Let’s Visit the Alternate Universe in which Brie Larson Became a Pop Star

Technically, recent Oscar winner Brie Larson almost became a pop star in our universe — but the key word there is “almost.”

What went wrong? You might be able to figure it out if you watch the video above, featuring one of Larson’s would-be pop hits. I’m not sure who wrote this song, but one problem I’ve noticed is that it just isn’t catchy. Almost as soon as the song ends, you forget the melody entirely. Another big problem? The aesthetic of this video would have been “edgy” and “hip” back in 1995 — except that these videos and songs got recorded in 2005.

One way you can tell that these videos seem to be stuck in some sort of weird time loop is that one of the guys in the video is wearing a Napoleon Dynamite T-shirt (that movie came out in 2004), except that the styling for most of the other outfits feels like a late ’90s version of pop-punk scenester stuff. Meanwhile, the song itself sounds like one of Avril Lavigne’s B-sides, right down to the audio production — the swirling synth in the background, the super-clean vocals, the jangling guitar, and so on. It’s definitely listenable — Larson’s voice sounds great! — but I can still understand why these songs just didn’t catch on. Unfortunately, the other songs on Brie Larson’s old VEVO channel don’t leave much to be desired either, with everything feeling like it’s a decade too late.

Even so, these old tracks may have helped Brie Larson secure one memorable mid-career success: the role of Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The movie wasn’t a box office smash, but Brie Larson’s performance as a rock star was one of the more fun scenes in the movie. Larson’s cover of Metric’s “Black Sheep” proves that if she had only gotten better songwriters (as Metric’s Emily Haines certainly is), her music career could’ve taken off.

Larson seems to have firmly secured her career as an actor now rather than as a musical performer, but she clearly has the talent to rock out when the situation calls for it. Maybe she’ll end up in a movie musical someday?

(via Pajiba)

—Please make note of The Mary Sue’s general comment policy.—

Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?