Nicole Scherzinger Was Always Meant to Get These ‘Sunset Blvd.’ Raves

This week:

• One of the best TV performances of the year.

• A delightfully unusual animated film.

• We’ve reached peak holiday rom-com.

• This! Zendaya! Dress!

Nicole Scherzinger, We Always Knew

I need to thank Nicole Scherzinger for so many things: For giving one of the most transfixing, volcanic, roof-shattering musical theater performances I’ve ever seen in the current Broadway production of Sunset Blvd. For giving me and all of my theater-loving friends something to gush and bond over every three or four minutes or so, when our bodies start quaking again in aftershock to her seismic performance. And, most of all, for giving me a reason to be my favorite thing in the world: absolutely smug.

Scherzinger isn’t just the toast of New York and the theater world this week, after the opening of Sunset Blvd. Every champagne bottle in Manhattan spontaneously popped in unison in her honor. The kinds of raves that she and director Jamie Lloyd’s production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical have received border on historic; only a few performers can boast this spewing geyser of accolades and adulation.

I could go on and on. Since I can’t exactly point you to the dozens of group text messages I have going on at the moment with friends buzzing about the show, I’ll instead direct you to my brilliant colleague Tim Teeman’s wonderful review, which we essentially recreated in ecstatic conversation several times at the office this week.

Much of the talk about Scherzinger’s work in the show is in impressed disbelief. Scherzinger is best known as a member of the pop group the Pussycat Dolls, whose songs include “Don’t Cha” and “When I Grow Up,” and for being one of the original judges on the TV show The Masked Singer. It’s not the résumé some would expect for the person who just turned a revelatory take on Norma Desmond, a role performed by theater greats like Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, and Elaine Paige.

Those people clearly haven’t spent countless hours traveling down YouTube rabbit holes of Scherzinger’s performances over the years.

In fact, being cast in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical makes more sense than you might think, given her years as one of his muses while she’s worked steadily in London and the West End.

She was nominated for an Olivier Award for her playing Grizabella in Cats, belting the indelible showtune “Memory”:

Here she is performing “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita, a glimpse at the powerhouse poise she’d channel as Norma Desmond:

And maybe what started it all, her vocal acrobatics singing the Christine part in a Phantom of the Opera tribute:

But it’s not just her mastery of Andrew Lloyd Weber ballads that hinted at her talent. There are some standout vocal performances that have gone viral over the years, like her cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”:

She’s also always had a clear love and respect of musical theater, taking on roles that seemed to be more a labor of passion than a strategic career move.

If you watched the TV musical versions of Annie Live!, in which she played Grace, and Dirty Dancing, in which she played Penny, you saw the transfixing confidence with which she commanded every musical number and scene. My favorite, though, is her unexpected, jaw-dropping version of Maureen in the Hollywood Bowl production of Rent:

And let’s not undersell it: Those Pussycat Dolls songs were bops, and Scherzinger’s vocals on them were objectively outstanding, to say nothing about her dancing skills.

I guess what I’m saying is that Nicole Scherzinger needs someone to serve as president of her fan club, I’m available. And also this Sunset Blvd. attention is much deserved for a person whose talent has been in plain sight this whole time.

A Gloriously Unusual Movie to See This Weekend

Memoir of a Snail is absolutely the first animated film I’ve ever seen that made me cry over how heartachingly adorable it is while getting me to laugh out loud about foster parents who are swingers.

In theaters this weekend, it’s a small film when compared to others in this year’s Oscar race, like Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot. It centers on Gracie, an Australian girl who narrates her life to her pet snail. Things start out melancholy and sweet before turning irreverent and ribald (this is not a kids’ movie), and has a throughline of relentless trauma.

Gracie is orphaned, separated from her twin, bullied, ignored by her foster parents, and catfished. To make up for the loss in her life, she surrounds herself with the comfort animal from her childhood: snails, both real ones and tchotchkes that she hoards.

The tonal journey the film takes you on is a nonstop surprise, but there’s a sweet sentimentality and mischievous sense of humor to all of it. Plus, Gracie is so danged cute. If I were to describe the film, I would say it is like Marcel the Shell With Shoes On meets Precious. Make of that what you will.

I Both Hate and Love This

Netflix is releasing a holiday rom-com called Hot Frosty. It is a film that answers the question, “What if Frosty the Snowman came to life, and he was hot?” I’m serious. Take the screenwriter’s word for it:

You can watch the trailer here.

This Is How You Do a Tribute

Please take a look at this Bob Mackie gown Zendaya wore to pay tribute to Cher at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, an homage to the icon’s classic collaborations with the designer. If I was a person of energy, I would have stood up and given it an ovation when I saw it on my newsfeed.

More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed

A ranking of every single episode of Friends. Seriously! All of them! Read more.

We talked to E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt about Bruce Springsteen and the band’s legacy. Read more.

Melissa Peterman is back where she belongs: in a sitcom with Reba McEntire. Read more.

What to watch this week:

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin: The tearjerker of the year, but in a good way! (Now on Netflix)

Venom: The Last Dance: Watch Venom dance to an ABBA song. It happens! (Now in theaters)

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: A must-watch for fans of the Boss. (Now on Hulu)

Somebody Somewhere: A very special show. My favorite on TV. (Sun. on HBO)

What to skip this week:

Before: Billy Crystal, yikes, what are you doing in this mess? (Now on Apple TV+)