The hit CBS comedy series Ghosts is filled to the brim with wild and wacky spirits with all their own unique quirks and talents. A magnificent singer in life, the mansion’s resident 1920s ghost Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) has the ability to be heard from the great beyond when she hums. With a quasi-musical episode earlier this season and more music moments to come in tonight’s new episode, I recently took the opportunity to ask Pinnock which songs are on her wishlist to sing on the show — especially now that it’s been renewed for (at least) two more seasons at CBS.
“I think something where she’s like, ‘What is this rap? Like, what is this hip-hop thing?’ And then she just like, does “U-N-I-T-Y” by Queen Latifah. Or like if she discovers who Doechii is, and she’s like, ‘I’m into it, I’m feeling it’ or Lauryn Hill. That’s the great thing about these characters, they can expand in any way. And this universe it just lends itself to just so many shenanigans. So yes, her discovering Lauryn Hill or Queen Latifah or Doechii would be a dream. I would love to see Alberta Rap. I mean, it would be iconic.”
Latifah is currently playing the lead on another hit CBS series, The Equalizer, so we’d love to see the iconic multihyphenate pop by Woodstone for a future episode and a duet with Alberta.
From Jazz to ‘Wicked,’ Alberta Has the Range on ‘Ghosts’
Building on our musical train of thought, I asked Pinnock if she has a playlist for Alberta — naturally, she does. Quickly naming jazz greats who would’ve inspired Alberta like Ella Fitzgerald, Ma Rainey, and Billie Holiday, Pinnock explained that her playlist is very jazz-forward, but she didn’t stop there. Her music taste for her Ghosts character stretches far beyond her lifetime and into the 21st century, namely featuring some tracks from last year’s smash-hit adaptation of Wicked. Noting that the movie musical came out while they were filming Season 4, Pinnock explained that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande both made it onto the playlist, namely with the climactic track, “Defying Gravity.”
“There’s a ton of Ella Fitzgerald on there. There’s a lot. There’s Ma Rainey, there’s Billie Holiday, John Coltrane. I have Miles Davis on there. It’s very jazz-forward. But then I also have just kind of some empowering tracks. You may find some Ariana Grande.
[…]
You might find some “Defying Gravity,” by Cynthia Erivo on there. But yeah, no, for the most part, it’s quite jazzy, but there are some other little things that snuck their way into the playlist, especially this season because Wicked, we were watching it while the season was going and Wicked literally changed my life. So I mean, “Defying Gravity” is all up and through that playlist for sure.”
To hear more of Pinnock’s melodic singing voice, tune in for an all-new episode of Ghosts tonight at 8:30 PM ET on CBS. Stay tuned at Collider for the rest of our conversation with Pinnock, and check out past episodes on Paramount+.
