Though most of the world hasn't heard it yet, Kim Kardashian's debut single has already started to pick up some buzz thanks to a premiere party in Las Vegas over the weekend. According to a source at Tao, the Vegas club where Kardashian unveiled the tune (tentatively titled "Turn It Up"), the song completely lit up the club once the DJ pressed play. "The response was huge," the source explained. "People wanted an encore and the DJ only played it once, but they wanted to hear it again. She was singing along and dancing with it."
That's pretty solid initial buzz for Kardashian, who is making her first foray into the music world with "Turn It Up" (which was produced by The-Dream). But she's hardly the first non-musician to take that plunge. In fact, the past few years have produced a number of celebrities who have first made their bones on reality television first. The results, as you can see, have been decidedly mixed.
Paris Hilton
Perhaps the most notorious of all the celebutantes has perhaps also the most notorious single release when she dropped "Stars Are Blind" in 2006. In perhaps the greatest twist, it was greeted with almost universal "That could be much worse!" reviews. Hilton's debut (and only) album Paris was a minor commercial success.
Heidi Montag
The breakout star of "The Hills" dropped a series of singles and a full-length album Superficial last year. Though there was a bit of enthusiasm for the non-album track "Body Language," Montag's reviews were mostly negative.
Kim Zolciak and Kandi Burruss
The women of "The Real Housewives" series have made several appearances in recording studios. The most famous (and thus the most "successful," though that's a relative term) has been "Tardy for the Party," a punchy dance track by "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member Kim Zolciak (with an assist from friend and castmate Kandi Burruss).
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino
The cast of MTV's hit reality show "Jersey Shore" are only just getting warmed up, but Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino has already branched out into other television projects (he was a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars") and his first single (the bouncy "Situation Rap").
Countess LuAnn Du Lesseps
The Countess, a regular from "The Real Housewives of New York City," has produced what is undoubtedly the favorite celebutante track here in the MTV Newsroom. In April 2010, she dropped "Money Can't Buy You Class," which contains the key lyric, "Elegance is learned."