We know Michael Cera for many things. He's an actor who has played lovably awkward and geeky characters in "Arrested Development," "Superbad" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." He's besties with his "Superbad" co-star Jonah Hill. He was even an Internet meme. (How could anyone forget "Prancing Cera"?) But we've never seen Cera do something quite like this before.
Cera released his first album recently, which quickly caught the attention of the Internet. Yes, you read that correctly. Cera has hidden musical talent.
Although Cera actually released his album "True That" on Aug. 8, it really took off when his friend and former co-star Hill announced the release via Twitter with a link to purchase or stream the album. "My great friend Michael Cera not only is a brilliant actor, he also makes great music," Hill wrote in the tweet.
"True That" features 18 songs, but if you decide to buy the album for $7, you'll get three bonus tracks. It's a mix of short, instrumental interludes and folky acoustic numbers where we actually get to hear Cera sing. And he's not half bad!
We got a taste of Cera's musical talent when he performed a cover of The Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You" with Ellen Page at the end of "Juno," which definitely made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside due to this happy ending. However, you never know what you're going to get when an actor crosses over into the music business in the real world. We've seen the good (Jennifer Lopez), the bad (Russel Crowe) and the ones we'd rather forget happened altogether (Bruce Willis).
Cera actually created a successful album, full of interesting instrumental choices, haunting vocals and earnest lyrics. His album really does fit in quite nicely with the work of some of the more popular lo-fi arists today, such as Real Estate, Kurt Vile and Best Coast, which all have a very 1960s vibe to them. Some of the highlights of the album are the raw, clanging instrumental piece in "Moving In," the ethereal cover of Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons," and the cheery "ohNadine."
When he's not dropping surprise albums like Beyonce, Cera is getting ready to star in "This Is Our Youth" on Broadway. The revival of the 1996 Kenneth Lonergan play follows three young adults during the course of 48 hours as they deal with what adulthood brings. Now that we know Cera can sing, could a leading role in a Broadway musical not be far behind?
