Star Brooke Elliott has a beautiful voice, and that’s been used to great effect on the CD (“Would I Lie To You”) as well as on the show, when her character Jane often breaks out into song.

“It’s a little bit of home in this new home I’m creating,” Elliott recently told Access Atlanta from Georgia, where “Drop Dead Diva” shoots. “I like that we don’t necessarily do it all the time, but throw it in every once in awhile. I love those moments.”

Others on the CD include Margaret Cho (Teri), dueting with Elliott on “Would I Lie to You” and also singing “Restraining Order”; and Ben Feldman (Fred) with “Baby, I Need Your Loving.”

Those who know Elliott’s background shouldn’t be surprised that music has become a big part of the show. She’s a graduate of the theater program at Western Michigan University, and her Broadway experience includes roles in “Beauty and the Beast,” “Taboo” and “Wicked.”

It was during “Taboo” that Elliott first met Rosie O’Donnell, who has guest starred as a judge on “Drop Dead Diva.”

“Rosie said, ‘Don’t forget who you are. Don’t let them define who you are.’ … That’s in my head more and more as I go into the project,” Elliott said in the Access Atlanta interview.

Drop Dead Diva season 2, first season DVD coming in June — Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, about a model who is reincarnated in the body of a plus-size attorney, is set to return on June 6. Among the guest stars this season are Paula Abdul and Rosie O’Donnell. Read more. Also, the DVD of the first season will be released June 1. Pre-order on Amazon.

Niecy Nash wants to keep her curves — Usually, when a celebrity appears on Dancing With the Stars, the rigorous routines quickly result in shed pounds (Kelly Osbourne reportedly lost more than 40 pounds in a recent season). But not Clean House and Reno 911 star Niecy Nash. She recently told Life & Style that she likes her “jiggly” parts: “I like my curves — I don’t have a problem with any of it, and my boyfriend doesn’t either! It’s more about the inner transformation for me. I want to become better and stronger and more fulfilled as a person, and I can do that with a little wobble in my booty, honey!” Read more

Macy Gray to relaunch plus size line — WWD reports that singer Macy Gray is planning to relaunch her plus-size clothing line Humps, which originally premiered a couple years ago. “The lines are coming up,” she told the magazine at the launch party for Esprit’s new flagship in Manhattan. Read more

Scholarship for designers of plus size fashion — The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is offering a $1,000 scholarship for fashion students who want to specialize in plus size clothing. Among the entry requirements are design sketches and a 750-word essay. Read more

Chicago Sun Times TV critic Paige Wiser has named 10 television actors that she believes will finally get the attention they deserve in 2010. Drop Dead Diva star Brooke Elliott and Community supporting actress Yvette Nicole Brown made the list, along with stars such as Nathan Fillion (Castle), Jayma Mays (Glee) and Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family). “They’re going to keep stealing scenes until you sit up on the couch and pay attention,” says Wiser.

Of Elliott, Wiser writes:

If you haven’t checked out the USA series “Drop Dead Diva,” you are 1) oblivious to all the surprising buzz for this show, or 2) a man. Either way, shame on you. It’s hard to imagine who else could play the part of a self-absorbed blond model who’s killed in a car accident and returns in the real-size body of a brunette lawyer. Both parts of her personality are believable and funny; her Broadway experience (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Wicked”) probably didn’t hurt. I hope she sticks with TV, though. She’s the only actress I can think of who can twinkle her eyes on cue.

And this is what she has to say about Brown:

She’s been toiling on TV for years, with bit parts on “Boston Legal,” “Malcolm in the Middle” and “That’s So Raven,” and a recurring role on “Drake & Josh.” In between, she appeared in ads for Pine-Sol, Fiber One, Dairy Queen and Hamburger Helper. She has finally found a home with the other misfit toys on “Community” as, in the words of Chevy Chase’s character, “the sassy black woman.” But there’s nothing stereotypical about her take on adult student Shirley, with a melodic voice, crack comic timing — and a face that’s pure sunshine.

Who’s curvy: Brooke Elliott as Deb/Jane
Description from IMDB.com: A vapid aspiring model (Deb) killed in a car crash gets brought back to life in the body of Jane — an intelligent, overweight lawyer, hoping to find the meaning of inner beauty.
Network: Lifetime (2009- )
Watch it at Amazon Video on Demand

Elliott plays size-0 model Deb, who through a mixup in heaven got sent into the body of Jane, a successful curvy lawyer. The show realistically portrays some of the struggles larger people have with their bodies and their weight — being a helluva lot of fun to watch.

The NY Times piece, called “In TV Series, Some Reality on Weight,” includes this insight into why some of us will likely never be thin, no matter how hard we try to diet:

The show’s premise raises an obvious question: Given Deb’s success at maintaining a model-like figure, why doesn’t she just put her new body on a diet and lose the weight?

Shows like “Biggest Loser” proffer the message that all it takes is exercise and willpower for fat people to become thin. But “Drop Dead Diva” — 9 p.m. Eastern time on Sundays — explores a different reality. While the slim Deb could comfortably subsist on a diet of grapefruit and celery, Jane’s plus-size body craves chocolate doughnuts. While Deb spent her days working out and obsessing about the size of her knees, Jane discovers that long hours at the office drain her of the desire and energy to exercise.

When a friend suggests a strict diet, Deb (now in Jane’s body) makes a valiant effort to return to her model eating habits. But she discovers that Jane’s body craves chocolate and Cheez Whiz. When she is inside Jane’s body, Deb says: “I don’t like celery. I like sandwiches.”

The NY Times article also mentions Jane/Deb’s sense of curvy style, noting that she carries a green Michael Kors purse, and Entertainment Weekly spotlighted the beautiful Kay Unger shirtdress worn by Elliott during a birthday party scene.

Click here to read the New York Times article