Can Austin Butler Sing?

This Old Video of Austin Butler Singing Makes Us Even More Excited to See Him Play Elvis

Ever since the news was announced that Austin Butler was crowned the king of rock and roll in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming Elvis Presley biopic, we've been asking ourselves this very important question: can Austin Butler actually sing? In short: yes!

After a long and extensive search for the right person to play the legend, which included auditions from stars like singer Harry Styles and actors Ansel Elgort (of Baby Driver fame), Miles Teller (Divergent), and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Marvel's The Avengers), Baz landed on the 27-year-old. Austin, who just appeared as the infamous Manson Family member Charles "Tex" Watson in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, has gradually been making his presence more known in Hollywood with several character roles, but the new biopic for Warner Bros. should prove to be his breakout hit.

There's no denying that Austin bears a great resemblance to Elvis — especially with his recently dyed jet-black hair. He even has a similarly deep, smooth speaking voice and natural southern cadence that makes him almost a dead ringer for the star right off the bat. But it's his singing abilities that are a bit more of a mystery.

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Winter

Austin Butler Singing on Are You There, Chelsea?

What we do know is that Austin is a talented musician. He can play the guitar and piano and sang in several onscreen appearances, like during the 2012 sitcom Are You There, Chelsea? and in the 2009 ABC Family series Ruby & The Rockits. While he may not be quite Elvis-level yet, Luhrmann — who notably helped write Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" for his 2013 hit film The Great Gatsby — is sure to help him nail the role.

When asked in an interview whether or not he will be doing his own vocals for the as-yet-untitled Elvis film, Austin replied in the affirmative "I am," which gives us hope that we will have the privilege of hearing his voice in the upcoming production.

In the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which focussed on the legendary rock band Queen, star Rami Malek had his vocals mixed together with a few other tapes to play lead singer Freddie Mercury. Elsewhere, Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman, the 2019 biographical film on iconic singer Elton John, starred Kingman's Taron Egerton who sang all of Elton's classic hits. The 29-year-old actor and 72-year-old singer even performed a heartfelt duet of the song "Tiny Dancer" together on stage during the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party (raise your hand if it also made you strangely emotional).

Luhrmann's new film is set to start filming at the beginning of 2020, so stay tuned for more details. So far, we also know that Tom Hanks has joined the cast alongside Austin to star as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis's manager, and we have no doubt that more big names are to come, given the director's many collaborators.

Even though Austin has very big shoes to fill when it comes to playing the king or rock 'n' roll himself, he seems up for the challenge. And if he does in fact sing in the Elvis biopic, it will make the film all that more legendary.

Austin Butler