It wouldn't be the holiday season without classic Christmas carols and festive holiday pop songs to sing along to with family and friends. There is definitely no shortage of seasonal music on the Hallmark Channel, a network that can put anyone in the holiday spirit with their comforting and heartwarming holiday movies. But sometimes they take it a step further than just having characters sing carols around the neighborhood. Some of the actors and actresses we look forward to seeing season after season are actually musically gifted and get to show off their singing skills in their holiday films.
There are certain stars who appear on Hallmark who we already know can sing, such as Kellie Pickler, who's had her own country music career, as well as Kristin Chenoweth, who was a renowned Broadway star. So we've rounded up 10 of our favorite Hallmark actors and actresses that you might not have known are also talented singers.
1. Bethany Joy Lenz
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
If you didn't watch Bethany Joy Lenz on the teen drama One Tree Hill, then you didn't get to see her show off her singing skills on a regular basis. She was so good, it was even part of the show's plot. Lenz also records her own music outside of her acting career. In fact, her holiday song "Listen" was featured in her Hallmark film Five Star Christmas.
2. Jessica Lowndes
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Jessica Lowndes recorded her first EP back in 2012 and has been recording music ever since. She has even recorded songs for various films, as well as her own Hallmark movies. She can regularly be seen singing in her own projects, such as Christmas at Pemberley Manor.
3. Alicia Witt
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
Not only does Alicia Witt sing, but she has been called a musical prodigy. Also a gifted pianist, Witt has written and performed her own music in numerous Hallmark movies, including I'm Not Ready For Christmas and Christmas Tree Lane.
4. Becca Tobin
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Those who watched Tobin on the teen musical series Glee have known for a while that the Hallmark star has some serious pipes. She even got to play a pop star in A Song For Christmas, in which she performed an original Christmas song, "Christmas Morning."
5. Laura Osnes
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts
Laura Osnes has performed in multiple Hallmark films and is also...a Broadway star. Outside of her Hallmark career, Osnes has starred in well-known musicals like Bandstand and Cinderella, which earned her a Tony nomination.
Read More: How Much Do Hallmark Actors Make?
6. Jessy Schram
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
Jessy Schram has had her own singing career while also working as an actress, so it's no surprise that she has taken the stage in her Hallmark films as well. She can be seen performing in Country at Heart, which reminded us of when she appeared on the TV series Nashville.
7. Carlos PenaVega
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
Carlos and his wife, Alexa Penavega, both regularly appear on Hallmark...sometimes even together. But fans might not realize that Penavega first hit it big when he starred in the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush, in which he played a member of a boyband.
8. Lucas Bryant
Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
Lucas Bryant has appeared in multiple Hallmark films over the years like Time for You to Come Home for Christmas and The Angel Tree. In Country at Heart, you actually get to see him show off his singing skills, which you'd typically only see when he performs with his theater troupe.
9. Jesse Metcalfe
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
Jesse Metcalfe literally played a musician in Chesapeake Shores so it would only make sense for him to actually be a good singer right? Though he's no longer appearing on the show, Metcalfe has also performed on some of his other Hallmark projects, such as the film A Country Wedding.
10. Niall Matter
Earl Gibson III/Getty Images
Alongside Jessy Schram and Lucas Bryant, Niall Matter also showed off his vocal skills in Country at Heart. Unlike some of the others on this list, Matter didn't really have a formal musical background, as he explained to Media Village.
"I grew up musical, playing the drums and singing country songs with my dad," he explained. "I knew how to play [guitar] power-cords, so I could play Nirvana songs, but I had to learn how to sing and play. Separately it was easy but marrying those two was the hardest thing to do. In the timeframe I had I think the only reason I could was because of my drumming background, where you have four limbs doing different things at the same time, so a lot of that came into play."
