Yes, the Cast of “Up Here” Is Really Singing – Check Out Their Musical Backgrounds

Whitman is known for her acting and voice acting roles, but she’s also a talented singer. In 2007, she recorded two tracks for the compilation album “School’s Out! Christmas,” which featured other prominent stars like Taylor Momsen and Ashlee Simpson. Whitman is also credited for having background vocals on the indie band Fake Problems’s 2010 album “Real Ghosts Caught On Tape.” She further showcased her singing abilities throughout the 2010 TV series “Parenthood.”

Now, over a decade since then, Whitman has picked up the mic again in “Up Here.” In a March 23 interview with Vanity Fair, Whitman opened up about her experience doing a musical for the first time. “It was just something that I hadn’t done before,” she said. “It’s easy to show up, do your thing, have a parking place, go home, not really be as invested. But what makes me feel the most connected to the artistry of acting is doing something new, and especially something that scares the living bejesus out of me, which is singing in public.”

To prepare for her role as Lindsay, Whitman worked with a voice coach and received choreography lessons. “Honestly, there was not a lot of downtime while we were filming,” she said. “We spent a month recording the entire album and doing dance rehearsals at the same time.”

While speaking with the Screen Chatter, Whitman said that although singing is still “so vulnerable” for her, her experience on “Up Here” was a major “confidence booster,” and she’s thankful to have been a part of the show.

Valdes has a background in theater, so it’s not surprising he did his own vocals in “Up Here.” His theater credits include productions of “Jersey Boys,” “Once,” and “Zorba!” After showing off his vocals on stage for years, Valdes released his debut EP “Night Off” in 2015 under the name Tha Los.

In a March 13 interview with Screen Chatter, Valdes said that since he’s been away from the music world for so long, “Up Here” gave him the opportunity to hone his skills again. “I have a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater, so I’ve spent some years training in that respect. But honestly, I’ve spent almost the last 10 years not doing theater and spending more of my energies doing TV and on-camera work, and so I feel old,” he said about returning to theater.

Katie Finneran, who plays Lindsay’s mother Joan, has been performing on Broadway since the 1990s and has even won two Tony Awards, including Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Marge MacDougall in the 2010 Broadway revival of “Promises, Promises.”

Finneran talked about her experience doing a musical comedy series in a March 21 interview with Movie Web. “What I love about our show is the musical moments are just sort of an extension of the acting, but with bigger feelings,” she said. “And so many of us come from a Broadway background, that we just feel very at home in that world. And it’s going to be really exciting to bring it to a whole new audience on the small screen.”

In “Up Here,” John Hodgman stars as Lindsay’s father Tom. Hodgman may primarily focus on his work as an actor and author, however, he has dived into the music world from time to time. In 2010, he was featured on the track “Question and Answer Time” on MC Frontalot’s album “Zero Day,” and in 2018, he appeared on “Don’t Worry It’s Fine” on Jean Grae & Quelle Chris’ 2018 album “Everything’s Fine.”

Andréa Burns, who plays Miguel’s mother Rosie, also has an extensive musical background. She’s appeared in Broadway productions of “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Full Monty,” and “The Ritz,” just to name a few. In 2007, she earned a Drama Desk Award for originating the role of Daniela in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s “In The Heights” – a role she reprised on Broadway in 2008. In 2015, she also received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for her role as Gloria Fajardo in the Broadway production of “On Your Feet!”

Sophia Hammons, aka Celeste, has been showing off more of her vocal chops in recent years. In 2021, she appeared in the half-hour musical special “Disney Princess Remixed,” during which she performed her own rendition of “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid.” In an interview with Disney Channel that year, she called the experience the most “courageous” thing she’s done. “I had to gain the courage to sing on stage and dance with a bunch of these new dancers I’ve never met before. It was super fun and a great experience,” she said at the time.

Just a week before she was announced to have joined the cast of “Up Here” in June 2022, Hammons may have teased her involvement in the musical by posting a picture of her in the recording studio on Instagram. “In new york for the summer…” she captioned the photo.

Emilia Suárez (Renee) is an actress, singer, and dancer. Before making it big, the star attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, where she received the Helen Wayne Rauh Award for Excellence in Acting. Videos of her early performances can be seen on her school’s official website. Since graduating in 2020, Suárez has also released a few singles like “Lil Ghost” and “Float.”