10 of the Biggest Music Careers Launched by Sitcoms

Before she ended up being an Emmy-winning significant starlet and significant motion picture star, Zendaya presented countless young audiences to the Disney Channel comedy Shake It UpThe series followed buddies Rocky Blue and CeCe Jones, played by Zendaya and Bella Thorne, as they landed tasks dancing on an imaginary tv program called Shake It Up, Chicago!

The program naturally produced chances for both starlets to tape music. Zendaya and Thorne launched the duet “Watch Me,” while Zendaya contributed numerous extra tunes to Disney tasks before signing with Hollywood Records. Her self-titled launching album got here in 2013, the exact same year Shake It Up ended. Its lead single, “Replay,” arrived 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and developed Zendaya as more than a comedy entertainer.

Performing eventually became her main focus, however music stayed part of her profession. In 2017, she tape-recorded the effective duet “Rewrite destiny” with Zac Efron for The Best ShowmanZendaya might have launched less music than the other stars on this list, however Shake It Up effectively released both sides of her profession.^[1]

9 Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff turned into one of the specifying teenager stars of the early 2000s as the title character in the Disney Channel comedy Lizzie McGuireThe series followed a regular intermediate school trainee handling household, relationships, and teen shame, with an animated variation of Lizzie often exposing what she was actually believing.

Duff started taping music while the series was still airing. Her very first studio album, the vacation collection Santa Claus Laneappeared in 2002. The list below year brought both The Lizzie McGuire Movie and her very first mainstream pop album, TransformationThe movie put Lizzie in a musical story including an Italian pop star, while its soundtrack provided Duff another chance to sing for the audience that had actually enjoyed her mature on tv.

Transformation reached top on the Billboard 200 and ultimately attained multi-platinum sales. Songs such as “So Yesterday” and “Come Clean” assisted Duff establish a recording identity beyond Lizzie, resulting in a number of more effective albums. The character developed her initial fan base, Duff showed that she might bring a music profession under her own name.^[2]

8 Ricky Nelson

Couple of entertainers have actually taken pleasure in a more efficient marketing platform than Ricky Nelson. He invested his teenage years playing a fictionalized variation of himself on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harrietthe long-running household comedy starring his genuine moms and dads and older bro. Audiences for that reason viewed Ricky grow from a naughty kid into a good-looking teen before he ever tried to offer them a record.

In 1957, the 16-year-old Nelson tape-recorded a cover of Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin’.” He performed it on the comedy in the episode “Ricky the Drummer,” and the single reached number 4 on the pop chart. His launching album reached primary, while the later single “Poor Little Fool” ended up being the very first tune to leading Billboard’s recently presented Hot 100.

Ozzie Nelson rapidly acknowledged tv’s marketing power and started including his kid’s efficiencies into extra episodes. Audiences might see Ricky sing in their living-room and after that buy the record the next day. The technique assisted change him into among America’s very first television-created teenager idols, although his skill and rockabilly noise ultimately made him regard beyond his clean-cut comedy image.^[3]

7 David Cassidy

Motivated loosely by the real-life musical group the Cowsills, The Partridge Family On a widowed mom and her 5 kids who formed a pop band and took a trip in a brilliantly painted school bus. Shirley Jones played mom Shirley Partridge, while her real-life stepson David Cassidy was cast as oldest kid and diva Keith.

Producers initially employed Cassidy as a star and supposedly didn’t understand how well he might sing. When he showed his capability, he ended up being the prima donna on the Partridge Family recordings. Cassidy and Jones were the only cast members whose voices routinely appeared on the records, with expert studio artists and backing vocalists finishing the group.

The tv series and its imaginary band debuted in 1970. That very same year, “I Think I Love You” invested 3 weeks at primary on the Billboard Hot 100. Cassidy quickly started taping solo albums and carrying out for massive crowds of shrieking fans. Tunes such as “Cherish,” “How Can I Be Sure,” and “Daydreamer” extended his appeal beyond the comedy, especially in Britain. A function suggested to release a tv funny rather turned Cassidy into among the years’s greatest teenager idols.^[4]

6 Sabrina Carpenter

Sabrina Carpenter sang and auditioned for acting functions from youth, however Woman Meets World offered her the nationwide direct exposure to link the 2 professions. The Disney Channel extension of the popular comedy Young Boy Meets World cast Carpenter as Maya Hart, the amusing and defiant friend of Riley Matthews.

Carpenter’s recording profession established along with the series. Throughout its run, she launched her launching EP, Can’t Blame a Girl for Tryingfollowed by the albums Eyes Wide Open and AdvancementHer Disney audience supplied an important beginning point, however lasting pop fame did not get here instantly. Carpenter invested years improving her music, touring, and slowly moving far from the thoroughly managed image related to kid entertainers.

Her determination ultimately settled. The album E-mails I Can’t Send produced the popular songs “Nonsense” and “Feather,” while 2024’s Brief n’ Sweet debuted at primary on the Billboard 200. “Espresso” ended up being an international hit, and “Please Please Please” provided Carpenter her very first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. What started with the ironical friend on a Disney comedy eventually turned into among the biggest pop professions of her generation.^[5]

5 Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez started acting upon Barney & Friendshowever the Disney Channel comedy Wizards of Waverly Place changed her into a star. Gomez played Alex Russo, among 3 brother or sisters training to end up being the sole wizard permitted to keep wonderful powers as a grownup. The naughty Alex was hardly ever the most accountable Russo, however she was quickly the program’s breakout character.

Disney quickly started establishing Gomez as a recording artist. She sang the comedy’s signature tune, “Everything Is Not What It Seems,” and contributed music to numerous Disney soundtracks. In 2009, she ended up being the diva of Selena Gomez & & the Scene. The group launched 3 albums throughout and right away after the program’s run, producing hits such as “Naturally,” “Who Says,” and “Love You Like a Love Song.”

Gomez formally started her solo tape-recording profession with Stars Dance in 2013, the year after Wizards of Waverly Place ended. The album debuted at top on the Billboard 200, while “Come & & Get It” became her very first solo Top 10 hit. She later on returned to tv with Just Murders in the Buildingher years as Alex Russo had actually currently offered the audience for a significant pop profession.^[6]

4 The Monkees

Many entertainers on this list utilized an effective comedy to introduce a music profession. The Monkees were various due to the fact that the tv program and recording group were created as one massive home entertainment bundle. Manufacturers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider developed the NBC comedy The Monkees after being influenced by the Beatles motion picture A Hard Day’s NightMicky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork played a having a hard time rock band whose efforts to discover success normally ended in comic turmoil.

Behind the scenes, expert songwriters and studio artists at first produced much of the group’s music. The technique however produced authentic hits, consisting of “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Daydream Believer,” and the Neil Diamond-penned “I’m a Believer.” Countless audiences saw the tunes carried out weekly, making the comedy an abnormally reliable marketing lorry.

The 4 stars ultimately rebelled versus their minimal participation and defended higher control over the records launched under their names. On the 1967 album Head officethey played the majority of the instruments themselves, and the album reached primary. An imaginary comedy band had actually developed into a genuine touring and tape-recording act– one that continued reuniting long after its tv series ended.^[7]

3 Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson originated from an extremely well-known musical household, however her public profession started mainly in acting. At age 10, she was cast as Penny Gordon Woods on the comedy ProsperityThe mentally requiring function presented Jackson to a nationwide audience and revealed that the youngest member of the Jackson household had her own skills.

After ProsperityJackson appeared in A New Kind of Family and played Willis Jackson’s sweetheart, Charlene DuPrey, on Diff’lease StrokesShe later on signed up with the musical drama PopularityBy the time her very first album was launched in 1982, tv had actually currently made her a familiar face. Neither that album nor its follow-up, Dream Streetdeveloped her as a significant vocalist.

That altered when Jackson separated her profession from her daddy’s management and dealt with manufacturers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Her 1986 album Control produced hits consisting of “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “Nasty,” and “When I Think of You.” It changed the previous comedy starlet into a pop icon with a noise and image independent of her well-known siblings.^[8]

2 Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande had actually appeared in the Broadway musical 13however her significant development can be found in 2010 when she was cast as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon comedy TriumphantSet at a carrying out arts high school, the program offered Grande chances to act, sing, and show the excellent singing variety that would quickly eclipse her tv character.

Grande taped vocals for the program’s soundtracks while likewise publishing cover tunes online. Those efficiencies captured Republic Records’ attention, and they signed her in 2011. Her very first single, “Put Your Hearts Up,” leaned greatly into her wholesome Nickelodeon image, however Grande later on declined its bubblegum design and started establishing music that much better showed her R&B affects.

Her launching album, Yours Trulygotten here in 2013 as Triumphant aired its last episodes and Grande moved into the spinoff Sam & & CatThe album debuted at top on the Billboard 200, while “The Way,” including Mac Miller, arrived 10. Grande quickly left comedy acting behind and became among the dominant pop vocalists of her generation, although her later function as Glinda in the Wicked movies brought her performing and musical professions together once again.^[9]

1 Miley Cyrus

No comedy has combined an entertainer’s imaginary and genuine music professions better than Hannah MontanaMiley Cyrus played Miley Stewart, a regular teen covertly carrying out as the well-known pop vocalist Hannah Montana. Her real-life dad, nation vocalist Billy Ray Cyrus, played her onscreen dad and supervisor.

The series premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006 and rapidly ended up being a cultural phenomenon. Cyrus taped albums, visited, and appeared in show movies as Hannah, making the imaginary vocalist nearly as identifiable as the starlet playing her. The 2007 double album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus started separating the 2 identities by committing one disc to Hannah and another to Cyrus carrying out under her own name.

Cyrus launched her very first album without Hannah Montana branding, Breakoutin 2008. Her later reinventions took her through dance pop, nation, rock, and speculative music, producing hits such as “Party in the U.S.A.,” “Wrecking Ball,” “The Climb,” and “Flowers.” She often appeared excited to distance herself from her Disney character, however ultimately welcomed the function that had actually presented her voice to the world. As she described throughout the program’s 20th-anniversary event, reconnecting Hannah and Miley let her recover a crucial part of her history.^[10]

truth inspected by Darci Heikkinen