WHILE some people still find it hard to accept Rihanna as a bonafide singer, the 22-year-old Bajan beauty has added another feather to her cap

— she is now an actress.

I'm an actress y'all..

Yes, you read that right. The singer is planning to show the world that she definitely is not a one-trick-pony and is capable of doing more than just sing.

Known for her outrageous choice of clothes and equally hair-raising (pun intended) hairstyles, Rihanna is currently working on Battleship, her first feature movie inspired by the classic board game.

Stills taken from the movie set show Rihanna dressed in military-inspired garb, looking tough and not too different from the Good Girl Gone Bad that we know — well, except that she has more clothes on and sports black hair in those pictures.

Teasers from the movie have not even been made yet, so the jury is still out on how good an actress Rihanna is or whether she has any acting chops to even begin with.

So how many of you are already planning to book your tickets way ahead of the movie’s scheduled release in 2012?

Well, if we are to judge based on previous performances by other singers-turned-actresses, it would be wise to keep expectations low.

Remember Britney Spears’ disastrous foray into the acting world with her first feature film Crossroads? As much as I love Britney, in mental sickness and in health, I still cringe at the fact that I actually paid money to go watch the singer make a fool of herself on the big screen. Her awkward demeanour, forced delivery of lines and basically her out-of-place existence on the big screen was a total turn-off.

It made me wonder why people who have no business in acting, act — or even try to.

Like Taylor Swift, for instance.

You know that I love T-Swizzle and would not make fun of her under any circumstances right? But to be perfectly honest, she was a disaster in her debut movie, Valentine’s Day. Do I hear a ”Hell, yeah!”?

Ermmm...what's 1 + 1 you ask? Hmm..

Taylor played a bimbo cheerleader capable of carrying out inane conversations (mostly with herself) and basically annoyed the hell out of everyone with her overly sunny character.

Seriously, who in the world could be that ditzy? Yes, it’s true that Taylor portrayed a fictional character but I think that it would have been best played by someone who could inject some genuine blond-moments in the movie … like Jessica Simpson.

Too mean? Sorry, but it’s true.

Jessica, whose singing career fizzled out early, tried her hand at acting in The Dukes Of Hazzard opposite Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott.

Guys...tuna is chicken, I tell you!

I bet it must have been one of her dad/manager Joe ”My daughter’s got double D’s! You can’t cover those suckers up!” Simpson’s crazy ideas.

Relentless, Jessica defied her fate and tried once again to break into the Hollywood scene with Employee Of The Month, Blonde Ambition and straight-to-DVD Major Movie Star (oh, what irony!).

Now, finally realising that she should stick to what she knows best — reality TV — Jessica is currently in talks to begin production for the second season of her show, The Price of Beauty.

To be fair, not all singers-turned-actresses are bad. There have been a few success stories, too, like Mariah Carey.

No, seriously.

I know that the world, yours truly included, made fun of Mariah for even thinking about acting in the super disastrous, meltdown-causing movie Glitter.

The Internet stank from all the trash talks about Mariah’s erm, acting skills, and many didn’t hold back their thoughts in the nasty comments directed at the budding actress.

What happened next, the world knows only too well. Mariah had a ”moment” and disappeared from the spotlight for some time before returning with her highly successful 10th studio album, The Emancipation Of Mimi.

Then there were news that Mariah didn’t actually learn her lesson and was planning to act again, this time in a movie titled Precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire).

Check out my moustache, yo! I'm planning to grow a goatee next.

The movie opened in 2009 to rave reviews and Mariah’s portrayal as Ms Weiss, a moustached social worker, gained much buzz in the entertainment industry.

Earlier this year, Mariah was honoured with the Breakthrough Actress Performance award at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival in the US for her work in the movie.

Her acceptance of the award was quite memorable, not because of her acting whatsoever, but because she was drunk while on stage.

”Please forgive me because I’m a little bit …” said Mariah when someone in the crowd shouted ”Wasted!”

”Yeah,” agreed Mariah with a laugh.

Sharm says: Oh well, at least Mariah had a reason to get drunk; she had to get home to Nick Cannon. Nuff’ said.