Dwayne Johnson has conquered professional wrestling, became one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars, launched a football league, and spent years building himself into a one-man entertainment empire.
Now, with his movie career no longer operating at its former blockbuster level, Johnson may be looking toward an unexpected next act with country music.
There was a stretch when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seemed practically bulletproof at the box office. His arrival in Fast Five in 2011 gave the Fast & Furious franchise a major shot of adrenaline, and Johnson soon became one of Hollywood’s most dependable commercial stars.
The critical acclaim didn’t always follow, but audiences certainly did. Moana became a Disney favorite, and Jumanji turned into a hugely successful franchise.
Things have been much rockier since around 2021. Movies including Red Notice and Red One failed to generate the kind of response expected from Johnson vehicles, while Black Adam was supposed to establish him as a major force in the DCEU. Instead, his attempt to reshape DC’s superhero hierarchy went nowhere as the franchise itself headed for a reboot.
Other ventures haven’t exactly helped. NBC canceled Young Rock, the XFL failed to become the major football success Johnson hoped for, and his return to WWE brought its own share of headaches.
His transformation into the Final Boss gave wrestling fans an entertaining new heel version of The Rock, but the run also came with controversy, questionable stories, and criticism that Johnson was trying to put himself at the center of the action.
Johnson eventually stepped away from WWE again as he made another attempt to prove himself as a serious dramatic actor. He earned mostly positive reviews for The Smashing Machine, but the Oscar nomination many expected never came. His return to blockbuster territory with Disney’s live-action Moana this summer also turned into a major disappointment.
So where does Johnson go from here? Apparently, he might grab a microphone.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Johnson discussed performing “Your Dad,” a song he co-wrote with Iam Tongi, the Hawaiian singer who won American Idol in 2023.
The track was created for Moana: Voices Across the Ocean, and the experience has Johnson seriously considering whether music could become a bigger part of his career.
Asked about the possibility of becoming a singer, Johnson explained: “I’m exploring that now, and I appreciate you asking that. As you roll along in life, I’ve been real fortunate to be part of some really cool projects, and love it.
“But music has always been such an anchor for me, and very specifically in genres that I love, like country music, traditional country music. And we’re exploring that now.”
This apparently isn’t just Johnson looking for another entertainment business to conquer. He sounds like he has reached a stage in his career where personal fulfillment matters more than simply attaching himself to the next massive commercial production.
“I’ve reached this point in my life and in my career where, honestly, when I wake up in the morning, I swing my legs out of bed, and whatever the thing is that I’m doing, I wanna feel like I’m just running towards it.”
“And the most gratifying things we do are when it’s for us, because we have enough pressure to deliver for so many other entities.”
That attitude also shaped “Your Dad,” which Johnson describes as something much more personal than another piece of a giant entertainment campaign.
“The things we do, we must do them for ourselves, and then we must feel it in here, behind our rib cage. But they’re also always connected to some sort of commerce. You make films, especially the big four-quadrant movies, you want them to do well. But this song, for me, is just a song to my daughters.”
He added: “Where there’s no pressure of an expectation to deliver something that, ‘Well, how are the sales, and how’s the box office? And how’s the streams?’ It’s just from me to them.”
As for what a Dwayne Johnson music career would actually sound like, don’t necessarily expect The Rock to throw on a cowboy hat and start chasing modern country radio hits. His musical interests lean toward an older blend of country and soul, influenced by the records he heard growing up.
“Maybe something in just the old-school soul genre, with some country flavor. I love old-school soul. Sam Cooke. From Sam Cooke, again, to Merle Haggard. That’s how I grew up. And those were my strong influences from my dad.”
Johnson certainly wouldn’t be the first action star to decide that acting wasn’t enough. Steven Seagal, Bruce Willis, David Hasselhoff, and Kiefer Sutherland have all ventured into music with wildly different results. Sutherland, in particular, found a legitimate second career in country music, so the idea isn’t quite as strange as it initially sounds.
As for Johnson singing, fans have already heard him show off his musical abilities during his WWE career, where The Rock occasionally broke out a guitar for some wonderfully obnoxious heel performances.
Then there’s his work on the Moana soundtrack. Whatever you think of Johnson’s acting choices, “You’re Welcome” definitely got the kids singing along.
Whether this turns into a full Dwayne Johnson country album, a few standalone songs, or simply another creative outlet remains to be seen. But after years of chasing increasingly massive movies, franchises, superhero universes, and business ventures, perhaps scaling things down and making some old-school country and soul music is exactly the kind of change Johnson is looking for.
And really, a country record from Dwayne Johnson isn’t even close to the weirdest career turn we’ve seen from an action star.
You can listen to Johnson’s latest musical effort below and decide for yourself. Would you actually be interested in hearing The Rock make a full country album?
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