Ewan McGregor: The Moulin Rouge star is the

If we are to go by the way girls have been swooning over his singing in the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, then Ewan McGregor should seriously consider cutting an album or two. The Scottish-born actor can sing and you will surely agree that his sexy kind of vulnerability made a great heartthrob out of the penniless poet Christian in the magnificent musical.

Now just as those who have seen the Baz Luhrmann opus simply cannot believe their eyes that this guy is the junkie of Trainspotting and the young Obi-Wan Kenobi of The Phantom Menace, they also cannot believe their ears that Ewan is singing. The same thing goes for Nicole Kidman as Satine, the beautiful courtesan but there is something sweetly charming in Ewan’s efforts and that is why cuts from the soundtrack album are now surprisingly getting airplay.

And to think that the producers had to recruit the powerhouse quartet of Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink to sing Lady Marmalade and get the soundtrack zooming up the charts. Ewan’s rendition of Elton John’s Your Song could have also done the trick. Can’t really blame them though. I do not think anybody saw Ewan McGregor as a singing idol until Moulin Rouge was released.

Anyway the movie is still showing so you can still catch it, if you still haven’t seen it or you can watch it and be mesmerized again. The soundtrack album with vocals by Ewan and Nicole is also available in the music shops. And even if you are one of the few whom Ewan failed to charm, the music from Moulin Rouge is definitely a winner.

The remake of LaBelle’s Lady Marmalade is the lead song. What is truly remarkable though is the wide variety of materials that were given incredibly interesting new interpretations by renowned artists. The medleys scintillate but the most moving are Nature Boy, the Nat Cole classic reworked by David Bowie, the French favorite Complainte de la Butte done by Rufus Wainwright and the fantastic tango version of Sting’s Roxanne by McGregor, Jose Feliciano and Jacek Koman.

Others included are Because We Can by Fatboy Slim, Rhythm of the Night by Valeria, Your Song by McGregor and Alessandro Safina, Children of the Revolution by Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer, One Day I’ll Fly Away by Kidman, Diamond Dogs by Beck, Hindi Sad Diamonds by Kidman, John Leguizamo and Alka Yagnik, Come What May by Kidman and McGregor, and the wonderful medleys Sparkling Diamonds and Elephant Love Medley.

Now 7: That’s What I Call Music! is another huge success. The seventh volume in the hit compilation series is holding on to the number three spot in the Billboard chart. This album is a fantastic cost-saver for music lovers who want to acquire copies of current hits but cannot afford to buy every album in the charts. With Now, they get all the popular singles in one blockbuster of an album. And Now 7 presents 19 of them performed by some of the biggest names in pop music today.

These are: All for You by Janet Jackson; Lovin’ Each Day by Ronan Keating; Let Love Be Your Energy by Robbie Williams; More Than That by the Backstreet Boys, Stuck in R Moment You Can’t Get Out Of by U2; What Took You So Long? by Emma Bunton; Always Come Back to Your Love by Samantha Mumba; Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado; It’s Raining Men by Geri Halliwell; I’ll Never Stop by ‘N Sync; Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know by Britney Spears; One More Time by Daft Punk; Pure and Simple by Hear’ Say; Whole Again by Atomic Kitten; It’s the Way You Make Me Feel by Steps; Never Had R Dream Come True by S Club 7; Don’t Panic by Coldplay; Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz; and Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle) by Limp Bizkit.

Speaking of hits, here now are the big selling singles of the US of A as per the last Billboard Hot 100 tabulation: I’m Real by Jennifer Lopez feat. Ja Rule; Fallin’ by Alicia Keys; Someone to Call My Lover by Janet Jackson, Hit ‘em Up Style (Oops!) by Blu Cantrell; Let Me Blow Ya Mind by Eve feat. Gwen Stefani of No Doubt; Where the Party At by Jagged Edge with Nelly; U Remind Me by Usher; It’s Been Awhile by Staind; Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train; and Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse.