7 Times Celebs Showed Off Their Hidden Talents on National Television
Audrina Patridge might have her hands full as a new mom to baby Kirra Max, but that doesn’t mean she can’t take time out to do things for herself — or others — as she proved when she returned to her reality television roots Monday night. The former The Hills star hit the kitchen (again) for a good cause, competing in the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars against Perez Hilton, Nick Young and Lea Thompson for a chance to win $10,000 for her charity of choice. Though she ultimately lost out to Lea, Audrina took to Instagram to say how much fun she had playing baker.
“I had the best time baking, laughing and giving our competitors a hard time with my partner @theamyclarke,” Audrina says. “Definitely put our baking skills to the test.”
In honor of her efforts (girl DID give it her best shot), we’re taking a look back at some other celebs who stepped out of their comfort zones and the roles that they’re known for to spice things up for the camera. Check out some of their hidden talents below!
1. Christina Aguilera: Christina is no stranger to television competitions — the former Mouseketeer was competing on Star Search as early as nine years old. But it was her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that had us absolutely speechless. Participating in a game called “The Wheel of Musical Impressions,” Christina was asked to not only impersonate other people’s singing voices, but to do it to the tune of some completely unrelated songs. Girlfriend not only plays, she completely NAILS it, slaying the voices of her mentor and former Burlesque co-star Cher, Shakira and, best of all, her former supposed arch nemesis, Britney Spears — all to the tune of jingles and nursery rhymes. She’s so good, in fact, that she made a repeat performance on Ellen, where she took on the likes of Whitney Houston, Katy Perry, Madonna and Beyoncé and all but blew them out of the water. Banking on her newfound success, she turned a season finale of The Voice skit into an impressions bonanza, stealing our hearts forever in the process. It’s official: All hail Christina, the QUEEN of impressions! (Photo via Kevin Winter/Getty)
2. Anne Hathaway: Chrissy Teigen’s Lip Sync Battle has yielded some pretty epic performances: Who could forget that mind-blowing Zoe Saldana TLC performance or Channing Tatum channeling his inner Bey? Yet it was a totally unexpected actress — Anne Hathaway — that had us in absolute stitches with her rendition of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.” The usually demure Anne straight up COMMITTED, ripping her tearaway pants off mid-performance and reenacting the video’s famous wrecking ball scene, running and attacking it with all her might before turning to give competitor Emily Blunt the finger. WHOA. Did girl just out-Miley Miley?! We’re thinking yes. (Photo via John Sciulli/Getty)
3.Emma Stone: Like Christina, Emma actually got her start competing on reality television early: She was on VH1’s In Search of the Partridge Family before she was ever famous, belting out her very own rendition of “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks. It was her killer Lip Sync Battle against Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show post-fame, however, that left us seriously stunned. Taking on both Blues Traveler’s “Hook” and “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled (two very formidable choices, if we do say so ourselves), Emma straight up slays, spitting out the fastest verses known to man with wild abandon. Consider us beyond impressed. (Photo via Theo Wargo/Getty)
4. Gigi Hadid: Though Gigi also tried her hand at lip sync battling in a pretty stellar version of BSB’s “Larger Than Life,” it was her stint as a chef that impressed us most. Gigi competed against friend and fellow model Devon Windsor for top Master Chef honors, clinching the title with a simple-yet-effective beef patty with pickled jalepenos and a crispy “onion nest:” In fact, the notoriously critical Gordan Ramsey called it “f*cking delicious!” In all fairness, Gigi did have some prior experience with burgers: The model confessed that she once tried a different burger every week for an entire year. The tactic paid off. Not only did the model win bragging rights, but she earned $25,000 for The Global Lyme Alliance for Lyme Disease, a cause close to her heart due to her family’s public struggles with the disease. (Photo via Frazer Harrison/Getty)
5. Heather Morris: Before Heather Morris was showing off her pipes on Glee, she was busting a move for judges on season two of So You Think You Can Dance. Girl wasn’t too shabby, either: She made it through all of “Vegas Week” without being cut, though she ultimately was snubbed for the final 20 in a heartbreaking three to two vote. Ouch! Clearly, it worked out for the best: She went on to become a backup dancer for none other than freaking BEYONCÉ and Tina Turner (WHAT) before landing her iconic role as Brittany S. Pierce. We’re gonna go ahead and say Heather won out in the end, after all. (Photo via Frazer Harrison/Getty)
6. Lucy Hale: Our favorite Pretty Little Liar has some serious pipes, as she proved way back when in 2003, when she was a contestant on American Juniors (the teenage spinoff of American Idol — ever heard of it? Us either!). Lucy actually rounded out the top three, but alas, she was defeated by her peers, despite her best “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (she also performed a pretty mean version of Blondie). She went on to release a record with the top five contestants, but after lackluster sales and a brief stint in music of her own, Lucy made the transition to the actress we all know and love her as today. Huzzah! (Photo via Sonia Recchia/Getty)
7. Jennifer “JWoww” Farley: Last but not least is our girl JWoww, who impressed the pants off of us when she took home the title on Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America. After eight grueling weeks at culinary bootcamp, Jenni was whipping up meals with the likes of Rachael Ray and Annie Burrell, taking home both the title and her $50,000 prize for charity. The experience left her a convert — “I will be cooking my ass off, because I love it!” she said in a post-win interview. (Photo via Bryan Bedder/Getty)
Which celeb’s secret skillz were you most impressed with? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via Grant Lamos IV/Getty)
