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Iron man plays the piano?! Surprised? While some dedicated Marvel fans will know about this fun fact, I believe that there are people out there who probably did not know about this. Well, guess what? He is not the only celebrity out there that can play the piano! Here are 6 famous everyone-knows-who-they-are individuals who actually play the piano!
1. Robert Downey, Jr.
As mentioned above, the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist plays the piano. Although some of you might have already known that Robert Downey, Jr. plays the piano, you probably did not know that his initial aspiration during the earlier part of his life is to become a musician! However, as acting jobs came along first, he decided to pursue acting as a career instead.
He also has his very own music album, "The Futurist", produced by Jonathan Elias and Mark Hudson. The album was released on 23 November 2004 with him playing the piano in some of the tracks. On the first week of release, the album ranked 121 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 16,000 copies in just a week's time. A talented individual indeed!
2. Kobe Bryant
Yes, the former NBA star Kobe Bryant is not just talented with basketball but is also musically inclined too! In 2011, due to "irreconcilable differences" as claimed by Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant's wife, the couple almost got into a divorce. Determined to win his wife back, Kobe decided to learn the piano piece "Moonlight Sonata", produced by the greatest musician of all times, Beethoven. The 5-times champion NBA star learned the piano piece all by himself without the help of anyone. With his determination and musical talent, he managed to salvage his marriage. Since that incident, Kobe Bryant was found playing the Moonlight Sonata before his big games as a channel to calm his mind down and stay focused.
Although he might only know how to play one piano piece, the fact that he was able to pick up Moonlight Sonata by himself said a lot about his musical talents, and he can probably learn more piano pieces if he wanted to.
3. Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin KBE, well known for his screen persona, "The Tramp", was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. In his silent films, most of the movie tracks were in fact, composed by him. He started to learn the piano at a very young age, and due to the fact that he did not know how to read music sheets, most of his piano skills were learned by the ear.
4. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, well-known for his contribution to the world of science and physics, was taught to play the piano by his mother, Pauline Einstein, an accomplished pianist in her own right. Showing more aptitude for the piano initially, Albert Einstein discovered a new-found interest for violin in the later part of his childhood. He often played the piano in the middle of his researches, claiming that music helped him when he was thinking about his research. Hence, it is safe that music was a huge contributing factor to the physics we know today!
5. Kim Kardashian
Although it is unknown when and where Kim Kardashian got her piano skills from, it was evident that she clearly knows how to play the instrument when she revealed herself playing the famous piano giant piano duet from the Tom Hanks classic, BIG with her husband, Kanye West back in 2012.
On the 23rd of February 2015, which was the eve of the Oscars, it was later revealed by Kim herself on Twitter that she was taking piano lessons! I wonder when Kim and Kanye will be coming up with a duet anytime soon!
6. Michelle Obama
The first ever African-American First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama, learnt to play the piano from her great-aunt, who was a piano teacher. She may not have performed the piano in the public before, but one thing for sure, she must have been a great pianist as it was revealed that she have practiced the piano so much when she was young that she was being told to stop.
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Wen Feng is a passionate music aficionado. He is constantly on the search for new music to listen to, with a particular interest in classical music. Piano pieces have always been a great companion and kept him calm throughout his school and work life.