Hollywood star Anne Hathaway, who is currently gearing up for the release of her upcoming film “The Devil Wears Prada”, says she repeatedly listened to one Beyonce song to help her prepare for playing the titular role in the film, Mother Mary.
Hathaway listened to the 44-year-old singer-songwriter's 2024 track American Requiem repeatedly in preparation her role in the psychological drama-thriller, which follows the psychosexual affair between pop singer Mary and fashion designer Sam Anselm.
Studying Beyonce's voice made Hathaway realise she could use a softer voice for her character, reports feamelfirst.co.uk. During a Q+A session at a listening event for the movie's soundtrack, Hathaway said: "Her technique in that song is so mesmerising and astonishing - and real.”
“Just listening to her phraseology, her musicianship, understanding the history of her voice that had led her to be able to make that sound that is so still, that's so present, I studied that, and I appreciated that Beyoncé can do the runs,” she added. Studying the 35-time Grammy Award winner's "pop phrasing was a really big deal" for the actress.
Hathaway added: "I thought, OK, maybe there's something to be said about having a sweet, still voice. Maybe I can work with this." The star originally learned to sing in a musical theatre style, and she spent two years retraining her voice in a more contemporary pop style for Mother Mary.
Speaking about her 72-year-old mom, actress Kate McCauley Hathaway, she said: "I'm more soft-spoken than she is, and so in my head. I've never really rated myself as a singer. When I was growing up, I was like, 'Whitney Houston, that's a real singer,' and I just can't do runs like that."
With Mother Mary, she added: "It was a completely new way of singing, and it baffled me for the longest time. It took about two years before I finally cracked it," she said of the pop star she built. "So much of it was just studying what other singers did and trying to figure out, frankly, why they sounded so cool."