

- Will Hermes, Rolling Stone

So, how does Johansson herself sound? More expressive and less tentative than she did on “Summertime”, her track from the 2006 Music Matters comp Unexpected Dreams: Songs From the Stars. While her voice is limited and her pitch occasionally shaky, she has a wide textural range, spanning from low, smooth, and melancholy on “Song for Jo” (the only original, which she co-wrote with Sitek) to bristling and edgy on “Falling Down”, whose melody best suits her voice and Sitek’s production.

- Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork Media

Anywhere I Lay My Head, actress Scarlett Johansson’s debut CD, is an extravagant act of camouflage: a covers album where the interesting objective of reimagining Tom Waits songs with Arcade Fire-type soundscapes plays second fiddle to disguising her expressionless voice. With her low monotone, ScarJo aims for Nico but comes off like Sinéad on sopors — never more so than on the zombielike ”I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.” In burying Johansson’s vocals so deeply in the druggy ambiance, producer David Andrew Sitek (of TV on the Radio) means well but ends up obscuring Waits’ great tunes.

- Chris Willman, Entertainment Weekly

Singer/ songwriter Kate Perry has stated that I Kissed A Girl is a song about appreciating “the beauty of women.”

She says, “everyone takes the song and relates it to their situation, they can see it however they want to see it. Love it, hate it, for me it was about us girls. When we’re young we’re very touchy-feely. We have slumber party sing-alongs, we make up dance routines in our pajamas. We’re a lot more intimate in a friendship than guys can be. It’s not perverse but just sweet, that’s what the song is about.”

And so, here is the lyrics to the platinum- certified song I Kissed A Girl, inspired by, what else, Scarlett Johansson’s luscious lips. Try to see if you can imagine her lips in between the song’s lines. Enjoy!

Verse 1:
This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It’s not what, I’m used to
Just wanna try you on
I’m curious for you
Caught my attention

Bridge:
Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain’t no big deal, it’s innocent
(Chorus)

Scarlett is one pretty hit babe to be able to inspire a platinum-certified single. We’ve heard of the “face that launched a thousand ships,” but never of “the lips that launched a platinum single.”

The song’s singer/writer, Kate Perry revealed to Steppin’ Out Magazine that she was inspired to pen her hit, I Kissed A Girl, when she opened up a magazine and saw a picture of Scarlett Johansson.

“I Kissed A Girl was inspired when I opened up a magazine and I saw a picture of Scarlett Johansson,” she reveals.

She continued, “I was with my boyfriend at the time, and I said to him, ‘I’m not going to lie: If Scarlett Johansson walked into the room and wanted to make out with me, I would make out with her. I hope you’re okay with that?’”

When Allure told her that her lips were Kate’s inspiration, the actress replied, “That’s flattering, but my lips are kind of taken,” referring to her marriage with hubby, Ryan Reynolds.

“I had no idea (about the song). I should get a cut!” she said jokingly.

But, as usual, when the topic of how she met her husband came up, ScarJo clams up and cuts off the conversation.

“Nobody knows,” she says. “It’s private. It’s our story.”

She has always been privy to her marriage, but at least she talks about her plans for the future.

“I always wanted to get married and have kids,” she says. “I just never had any preconceived idea about what that would be like … My life seems to be happening naturally.”

Scarlett Johansson, the singer, is back! She has recorded yet another cover song, this time by Jeff Buckley. “Last Goodbye” is included in the He’s Just Not That Into You soundtrack.

Let’s look at some of the reviews, shall we?

“Whereas Johansson’s vocals were often obscured by producer Dave Sitek’s all-star production work on Anywhere, this time around Johansson’s vocal cords are in the forefront as she croons over a sparse piano. While it’s not nearly as beautiful as Buckley’s original version, we don’t hate it…” – Rock and Roll Daily, rollingstone.com/rockdaily

“ScarJo strips it (last Goodbye) down and turns it into a little radio piano ballad. And you know what, it sounds pretty terrible. Her uncertain sense of pitch and general lack of vocal charisma weren’t a liabilities on the best songs on Anywhere I Lay My Head, and in fact her zombie-fied persona added a sort of dark undercurrent.” – pitchforkmedia.com

For me, I think that the song was not bad, it’s good even. Especially when you compare it to other songs sung by celebrities, Scarlett’s “Last Goodbye” really sounds decent. Her husky voice makes the song sound melancholic, which is what they were hoping to achieve in the first place.

Aside from ScarJo’s “Last Goodbye”, the movie soundtrack also includes: My Morning Jacket’s “I’m Amazed,” Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody),” The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait,” plus tracks from Wilco, R.E.M., the Cure, and a few other artists. The soundtrack hits stores on February 3rd, while the film hits theaters on February 6th.

Most people know of Scarlett Johansson, the actress or Scarlett Johansson, the blonde bombshell, but I daresay that fewer people know of Scarlett Johansson, the singer. Yes, this celebrity sings. And with her plans for making a new album, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and head back to her first album.

Anywhere I Lay My Head, was Scarlett’s debut album released last year to mixed reviews of music critics. Though some said that the album was surprisingly good coming from an actress, nobody said outright that the album was bad. Nope, critics said that ScarJo’s husky voice was a surprise, in a good way.

The songs in Anywhere I Lay My Head are covers of Tom Waits. It was composed of 10 Waits songs, and one original, “Song For Jo,” which was an original composition by the actress/singer and the album’s producer, Dave Sitek.

The songs included in the album are:
1. “Fawn”
2. “Town With No Cheer”
3. “Falling Down”
4. “Anywhere I Lay My Head”
5. “Fannin’ Street”
6. “Song for Jo”
7. “Green Grass”
8. “I Wish I Was in New Orleans”
9. “I Don’t Want to Grow Up”
10. “No One Knows I’m Gone”
11. “Who Are You?”

And what does Tom Waits himself think of the record?

“I’ve heard through friends that he’s very pleased with it and excited about it,” Scarlett happily revealed while adding, “I didn’t want to go into it without his blessing. I sent him some of the early, early recordings that we did and he was like ‘Go ahead, go forth with it.’”

And thus, she really went forth with it.

Scanning the press releases/critiques on Scarlett’s performance at Coachella Day One, it is funny to note that everyone really has his own taste/opinion.
According to A&E Interactive, it is clear that the writer wasn’t impressed and therefore disappointed of the brouhaha surrounding the news.

Let’s get this out of the way: As widely predicted, Scarlett Johansson joined the Jesus & Mary Chain onstage Friday night at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. But if that’s what you were waiting around for, you were probably disappointed.
The young actress came out wearing a paisley minidress and a straw hat toward the end of the legendary shoegazer band’s set, its first in eight years, to stand at center stage beside Jim Reid. Her job? To repeatedly sing the title line in “Just Like Honey,” a song recorded when she was an infant. Johansson looked a bit nervous and left the stage immediately upon finishing the song; she said nothing to the crowd. As to her vocal abilities, she didn’t do anything that anyone else couldn’t do. She may be a capable singer, but this performance didn’t prove anything.

Stereogum, however, commented that the actress can sing. Even if it’s only the chorus of the female part, “Jussstt like honeeyyy….”

Scarlett came out without a word, and left with Jim Reid’s asking the crowd, “Wasn’t that nice?” And honestly, it was; after a full set of classics and a newbie, The J&MC ended their set with “Reverence” and left the desert-set crowd reeling. (To answer: Yes, ScarJo can sing.)

It is true that the song became popular when Scarlett was a baby and that her voice which compared to the original female voice was not as ethereal as hers.
The Jesus and Mary Chain might have noticed the actress after the success of “Lost in Translation” wherein their song was rediscovered by the hipsters of today. It must have influenced their decision to invite her on their comeback tour. For one, she is hot. Lastly, she intends to broaden her skills by singing.
Watching the video from YouTube, I could say that the actress was probably nervous facing the music fans. But she probably had fun doing it. She didn’t say nothing but she waved to the crowd.
I just wonder what was the comment of the legendary grandpops of shoegazer?
What do you think?

The Jesus and Mary Chain sings with Scarlett Johansson

Lucky Californians. First off, they got a dose of the Scottish shoegazer grandpops Jesus and Mary Chain’s return. And then there was Scarlett proving her singing skills.
The rumour was indeed true. She might not be on the band’s first comeback gig but she was really at the Coachella.
According to Uncut, the actress showed up onstage with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain on their warm-up gig on April 26 singing “Sometimes Always” onstage in Pomona, California. But Starpulse debunked that there was no Scarlett but instead a giant drag singer Annie Hardy who was with the band’s first comeback show.
However, the day after the band’s warm-up gig, Jim Reid and co. this time was joined by the actress taking the main stage of the Coachella music festival on Friday.
Singing vocals on the track “Just Like Honey,” the actress was caught sporting a ’60s psychedelic mini dress, a straw hat smacked in red high heels. Access Hollywood said that “Scarlett joined the band on stage three-quarters of the way through their set.”
According to NME, Jim was heard telling the crowd: “This is fucking unreal.”

The band took the stage just after the sun had set over the mountainous California desert. Dressed all in black, they tore through classics including ‘Head On’ and ‘Some Candy Talking’ as well as a new song.
“Are you having fun?” he asked. When the crowd responded positively he quipped, “Well let’s see what we can do about that!”
This didn’t stop the audience from dancing and cheering throughout their hour-long set.
Just when The Jesus And Mary Chain appeared to be winding things down, Lost In Translation actress Johansson took the stage dressed in a colourful paisley mini-dress. Without saying a word, she joined Reid on vocals for the chorus of ‘Just Like Honey’.
“Wasn’t that nice?” Reid asked after they finished their duet and Johansson left the stage.
The band then launched into their final song, ‘Reverence’, before wrapping things up.

Jim did not introduce the actress to the screaming crowd but hugged her at the end of the song.
Aside from Scarlett, other celebrities who were spotted in the crowd are Coachella regulars Danny DeVito, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, even wild child Lindsay Lohan and Adam Brody from “OC California.”

Scarlett standing with the band

Is she at ease handling the microphone?

Mesmerising the crowd with “Just Like Honey.”

The original “Just Like Honey” off the band’s 1985 album “Psychocandy.”

Source

The Jesus and Mary Chain and Scarlett Johansson