Music stars hit high, low notes as guest stars on popular series
Justin Bieber didn't make many believers with his acting on "CSI." Credit: CBS
It’s “Game” on for Ed Sheeran.
The pop star, known for his gentle ballads and fiery red hair, will appear on season 7 of “Game of Thrones,” the series’ producers announced last week at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas. No details have been given about what sort of role Sheeran will play, but his appearance was filmed last year.
In recent years, a number of music stars have guest-starred on popular series. Which ones scored a hit, and who hit a sour note?
BRITNEY SPEARS
Oops, she did it again — after her first appearance in “How I Met Your Mother” as a receptionist smitten with Ted (Josh Radnor) in March 2008, Spears returned in May.
THE VERDICT The entertainment site IGN.com found her “endearing” in the first episode, but called her scenes in the reprise “rushed and awkward.”
TAYLOR SWIFT
The “Bad Blood” singer appeared on “CSI” in 2009 — mainly in flashbacks — as a slain teen. You might have also seen her in the 2013 season finale of “New Girl” as Elaine, who disrupts Cece’s wedding.
THE VERDICT “Swift surprisingly adapts well considering it’s her first go-round in front of the camera,” Rolling Stone said of her work on “CSI.” The Atlantic was less enthusiastic about her “New Girl” performance, which it dubbed “a little stilted.”
JUSTIN BIEBER
Pop music’s bad boy showed up in two episodes of “CSI” in 2010 and 2011 as the troubled sibling of a mad bomber.
THE VERDICT Newsday’s Verne Gay said, “Bieber’s about as convincing a sociopath as SpongeBob would be in the role.”
KATY PERRY
The “Roar” singer attempted to have viewers roaring by donning a frizzy red wig, prison guard duds and a fake mustache for a 2012 episode of “Raising Hope.”
THE VERDICT Perry got panned in TV Guide’s Cheers & Jeers section “for turning from ‘Teenage Dream’ into a nightmare on ‘Raising Hope.’ ”
PRINCE
Mr. “Purple Rain” added some flash to the 2014 post-Super Bowl episode of “New Girl” in which Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and the gang attend a party at Prince’s mansion.
THE VERDICT “The Purple One’s presence was pure gold,” according to Spin magazine.
LADY GAGA
The flamboyant singer was equally flamboyant last season on “American Horror Story” in her Golden Globe-winning turn as the Witch of the Woods.
THE VERDICT “Gaga fits perfectly into Ryan Murphy’s tableau of horror-meets-sex-meets-death,” gushed Verne Gay.
