Good news for Toni Braxton fans. Not only is Lifetime premiering an authorized biopic of the singer's life, but Toni Braxton herself provided the vocals for the songs in Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart . With so many recent unauthorized movies from Lifetime, it's a big deal that not only is the film based off of Braxton's memoir of the same name, the singer also served as an executive producer on the biopic and has a cameo in the movie. Top that off with Braxton's own vocals being used in Unbreak My Heart, and this is one authentic biopic.
It's understandable that people who love Braxton would be skeptical about a film depiction of the singer. But with the woman herself so involved in the movie, fans should have no qualms about tuning in on Saturday night. While most people know of Braxton as the talented singer of the ballads "Breathe Again" and "Unbreak My Heart," the film goes beyond her singing success to show her public divorce, living with Lupus, and her son's autism.
The relatively unknown actress Lex Scott Davis portrays Braxton in the film, but she didn't lend her vocals to the role. As Braxton told The Baltimore Sun about Scott-Davis, "She doesn't sing like me, but she can lip-sync the hell out of me, OK?"
I would have been shocked if Lifetime could have found an actress to accurately replicate Braxton's husky voice and using an actual singer's vocals in a biopic is not unheard of. Even when movies star actors who can sing — like Jennifer Lopez in Selena and Jamie Foxx in Ray — using the original artist's recordings can help fans accept the film. However, it's rare for Lifetime to go that route, as displayed in recent biopics Aaliyah: Princess of R&B and Whitney, which did not use the real Aaliyah and Whitney Houston's' tracks, respectively.
Whether you find that Scott Davis does a convincing job lip-synching to Braxton when Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart premieres on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. is up to you. But take solace in the fact that you don't have to listen to an imitation of Braxton's incredible vocals in the Lifetime film — you get the real deal.
Image: Bettina Strauss/Lifetime
