All that is singing in Netflix’s ‘Emily in Paris’ season 2?

When the holiday is over, Netflix wants to make sure to bring a gift of its own: An undeniably addictive new season Emily in Paris.

Last year, the silly but bubbly series proved surprisingly divisive. For some, the show’s public refreshment is a much-needed respite from the misery of living through a pandemic. Others called it a love-to-hate viewing experience, which failed to win any favors with the show when it is said to have been shortlisted for two Golden Globe nominations.

The show’s hostess Emily (played by Lily Collins) stumbles across Love City, both emotionally and professionally. Her seriousness and commitment at the luxury marketing agency Savoir make her a campaign expert for her remarkable ideas. For example, to promote her friend’s family champagne brand, her trick was not to sell (bad) bubbly bottles for baking, but to spray in nightclubs.

A glance continues through the show’s travel description of the very unrealistic lives of Paris and Emily — a Vietnamese lived in a spacious apartment on the Upper East Side and shopped for designer shoes while initially living on the meager salary of a columnist like a wonderland. (But that’s probably because the show’s executive producer Darren Star, who also served as executive producer for Sex and the city.)

But the latest season has sparked new complaints from viewers and not just through Emily’s questionable wardrobe choices; Instead, for near-constant scenes of Emily’s best friend, Mindy Chen (played by actress and Broadway star Ashley Park) performs random ballads and pop songs to boot. a musical career — and perhaps an off-screen song.

Before Emily in Paris, Park has forged an impressive career in the theatrical world, starring in King and I, Mamma Mia!, and even earned a coveted Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 2018 for her portrayal of Toaster heiress Strudel Gretchen Wieners in the production of Toaster Strudel Gretchen Wieners. Bad girls. She also appeared in Tina Fey’s NBC comedy series about a girl group, Girls5eva.

Star witnessed Park singing on stage and called her to play Mindy. Initially the character was not allowed to sing, Park explained in a recent W Magazine interview, but after the first few table readings, Star wanted to combine Park’s talents in a much bigger way.

“We talked about how we wanted it to be driven by the story and not just for the sake of singing,” she told The vulture. “So a lot of those plot stories were developed after the casting process and are still in development, you know? It’s been written from the very beginning that Mindy is an heiress, and being the only child of a very wealthy family in any country, from any culture, is a lot of pressure. ”

Stephanie Branchu / Netflix

That made Park a little apprehensive, worried that she was being integrated into another singing character, she explained to Harper’s Bazaar. “I love to sing, but my first thing was, ‘Literally, Darren, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. If you want me to have my little finger amputated, I’ll think about it. ‘ But with singing, one thing I said was that I didn’t want to feel like, ‘Oh, they’re leaving this Broadway girl, because she sings and she’s going to sing at karaoke.’

Park’s fears were finally allayed and her singing ability was limited in season 1, when viewers learned that the nanny had moved to Paris for a fresh start after skipping over her song “Chandelier”. Sia in China’s famous singing competition Pop star, left her family fortune. Park’s character Mindy makes clear about her past and confesses her dreams to Emily by singing Édith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” on a park bench.

“Many people have asked, ‘Where is the recording of this? Why can’t we download it, ‘” Park told Vanity Fair. “I said, ‘Well, here’s a one-minute a cappella that she just sang in the park. I don’t think you’ll want a recording of that. ‘”

She released a streamed version of the song and an accompanying music video last year, directed by Emily in Paris producer Shihan Fe Blanca.

After some positive feedback on Mindy’s vocals, Star decided to make it a much larger part of the plot for season 2.

Unfortunately, the result is frustrating and feels as though it’s pressing down on viewers’ throats, as Park’s character breaks into the song at every turn possible, performing six times in the season’s 10 episodes. . The shows are in the storyline that Mindy has given up on hard work to focus on making it big in France.

In the first episode, she performed Full version of BTS’ smash hit “Dynamite” at a pull bar, and was later recruited by a few troubadours as their lead singer. (Park said she couldn’t believe the producer can get the rights to the song for the show, as she’s a huge fan of K-Pop.) Then came an impressive performance of “All By Myself” (Celine Dion version) and “Falling Slow” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, from the series. movie Once.

Park’s vocal lead is clumsy, as in a Parisian pantomime troupe; Other times, Collins’ character Emily has a (slightly unprofessional) habit of hiring her close friends for professional matters, including hiring Mindy’s trio to perform “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” ” at a luxury product launch party.

In the finale, Park even had to release an original song for the show, “Mon Soleil,” is now available to stream on various platforms. “Darren came up to me and said, ‘I think we should do an original song,'” Park explained to the British Vogue.

“I said, ‘Great. I don’t read music. ‘ Lucky for me, my friend Freddy Wexler (who just won a Grammy and wrote ‘Stuck with You’ for Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande), ready to collaborate… It’s Stevie Wonder’s emotion, but French, romantic and very pop. ”

Park’s vocal prowess is undeniable (she’s nominated for a Tony Award anyway), but the constant interruptions in the action to meet the next number of karaoke make the diversion more annoying than charming. While the series will almost certainly get a refresh after it ends in that clichchanger, hopefully season 3 will have more clever dialogue — and a more engaging story — devoted to Park than just the lyrics.