If you ever had any doubts about Vanessa Hudgens' vocal or acting range, consider them dashed. The actress and singer — best known for Disney Channel's High School Musical franchise — showed her mean girl side as Rizzo during Sunday night's broadcast of Grease Live!. Vanessa Hudgens sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and she completely slayed the song. It's been well-publicized that she's taking on the production merely hours after losing her father to cancer and starring in the musical in his honor, so that makes her incredible performance even more special.
Pink Ladies ring leader Betty Rizzo has a hard edge and doesn't always show a lot of heart, but her big song comes at a point in the musical where she's wondering if she's pregnant with Kenickie's baby and thinking about what she's going to do, since he originally wasn't willing to help her. She's trying to stay strong, no matter what happens, but it's hard. So the halls clear at Rydell High and Rizzo sings her heart out, saying "there are worse things I could do." And Hudgens just shined on-screen in the solo filled with emotion and potentially broken dreams. It's time to officially say goodbye to innocent Gabrielle of High School Musical; say hello to mature, sexy, but unsure Rizzo. You can watch "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" below.
Hudgens lost her father Greg to Stage 4 cancer on Saturday night in a most heartbreaking turn of events. She tweeted that she would be doing Grease Live! in his honor and boy is she living up to that promise. The actress and singer has been absolutely flawless as Rizzo, a role made famous in the movie version by Stockard Channing. Rizzo is a character who evolves throughout the story — going from Queen Bee mean girl to vulnerable and conflicted over a difficult situation, before revealing her pregnancy scare was a false alarm. It's a rollercoaster of emotions to play, but Hudgens performed them all perfectly, nailing all of her musical moments along the way. In a night full of excellent performances, Rizzo really stole the show on Grease Live!
Images: Tommy Garcia/FOX; Giphy
