Billboard
From the Box Office to the Charts: Meryl Streep, Eddie Murphy, Ryan Gosling & More Actors on the Billboard Hot 100
By Michael Calcagno, Starr Bowenbank
09/12/2023
From the Box Office to the Charts: Meryl Streep, Eddie Murphy, Ryan Gosling & More Actors on the Billboard Hot 100, Here’s a sampling of more than 50 actors & actresses who have scored Hot 100 hits.
To become a famous actor or actress is a huge feat in itself. And to land a song on the Billboard Hot 100 is a dream for aspiring musicians. But what about the elite few who have accomplished both?
Below, Billboard has rounded up a sampling of more than 50 entertainers who have done just that — from singing actors who starred in movie musicals to comedians who dabbled in pop music to stars who voiced characters in animated films and everything in between.
One of the earlier stars of the screen to earn charting hits was Debbie Reynolds, whose filmography includes starring roles in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Singin’ in the Rain, and Disney’s Halloweentown franchise. In 1957, “Tammy” — from Reynolds’ film Tammy and the Bachelor — became her highest-charting hit on what was then the Top 100 Songs chart and ruled for five weeks. After the Hot 100 launched the next year, she earned two entries on the chart, both in 1960: “Am I That Easy to Forget?” (No. 25) and “City Lights” (No. 55).
In the decades since, such actors and comedians as Eddie Murphy, Jack Black, and more would carry the torch for musically gifted entertainers. Murphy struck gold with his Rick James-produced hit “Party All the Time” in 1985; the track peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and is one of Billboard‘s Biggest No. 2 Hits of All Time. Black hit the Hot 100 as one-half of Tenacious D (alongside Kyle Glass) with 2006’s “The Pick of Destiny” (No. 78) and later returned to the chart as a soloist this year with “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros. Movie (No. 56).
Ryan Gosling made the list of actors with charting tracks on the Hot 100 thanks to this summer’s smash-hit movie Barbie, in which he co-stars as Ken. In the weeks after the film’s theatrical release, Gosling’s self-deprecating power ballad from the movie, “I’m Just Ken,” earned him his first entry on the all-genre tally, debuting at No. 87.
From Meryl Streep and John Travolta to Hugh Jackman, Queen Latifah, and more, check out Billboard‘s list of actors and actresses, who — in addition to having a well-documented career onscreen — have crossed over with a song (or two or three or more) on the Billboard Hot 100.
Debbie Reynolds
Entries:
“Am I That Easy to Forget?,” No. 25, March 21, 1960
“City Lights,” No. 55, May 23, 1960
MARY POPPINS, Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews
Entries:
“Super-Cali-Fragil-Istic-Expi-Ali-Docious,” No. 66, May 22, 1965 (Mary Poppins)
Richard Harris
Entries:
“MacArthur Park,” No. 2, June 22, 1968
BETTE MIDLER
Entries:
“Wind Beneath My Wings,” No. 1, June 10, 1989 (Beaches)
“From a Distance, No. 2” Dec. 25, 1990
“The Rose,” No. 3, June 28, 1980 (The Rose)
“Do You Want to Dance?” No. 17, March 10, 1973
“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” No. 8, July 21, 1973
“You’re Movin’ Out Today,” No. 42, June 25, 1977
“My Mother’s Eyes,” No. 39, Jan. 17, 1981 (Divine Madness)
“When a Man Loves a Woman,” No. 35, March 8, 1980
“Friends/Chapel of Love,” No. 40, Nov. 10, 1973
“Storybook Children (Daybreak),” No. 57, March 11, 1978
“Married Men,” No. 40, July 7, 1979
“Night and Day,” No. 62, Feb. 23, 1991
“In the Mood,” No. 51, Feb. 16, 1974
“Beast of Burden,” No. 71, March 3, 1984
“Every Road Leads Back to You,” No. 78, Jan. 18, 1992 (For the Boys)
“All I Need to Know,” No. 77, Sept, 17, 1983
“Favorite Waste of Time,” No. 78, Nov. 5, 1983
Steve Martin
Entries:
“Cruel Shoes,” No. 92, Dec. 15, 1979
“Grandmother’s Song,” No. 71, Dec. 10, 1977
“King Tut,” No. 17, Aug. 12, 1978 (credited to Steve Martin and The Toot Uncommons)
John Travolta
Entries:
“Let Her In,” No. 10, July 24, 1976
“Whenever I’m Away From You,” No. 38, Dec. 4, 1976
“All Strung Out on You,” No. 34, March 26, 1977
“You’re the One That I Want,” with Olivia Newton-John, No. 1, June 10, 1978 (Grease)
“Summer Nights,” with Olivia Newton-John, No. 5, Sept. 30, 1978 (Grease)
“Greased Lightning,” No. 47, Oct. 28, 1978 (Grease)
“You Can’t Stop the Beat,” No. 88, Aug. 4, 2007 (Hairspray)
Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi, The Blues Brothers
Entries (as The Blues Brothers):
“Who’s Making Love,” No. 39, Jan. 31, 1981
“Rubber Biscuit,” No. 37, April 4, 1979 (The Blues Brothers)
“Gimme Some Lovin’,” No. 18, July 26, 1980 (The Blues Brothers)
“Soul Man,” No. 14, Feb. 17, 1979 (The Blues Brothers)
Burt Reynolds
Entries:
“Let’s Do Something Cheap and Superficial,” No. 88, 1980 (Smokey and the Bandit II)
Rodney Dangerfield
Entries:
“Rappin’ Rodney,” No. 83, Jan. 14, 1984
Clint Eastwood
Entries:
“Make My Day,” by T.G. Sheppard with Clint Eastwood, No. 62, March 10, 1984
Billy Crystal, Fernando Lamas
Entries:
“You Look Marvelous,” No. 58, Aug. 24, 1985
Eddie Murphy
Entries:
“Party All the Time,” No. 2, Dec. 28, 1985
“Put Your Mouth on Me,” No. 27 Sept. 2, 1989
Don Johnson
Entries:
“Heartbeat,” No. 5, Oct. 18, 1986
“Heartache Away,” No. 56, Dec. 17, 1986
“Till I Loved You,” with Barbra Streisand, No. 25, Dec. 3. 1988
Bruce Willis
Entries:
“Respect Yourself,” No. 5, March 3, 1987
“Under the Boardwalk,” No. 59, July 7, 1987
“Young Blood,” No. 68, May 2, 1987
Patrick Swayze
Entries:
“She’s Like the Wind,” featuring Wendy Fraser, No. 3, Feb. 27, 1988 (Dirty Dancing)
Marky Mark, the Funky Bunch, Mark Wahlberg
Entries (as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch):
“Good Vibrations,” No. 1, Oct. 5, 1991
“Wildside,” No. 10, Dec. 14, 1991
“You Gotta Believe,” No. 49, Oct. 17, 1992
“I Need Money,” No. 6, March 7, 1992
Raven-Symoné
Entries:
“That’s What Little Girls Are Made Of,” No. 68, Aug. 21, 1993
“The Party’s Just Begun,” No. 85, 2006 (The Cheetah Girls 2)
“Strut,” No. 53, 2006 (The Cheetah Girls 2)
Adam Sandler
Entries:
“The Chanukah Song,” No. 80, Jan. 2, 1999
Jeff Foxworthy
Entries:
“Redneck Stomp,” No. 75, 1994
“Redneck Games,” with Alan Jackson, No. 66, 1996
Queen Latifah
Entries:
“You Can’t Stop the Beat,” No. 88, Aug. 4, 2007 (Hairspray)
“It’s Alright,” No. 76, Sept. 13, 1997
“Need Your Love,” by Big B feat. Queen Latifah, No. 70, Sept. 13, 1997
“Weekend Love,” No. 70, Aug. 13, 1994
“Just Another Day,” No. 54, April 2, 1994
“Paper,” No. 50, Aug. 22, 1998
“U.N.I.T.Y.,” No. 23, Jan. 29, 1994
Mandy Moore
Entries:
“Candy,” No. 41, Oct. 30, 1999
“I Wanna Be With You,” No. 24, Aug. 12, 2000
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Entries:“How Do I Deal,” No. 59, Feb. 27, 1999 (I Still Know What You Did Last Summer)
Ashley Tisdale, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
Ashley Tisdale, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
Entries:
“He Said She Said,” No. 58, Jan. 12, 2008
“Be Good to Me,” No. 80, Feb. 24, 2007
“Kiss the Girl,” No. 81, April 21, 2007
“It’s Alright, It’s Okay,” No. 99, May 2, 2009
“What I’ve Been Looking For,” No. 35, Feb. 11, 2006 (High School Musical)
“We’re All in This Together,” No. 34, Feb. 11, 2006 (High School Musical)
“Bop to the Top,” No. 62, Feb. 11, 2006 (High School Musical)
“Stick to the Status Quo,” No. 43, Feb. 11, 2006 (High School Musical)
“What Time Is It,” No. 6, Aug. 4, 2007 (High School Musical 2)
“All for One,” No. 92, Sept. 1, 2007 (High School Musical 2)
“Fabulous, ” No. 76, Sept 8, 2007 (High School Musical 2)
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Entries:
“Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father),” No. 57, Dec. 24, 2005
Kyle Gass, Jack Black, TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY
“The Pick of Destiny,” No. 78, Nov. 4, 2006 (Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny)
AnnaSophia Robb
Entries:
“Keep Your Mind Wide Open,” No. 90, March 10, 2007 (Bridge to Terbithia)
Michael Cera and Elliott Page
Entries:
“Anyone Else But You,” No. 91, Jan. 26, 2008 (Juno)
Jared Leto, 30 Seconds To Mars
Jared Leto, 30 Seconds To Mars
Entries (with Thirty Seconds to Mars):
“The Kill (Bury Me),” No. 65, Sept. 23, 2006
“From Yesterday,” No. 76, Feb. 24, 2007
“Kings and Queens,” No. 82, Dec. 26, 2009
“This is War,” No. 72, Dec. 26, 2009
“Closer to the Edge,” No. 99, May 21, 2011
Meryl Streep
Mama Mia
Julianne Hough
Entries:
“That Song in My Head,” No. 88, June 7, 2008
Neil Patrick Harris
Entries:
“Dream On,” by Glee Cast feat. Neil Patrick Harris, No. 26, June 5, 2010
Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund
Entries:
“Give In to Me” with Garrett Hedlund (pictured), Jan. 29, 2011, No. 79 (Country Strong)
“Good Girls Go Bad” by Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester, No. 7, Aug. 22, 2009
Gwyneth Paltrow
“Forget You,” No. 11, Dec. 4, 2010 (Glee)
“Country Strong,” No. 81, Jan. 22, 2011 (Country Strong)
“Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” No. 57, March 26, 2011 (Glee)
“Landslide,” No. 23, March 26, 2011 (Glee)
“Turning Tables,” No. 66, May 7, 2011 (Glee)
Hugh Laurie
Photo Credit:Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images
Hugh Laurie
Entries:
“Police Dog Blues,” No. 58, Sept. 24, 2011
Anna Kendrick
Entries:
“Cups,” No. 6, Aug. 17, 2013 (Pitch Perfect)
ANNE HATHAWAY
Photo Credit:Laurie Sparham
Anne Hathaway
Entries:
“I Dreamed a Dream,” No. 69, Jan. 12, 2013 (Les Misèrables)
Jennifer Lawrence
Photo Credit:Murray Close
Jennifer Lawrenc
Entries:
“The Hanging Tree” by James Newton Howard feat. Jennifer Lawrence, No. 12, Dec. 13, 2014 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1)
Kristen Bell
Photo Credit:Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Kristen Bell
Entries:
“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” with Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez, No. 51, April 12, 2014 (Frozen)
“For the First Time in Forever,” with Idina Menzel, No. 57, Feb. 8, 2014 (Frozen)
“Love Is an Open Door,” with Santino Fontana, No. 49, March 29, 2014 (Frozen)
Zendaya
Photo Credit:Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Zendaya
Entries:
“Watch Me,” with Bella Thorne, No. 86, July 23, 2011 (Shake It Up)
“Replay,” No. 40, Jan. 11, 2014
“Something New,” feat. Chris Brown, No. 93, April 2, 2016
“The Greatest Show,” with Keala Settle, Zac Efron, Hugh Jackman & The Greatest Showman Ensemble, No. 88, Jan. 20, 2018 (The Greatest Showman)
“Rewrite the Stars,” with Zac Efron, No. 70, Jan. 27, 2018 (The Greatest Showman)
“I’m Tired,” with Labrinth, No. 53, March 19, 2022 (Euphoria)
Lucy Hale
Photo Credit:Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Lucy Hale
Entries:
“You Sound Good to Me,” No. 88, Jan. 25, 2014
Jimmy Fallon, will.i.am
Entries:
“Ew!,” feat. will.i.am, No. 26, Oct. 25, 2014
The Lonely Island, Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Tegan and Sara
Entries (as The Lonely Island):
“J–z in My Pants,” No. 72, Jan. 10, 2009
“I’m On a Boat,” feat. T-Pain, No. 56, June 20, 2009
“I Just Had Sex,” feat. Akon, No. 30, Jan. 8, 2011
“The Creep,” feat. Nicki Minaj, No. 82, Feb. 19, 2011
“Jack Spaarow,” feat. Michael Bolton, No. 69, May 28, 2011
“YOLO,” feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar, No. 60, Feb. 16, 2013
“Everything Is Awesome!!!” by Tegan and Sara feat. The Lonely Island, No. 57, March 8, 2014 (The Lego Movie)
Jennifer Lopez & Lin-Manuel Miranda
Entries:
“Love Make the World Go Round” by Jennifer Lopez (pictured) feat. Lin-Manuel Miranda, No. 72, July 30, 2016
“We Know the Way,” with Opetaia, No. 93, Dec. 17, 2016 (Moana)
“Almost Like Praying,” feat. Artists for Puerto Rico, No. 20, Oct. 28, 2017
“Found / Tonight,” with Ben Platt, No. 49, March 31, 2018
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Entries:
“You’re Welcome,” No. 65, Jan. 21, 2017 (Moana)
Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Entries:
“Shallow,” with Lady Gaga (pictured), No. 1, March 9, 2019 (A Star Is Born)
“Maybe It’s Time,” No. 93, Oct. 20, 2018 (A Star Is Born)
Hugh Jackman
Entries:
“The Greatest Show,” with Keala Settle, Zac Efron, Zendaya & The Greatest Showman Ensemble, No. 88, Jan. 20, 2018 (The Greatest Showman)
Evan Rachel Wood
Photo Credit:Tara Ziemba/Getty Images
Evan Rachel Wood
Entries:
“Show Yourself,” with Idina Menzel, No. 70, Dec. 14, 2019 (Frozen II)
Jack Black
Entries:
“Peaches,” No. 56, April 29, 2023 (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
Ryan Gosling
Entries:
“I’m Just Ken,” No. 87, Aug. 5, 2023 (Barbie)
Dave Chappelle
Photo Credit:Mark Von Holden/Variety
Dave Chappelle
Entries:
“Parasail” by Travis Scott feat. Yung Lean & Dave Chappelle, No. 53, Aug. 12, 2023
