On Monday we learned that Emma Watson will star as Belle in Disney’s upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast.
In her announcement, Watson didn’t waste any time in confirming that this would be a role that requires singing. “I’ll get to dance to ‘Be Our Guest’ and sing ‘Something There,'” she wrote on Facebook. “My six year old self is on the ceiling – heart bursting. Time to start some singing lessons.”
Immediately everyone began wondering: Can Emma Watson sing?
It turns out there’ve been at least two times when the actress has sung for work.
The first time was on the song “Pantomime” by Ben Hammersley in January 2014. Watson offers backing vocals beginning at the 2:03 mark:
Since the vocals are only backing and appear to have a little enhancement, it’s hard to get a read on her full abilities. Regardless, she sounds great.
On Hammersley’s same four-track Solace EP (available on iTunes) is a song titled “Stairwell Wall” which features a female singing along at points. One could presume this is Watson, but we don’t know for sure. We’ve reached out to Ben for comment, but until then, you can decide for yourself:
Finally, Watson sings during the 2014 film Noah in a dramatic scene involving her character Ila and the lead played by Russell Crowe. This video clip isn’t the best quality, but again, you can get a sense of her abilities. Skip to the 57-second mark:
None of these performances can match the amount of singing she’ll have to pull off in Beauty and the Beast, but between those aforementioned vocal lessons and her clear natural abilities, we believe she’ll do a stellar job.
Beauty and the Beast is directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Breaking Dawn) and is expected to go into production later this year. Condon is currently finishing up Mr. Holmes, a story about Sherlock in his later years starring Sir Ian McKellen.