History Main / GlamorousWartimeSinger

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "Starcrossed", Michael Ryan gives his former lover Cass Trenton a job as a singer in his coffee bar Heaven to help her hide from the Hing.
* On the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Last Man Standing" (Season 6, Episode 1, original airdate September 23, 2008), Ziva David is undercover as a bar singer in a SexyBacklessOutfit and resembles one of these.
* In ''Series/WorldOnFire'', main character Lois Bennett and her best friend Connie Knight are in the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), singing to entertain the British armed forces in UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo.

* In the video for "[[TearJerker Whiskey Lullaby]]", Alison Krauss summons up this image when she appears at the beginning of the second verse.

* In ''Abie's Irish Rose'', Abie met Rose Mary near the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in France, where she used to sing for the troops. Her looks are pretty enough for Solomon to mistake her for an actress, [[TheWickedStage a profession he distrusts]].

* Laguna falls for one of these in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. Though at the time she wasn't a singer; she only played the piano.

* ''WesternAnimation/RedHotRidingHood'' of Creator/TexAvery's Creator/{{M|etroGoldwynMayer}}GM cartoons is a classic example.

* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Straight Silver'', Golke returns to a battlefield where he had been seriously injured. He remembers such a singer -- passionately adored by the troops -- who had sung about wanting to fight anywhere else but here, but he concludes that she was wrong, coming back was good for him.
* In Creator/SandyMitchell's Literature/CiaphasCain novel ''For the Emperor'', Inquisitor Amberley Vail first appears posing as one -- albeit for an [[BlueBlood upper-class]] reception for notables, including officers -- down to the sentimental songs and the romance. (Cain denies believing in LoveAtFirstSight but admits he can remember every detail of his first sight of her.)
* W.E.B. Griffin's character Craig Lowell hooks up with visiting a visiting starlet, to the delight of his company and the anger of his commanders.

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* Lacus Clyne from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' may qualify but she only sings for her friends (who also happen to be soldiers) and actively shuns war. Her "clone" Meer Campbell from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny'' isn't as squeamish. Lacus and Meer are arguably both deconstructions of this trope, given that the shows explicitly depict their music being used as propaganda to rouse the patriotic fervor of the PLANT populace. Lacus is played a little straighter (and keeps control of her message), though, whereas Meer borders on a subversion of the trope, as the girl accepted to become Lacus's BodyDouble [[IJustWantToBeLoved to be loved by others since "nobody needs Meer"]] and ultimately had a mental breakdown over losing almost all her self-worth.
* Minna from ''Anime/StrikeWitches'' (played by the same voice actress as Lacus) is a variant in that she's actively fighting on the front lines herself. In fact, her singing actually serves a purpose in the war as a means of detecting the Neuroi.
** The ''Luminous Witches'' spinoff has a comparitively straighter take, featuring a whole group of non-combattant Witches working as wartime singers.

* Yellow Belmont from ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'' (a.k.a. Lancer[=/=]Yellow Dancer from ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'').
* ''Anime/PorcoRosso'' has Gina, in one of the most touching examples.

* ''ComicBook/LePetitSpirou'': Spirou's grandmother apparently was one of these, and performed in {{Stripperific}} gear.
* Edna alias Gam-ma from ''ComicStrip/NineChickweedLane'' sang for German [=POWs=]. Her mission was to gather intelligence from the homesick soldiers but she found [[LoveTriangle a pair of]] soldiers (one from each side) instead.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Marlene Dietrich, at least twice, in 1930's ''Morocco'' and again in 1948 in Creator/BillyWilder's ''Film/AForeignAffair''. And don't forget the flashback scene in Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Witness for the Prosecution.'' "I may never go home anymore..."

* In the 1945 film ''Tonight And Every Night'', Creator/RitaHayworth plays a showgirl in a London music hall that never misses a performance, not even when there's an air raid going on.
* The "statues" of ''Film/MrsHendersonPresents'' also keep going during air raids.
* In ''Film/DarlingLili,'' Creator/JulieAndrews plays a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI music hall star (and spy). The film opens at a concert where she keeps up the audience's spirits during an air raid by singing a medley of hits such as "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag" and "It's a Long Way to Tipperary."

* ''Literature/TheCaineMutiny''
* ''Film/DasBoot'' has French club singer Monique singing to a drunk and cheering German crowd of soldiers at the beginning of the movie.
* ''Film/SchindlersList''
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow''- although these are actually ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' playmates rather than singers, and their presence causes a riot.
* ''Memphis Belle''

* ''For The Boys'' is a movie about two singers (played by Creator/BetteMidler and James Caan) who perform for U.S. troops in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
* Sky Marshall Omar Anoke (of all people) from ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder'' is a rare male example. As such, he depends more on inspirational rhetoric than sex appeal but still fulfills his role in the PropagandaMachine perfectly.

* Sadie from ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse2007,'' in a rather intense performance of "Helter Skelter" with a Vietnam battle going on simultaneously.
* Unusual version in ''Film/BigFish'': The main character accidentally parachutes into one of these during the Korean War-- in ''enemy territory''. Also, the "beautiful singer" is in fact a pair of Siamese twins, who want him to bring them to America with him.
* Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/RadioDays'' has a scene where Mia Farrow's character is one of these.
* Rick's Cafe has a female singer-guitarist in ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''.

* The 1944 morale-boosting musical ''Follow the Boys'', besides Dinah Shore and the Andrews Sisters (see below), also enlisted Creator/JeanetteMacDonald to serve this role by singing "Beyond The Blue Horizon" and "I'll See You In My Dreams," the latter to a blinded soldier. (Sophie Tucker, to paraphrase ''Film/TheMerryWidow1934'', demonstrates that she knows how to do this but is too old to do it glamorously.)
* These ladies are part of the USO stage show in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. Cap is supposed to be the star of the show, with the singers/dancers just as chorus, but when the show is taken to the European front, Cap gets booed off the stage by the soldiers, who demand to see the girls instead.

* Music/RobZombie's ''Werewolf Women of the SS'' trailer for ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'' is a parody of 1970s {{Nazisploitation}} movies and includes one of these.
* ''Film/TheSapphires'' is based on the true story of an Australian Aboriginal girl group who travelled to Vietnam to entertain the U.S. soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
* ''Film/Midway2019''. Portrayed by jazz singer Annie Trousseau, one is singing at a club attended by Best, his wife, and [=McClusky=]. They even have her singing during the credits.

Particularly present in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII settings. Compare CampFollower and TheChanteuse.

* In ''Abie's Irish Rose'', Abie met Rose Mary near the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in France, where she used to sing for the troops. Her looks are pretty enough for Solomon to mistake her for an actress.

* And on the American side of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, vaudeville actress Elsie Janis (also known for impersonations) was known as the "Sweetheart of the A.E.F."

* Creator/DinahShore appeared AsHerself in the wartime morale-boosting movies ''Film/ThankYourLuckyStars'' (1943) and ''Follow The Boys'' (1944), and toured American troops in liberated France after the Normandy landings in the second half of 1944.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Germans had Lale Andersen, of "Lili Marleen" fame, and Evelyn Künneke, who toured the Eastern front between 1942 and 1944. The likes of Zarah Leander and Marika Rökk were also singers and active during the war, but were more movie stars and did not tour for the troops.

* Vesta Tilley (seriously) seems to have fulfilled this role a bit for UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, despite being a [[WholesomeCrossdresser male impersonator comedienne]]. Her role was encouraging young men to enlist, rather than entertaining the troops. Upon the end of the war many former fans were [[JoinTheArmyTheySaid left disillusioned]], feeling betrayed by the jarring differences between fare like 'Jolly Good Luck to the Girl who Loves a Soldier' and actual trench life.

* Edna alias Gam-ma from ''ComicStrip/NineChickweedLane'' sang for German [=POWs=]. Her mission was to gather intelligence from the homesick soldiers but she found [[TriangRelations a pair of]] soldiers (one from each side) instead.

* ''Series/{{Blossom}}'' had an episode in which the title character's grandfather [[ObnoxiousInLaws Buzz]] [[DirtyOldMan Richman]] is reminiscing about having met Blossom's grandmother (played in the flashback scenes by title character's actress Mayim Bialik) who was depicted as this... and also as part of the Women's Army Corps.

* Music/JenniferLopez portrayed such a character on a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' episode for which she was host and musical guest.
* Vic Fontaine in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' is a male holographic example.

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* The 1944 morale-boosting musical ''Follow the Boys'', besides Dinah Shore and the Andrews Sisters (see below), also enlisted [=Jeanette MacDonald=] to serve this role by singing "Beyond The Blue Horizon" and "I'll See You In My Dreams," the latter to a blinded soldier. (Sophie Tucker, to paraphrase ''Film/TheMerryWidow1934'', demonstrates that she knows how to do this but is too old to do it glamorously.)

* Creator/DinahShore appeared AsHerself in the wartime morale-boosting movies ''Thank Your Lucky Stars'' (1943) and ''Follow The Boys'' (1944), and toured American troops in liberated France after the Normandy landings in the second half of 1944.

* Music/TheAndrewsSisters, the best selling female group in history according to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]. [[BlondeBrunetteRedhead Blonde, brunette and redhead]].

* ''Film/TheSapphires'' is based on the true story of an Australian Aboriginal girl group who travelled to Vietnam to entertain the U.S. soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar

* [[PlayedForLaughs Hillariously]] subverted in the War episode of ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'', when [[FanDisservice Ms. Aki]] shows up for a USO show. After getting a good look at her face, all the troops [[FaceFault fall to the ground in a near-death state]]. After pulling a MarilynManeuver but before she can finish her introduction, she's quickly ''grabbed by GasMaskMooks, shoved into a body bag, and [[StuffedIntoTheFridge stuffed into a nuclear waste containment barrel]], which is then filled with cement, bolted shut, lowered into a larger air-tight container, sealed in MORE cement, tested for radiation levels, boxed up into a cargo crate, put onto the helicopter she arrived in on, and immediately flown out.''

* ''Series/TheXFiles''. In "Triangle", Mulder appears to have somehow travelled back in time to WW2 on an ocean liner in the Bermuda Triangle, except [[AndYouWereThere everyone he knows is part of the crew]] including Scully as this trope. Though she actually turns out to be a spy.

* Sadie from ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse,'' in a rather intense performance of "Helter Skelter" with a Vietnam battle going on simultaneously.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', "The Killing Game" (both parts). With MsFanservice Seven of Nine doing the singing for [[PuttingOnTheReich alien Nazis]].

%%* ''Series/TheXFiles'', "Triangle".

* Music/KatherineJenkins, Welsh opera singer, is a prominent modern example. She gave concerts for British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* The whole point of most ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' series. Except instead of [[StayInTheKitchen staying at the USO shows]], the singers get to change the course of HumongousMecha battles... [[ThePowerOfRock by singing]].

* Subverted in ''Thunder and Roses'' by Creator/TheodoreSturgeon. The singer is touring a United States devastated by nuclear war, and is regarded as a symbol of [[EarthThatWas everything that they've lost.]]

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Germans had Lale Andersen, of "Lili Marleen" fame, and Evelyn Künneke, who toured the Eastern front between 1942 and 1944.

* Music/VeraLynn, British singer, known as "The Forces' Sweetheart". Most famous for "We'll Meet Again" (which [[SoundtrackDissonance played over the ending]] of ''Film/DrStrangelove'') and "The White Cliffs of Dover". Still alive - as of 2019, she is 102 years old - but long retired from singing. Mentioned in Music/PinkFloyd's [[Music/TheWall "Vera"]]. A sign of how much hope she gave.

* Subverted in ''Thunder and Roses'' by Creator/TheodoreSturgeon. The singer is touring a United States devastated by nuclear war, and is regarded as a symbol of TheEarthThatWas.

[[caption-width-right:350:WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut "Don't you think I look cute in this hat?"]]

* Music/VeraLynn, British singer, known as "The Forces' Sweetheart". Most famous for "We'll Meet Again" (which [[SoundtrackDissonance played over the ending]] of ''Film/DrStrangelove'') and "The White Cliffs of Dover". Still alive, but long retired from singing. Mentioned in Music/PinkFloyd's [[Music/TheWall "Vera"]]. A sign of how much hope she gave.

Sometimes occurring in a nightclub, but any large auditorium will do the trick. A sexy female singer, singing a song to a bunch of soldiers/sailors/airmen who are a long way from home and their significant others. Her outfit will be sexy, but classy: shapely and form-fitting, but not particularly revealing or flashy, [[LadyInRed possibly in red]]. If the main male characters of the story aren't in attendance, they will likely be in the middle of battle, with her songs providing the background music, and scenes switching between her performance and the heroes fighting.