Christian Serratos Shines As Selena in Front of the Mic, But Does She Actually Sing?
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Capturing the effervescence of Selena Quintanilla is a difficult task. The legendary Tejano superstar was killed at the age of 23, shot by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar. But in her short career, Quintanilla captured the hearts of an entire genre, broke through into mainstream American pop, and cemented herself as an entertainer as talented as she was bubbly. Part of that success is undoubtedly due to her personality. Capturing that energy is what made Jennifer Lopez's depiction of the late singer in Selena so critically acclaimed. Now, nearly 25 years later, The Walking Dead star Christian Serratos is stepping into the role, effortlessly channeling the Mexican-American entertainer's flair and warmth in Netflix's new series, appropriately titled Selena: The Series.
As a musician, Selena was known for the purity and strength of her voice. The soprano was once described as a cross between Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson—a beast of a compliment, to say the least. That leaves quite a void to fill when stepping into the role of Selena Quintanilla though. In the 1997 biopic of her life, Lopez lip-synced Selena's vocals, despite being a hell of a singer herself. But when it comes to Netflix's series, does Serratos offer her own vocals for the role, or did she take the same route as Lopez? The answer is... kind of both.
Does Christian Serratos Sing in Selena: The Series?
The overarching answer is no. In early interviews, Serratos made it clear that the voice viewers will hear when the music begins is that of Selena Quintanilla. Similar to the film that Lopez made, the majority of the music scenes in Selena: The Series features Serratos doing the choreography and motions of the singer. The actress went to great lengths to learn the singer's mannerisms and signature dance movies, according to Marie Claire. But ultimately, Serratos lip syncs the performances backed by music. Talking to Pop Sugar earlier this year, Serratos said, "The performances are all Selena... I am lip syncing!" But that is only partially true, it seems.
In other interviews, Serratos confirms that while the scenes depicting live performances are all Selena, her own vocals were put to the test in quieter moments. While Serratos doesn't have any professional singing background, the limits of depicting Selena's daily goings on requires a bit of improvisation. Production had audio of Selena on stage, but in moments where the singer might have been in a more intimate setting, Serratos's vocals were put on display. In an interview with TV Insider, Serratos revealed, "I do sing a cappella in the show, but [for the most part, it's] Selena's voice."
If all of those a cappella moments truly are Serratos (no spoilers, but there's a beautiful one in the later episodes), then Serratos has been holding back.
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