With his successes on and off our screens, Ashton Kutcher is clearly a celebrity with layers. Can he count singing among his talents?
Ashton Kutcher can sing, in the sense that the majority of people are physically capable of doing so, but does not appear to have formal training as a singer. As Kutcher does not have extensive theatre school experience, where students often receive at least some singing tuition, it is possible that he has none. He did sing in his movie “A Lot Like Love” but his character was not intended to be a talented musician.
For more on Ashton Kutcher’s brief musical performances onscreen and how he enjoys music in his personal life, read on.
A Lot Like Love
There aren’t many examples of Ashton Kutcher singing onscreen, so it’s difficult to judge his musical ability.
Probably his most notable musical performance came in the 2005 film “A Lot Like Love”, when Kutcher’s character, Oliver, serenades his love interest Emily, played by Amanda Peet.
Oliver, electric guitar in hand, stands in the courtyard outside Emily’s apartment and performs Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There For You”. Kutcher’s performance in the scene is unrefined but passionate, appropriately for the scene as he is not supposed to portray Oliver as an especially talented musician.
As Kutcher has never given a “serious” musical performance onscreen, to the best of our knowledge, it’s difficult to know how good he could be.
There are many examples of actors surprising the audience with their musical ability, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line” remaining one of the gold standards.
We also don’t know if Kutcher has any formal musical training as part of his Hollywood education. As he didn’t attend a theater or acting school in his youth, where students usually receive at least some basic singing tuition, it seems unlikely.
If Kutcher were cast in a role that required genuine musical training, however, he would likely face the challenge. After all, this is an actor who was hospitalized after trying to mimic Steve Jobs’ extreme diet in preparation for his role in “Jobs”.
Kutcher and Music
Even if Ashton Kutcher isn’t a trained musician, he still has a love for music. He has diverse listening tastes, from country to folk and rock.
Kutcher is known to be a big fan of country music, with him and his partner, Mila Kunis, making it a yearly ritual to attend the Stagecoach Festival, California’s biggest annual country music gathering.
Kutcher and fellow University of Iowa attendee, former NFL tight end Dallas Clark, teamed up to start the Native Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting Iowans who have been struck by disasters.
The Native Fund was able to attract Metallica to Iowa as part of the band’s Worldwired Tour, performing at the Iowa Speedway in 2017, using music to help raise money for a positive cause.
Despite his tastes in music, an effect of having two children in recent years means that Kutcher’s household playlists have been largely dominated by music for the very young.
He said this included “Dora the Explorer” and several nursery rhymes such as “Wheels on the Bus” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider”.
Unfortunately, if Ashton and Mila joined in by performing these children’s songs, we haven’t been able to hear them and compare Kutcher’s performance to that in “A Lot Like Love”.
In 2019, we were treated to a rare glimpse of the couple singing as they posted their rendition of children’s song “La Vaca Lola”, perhaps a sign that they are more comfortable singing for the camera if the lyrics aren’t in English.
We’re still not sure how to judge Ashton’s singing ability but it’s still a lovely look at the domestic life of the couple, who first met in the 1990s during their time together on “That ’70s Show”.