Does Ashley Park really sing in Emily in Paris?

Does Ashley Park sing in Emily in Paris?

Ashley Park plays Mindy Chen in the Netflix original series Emily in Paris. She becomes friends with Emily (Lily Collins) after meeting her in a park.

Emily is having a bad day. The transition to her new life and job in Paris is not going well. Everyone is either mean or snooty or both. Mindy stuns her when she both speaks English and is nice to her.

Mindy sympathizes with Emily’s plight. It wasn’t all that long ago she was new and friendless in Paris herself. Her saving grace was that at least she spoke the language. Unlike Emily who learns a new French word or two (or more) every episode.

Mindy grabs Emily’s phone and adds her contact info to it, telling her anytime she needs a friend to reach out.

It isn’t long before Emily takes Mindy up on her offer, and that’s when the two become fast friends and start learning a lot about each other.

Mindy works as an au pair, but that’s not what brought her to Paris. Business school did. She’s supposed to be learning how to take over her father’s business in China. He owns a fastener company and is known as the “Zipper King” of China.

Turns out Mindy comes from an extremely wealthy family, one that has her future all figured out for her. But it’s a future she doesn’t want.

Mindy dreams of becoming a singer. When she admits this to Emily, Emily asks the natural question, “Why aren’t you doing it then?”

Mindy groans and briefly alludes to a failed audition on the Chinese version of American Idol. One that led to some unfortunate memes of her that went viral on the Internet and included zippers being superimposed on her mouth and zipped up.

Humiliated, she fled to France. Besides, she’d always dreamt of living in Paris and she could be anonymous there. (Too many people recognized and taunted her back in China.)

But she’s determined never to sing again…until Emily encourages her not to give up on her dream.

While they’re hanging out in a park with the kids Mindy’s a nanny to in episode 6, Mindy tells Emily she’s tired because she “went down a drunk rabbit hole” the night before Googling jazz clubs with open auditions. She finds one at a club called the Crazy Horse.

“Well, that’s not so crazy,” Emily says.

“I’m not going,” Mindy tells her.

“Why not?” Emily asks.

“Because I still have Chinese Popstar PTSD.”

Emily says she has to get over it, but Mindy doesn’t agree. Emily asks if she would sing for her. Mindy says maybe but not at that moment. Emily feels there’s no time like the present and assures her no one’s looking.

Eventually, Mindy agrees, as long as Emily promises not to watch.

And that’s when she stands up and delivers an incredible rendition of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose.” Which is thankfully available on Emily’s Instagram account. I have already re-watched it a dozen times!

But was Ashley Park the one singing it? And did she also sing Sia’s “Chandelier” in episode 8?

I had to find out so I Googled it and learned from Decider that she sure did.

Before landing her role of Mindy on Emily in Paris, Park was a Tony-nominated Broadway actress and singer. Her Broadway debut was as a member of the Mama Mia! ensemble in 2014. Her role as Gretchen Wieners in Tina Fey’s Mean Girls is what nabbed her a Tony nomination in 2018.

Her role as Gretchen Wieners also nabbed her nominations for the Drama League Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

I never saw her in Mean Girls, but if her performance is anything like her part of Mindy Chen in Emily in Paris? I bet she does an amazing job.

So, yep. Those are really Ashley Park’s pipes belting out “La Vie en Rose” and “Chandelier” in the scenes she sings in!