Just as there’s no shortage of pop stars in real life, there are plenty of iconic fictional singers too. Whether on TV shows or in movies, fictional pop stars can have hits as big as their real-life counterparts.
Videos by American Songwriter
Miley Cyrus may be known for “Flowers,” but Hannah Montana has “The Best of Both Worlds.” Hilary Duff stans will remember “So Yesterday” as well as Isabella Parigi’s “What Dreams Are Made Of.” And while Cobie Smulders doesn’t have any hit songs to her name, Robin Sparkles certainly does.
Keep reading for a look at the three best fictional pop stars of all time.
Hannah Montana (Hannah Montana)
In terms of fictional pop stars, there’s no one more iconic than Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus‘ Disney Channel character released hit after hit.
Throughout the show’s four seasons and follow up movie, Hannah Montana released dozens of tracks, some of which had real-world success. It’s simply impossible not to groove along to bops like “The Best of Both Worlds,” “If We Were a Movie,” and “Nobody’s Perfect.”
Hannah Montana’s real and fictional accomplishments pale in comparison to that of Cyrus’. After the actress and singer wrapped her time playing a fake pop star, she became one in her own right.
“See You Again,” “7 Things,” “The Climb,” “Party in the USA,” and “Wrecking Ball” all made Cyrus a successful pop star. Cyrus didn’t fade into the background as she got older as many pop stars are known to do. Rather, the singer upped her game with tracks like “Malibu” and “Flowers,” the latter of which earned Cyrus her first two GRAMMY Awards.
Isabella Parigi (The Lizzie McGuire Movie)
Any millennial will happily gush over their beloved Lizzie McGuire. For two seasons, Hilary Duff delighted fans with her portrayal of a young teen navigating the world.
Things got even more exciting with the release of The Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003. In the flick, Lizzie and her classmates embark on a graduation trip to Rome.
While there, Lizzie is mistaken for Isabella Parigi, an Italian pop star. Duff plays Isabella too, who’s distinguished from Lizzie only by her Italian accent and brown hair. In the end, Isabella and Lizzie perform “What Dreams Are Made Of” together, and it truly is a perfect moment.
In real life, Duff had her own pop star success. She released five LPs between 2002 and 2015, which featured songs such as “So Yesterday” and “Come Clean.”
Robin Sparkles (How I Met Your Mother)
Cobie Smulders’ Robin Scherbatsky revealed her teenage alter ego in a season 2 episode of How I Met Your Mother. During the episode, it came to light that, as a teenager, she’d gone by Robin Sparkles. It turns out, Robin Sparkles was a teen pop sensation in Canada.
In fact, the singer had a hit song titled “Let’s Go to the Mall.” The track is a hilarious take on ’80s pop and even includes multiple allusions to Robin’s beloved Canada.
“We came here to shop and we came here to flirt / I turned around and who should I see / Prime Minister Brian Mulroney / He said, ‘Young lady, I don’t approve.’ / So I had to get down and bust a crazy move,” she sings.
Smulders isn’t a pop star in real life. Rather, she is busy at work as an actress. In the years since How I Met Your Mother, Smulders has had roles on American Crime Story, How I Met Your Father, and Shrinking.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.