We’ve got a Collider Ladies Night first coming up! It’ll be the very first time we cover an audio/podcast series. Soft Voice is currently in the midst of its 10-episode run and features Naomi Scott voicing a character named Lydia, a young woman who listens to everything the voice in her head (Bel Powley) tells her to do, leading her to great success. However, one day, a new voice arrives (Olivia Cooke), challenging the strict routine Lydia’s established.
In honor of Soft Voice’s release, Scott joined us for an episode of Ladies Night to discuss her journey in entertainment thus far and how she wound up getting involved in an audio series. We do hit on all of the big titles you’re likely very familiar with including Aladdin, Power Rangers and more, but while we wait for that full conversation to drop, why not look back a little on how it all began?
Turns out, Kéllé Bryan who you might recognize from the R&B group Eternal, wound up being a hugely influential figure for Scott early on in her career. In fact, one could give Bryan credit for discovering Scott’s talent! After bringing up Bryan, Scott immediately stressed, “I couldn’t think of a better mentor for that age and where I was at.” She also added, “Kéllé’s amazing and such a good friend of mine.” So how exactly did this long-lasting relationship start? Here’s how Scott put it:
“So basically, gosh, I was 14, I was singing at this church event. I’m a pastor’s kid. I’m a PK. And it was just this random event and my dad was like, ‘Oh, Nay, can you just sing something in between?’ I was like, ‘Dad, I don’t have my backing track!’ So my mom had to go home and get my back tracking for Alicia Keys’ ‘If I Ain't Got You,’ with the really bad midi keyboard! And so I sung ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and Kéllé was there because she was giving some sort of talk about her life story and faith, etc. And she heard me singing - I don’t think she was in the room, but she heard me singing and [at] the end of the night she kind of was like, ‘Hi,’ and introduced herself.”
Bryan explained she owned her own agency and even though Scott was quite young at the time, it could be a path worth pursuing. Scott recalled, “She actually said - I kid you not - she went, ‘Oh, I know you can act.’ She just said, ‘I know you can act,’ which is just hilarious.” Bryan’s knack for spotting talent didn’t stop there. She also managed to predict a sector of the industry that would embrace Scott big time - back then, and now as well.
“Me and my parents met with her and I think my parents had a very good balance in terms of being protective, in terms of, ‘Okay, we are not well versed in this world. We know there is all sorts of stuff that goes on, especially for a young person.’ To also being like, ‘We know this is what you want to do. We want to support you and what you want to do.’ And so one of the first things [Kéllé] said to me was, ‘Oh, Disney will eat you all up.’ I remember it so, so clearly, which is just crazy to me because that was not only the first job that I got was with Disney Channel, but then, you know, I have bit of a history with Disney!”
A bit of a history with Disney? That might be putting it lightly! Stay tuned because in Scott’s full episode of Collider Ladies Night, we’ll get into her experience workin on Life Bites, Aladdin and so much more! And if you’re looking for something else to watch right this very moment, might I recommend Bryan’s TEDx talk?