Admit It: You Saw High School MusicalThe Disney Channel movie has hot guys and hits on iTunes. So TEEN PEOPLE talked to Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale to get the scoop on the sequel
By Heather Keets Wright
February 10th, 2006For the past few weeks, the Billboard Hot 100 chart pretty much looked like you'd expect it to: a little Beyoncé, a little Nelly and a dash of Chris Brown mixed in there, too. So no one was looking when "Breaking Free," a teeny, tiny ballad … from a soundtrack… for a Disney Channel movie, rocketed to No. 4, zooming past The Pussycat Dolls and skipping right over Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson. And get this: the only radio station playing the hit song is Radio Disney.
In fact, no one expected the madness that followed the January 20 premiere of High School Musical…not even the movie's stars. "I never thought I'd have my name on the Billboard charts! It's amazing," says the movie's lead (and bona fide hot guy) Zac Efron. Zac plays Troy, the captain of the basketball team and jock ringleader, who throws the school's social equilibrium out of whack when he decides to audition for the school play.
During a break at a recent photo shoot, Zac told us that in real life, he's no basketball star. Watch the video to meet him and Ashley Tisdale, who plays Sharpay, the movie's um, drama queen.
Not only did the movie's anthem, "Breaking Free" score big, but at press time, eight other songs from the soundtrack were nestled in the Billboard Hot 100. The soundtrack itself peaked at No.1 on iTunes albums chart. And 7.7 million viewers watched the premiere, a record for the Disney Channel.
And before you tell us that it was just your tweeny-bopper little sisters watching, we know the truth. We polled over 36,000 TeenPeople.com users, and here's what you said:
Well, for those, 10,000 (and more) there's good news: Disney will be having an encore presentation of the hot little hit on Tuesday, February 13 (8 pm EST). And oh yes, there is a sequel in the works slated for next year and so far, Zac and Ashley have signed on.
Ashley can't wait to step back into Sharpay's shoes. "It's cool to play a character that isn't' like me at all," says the star, who also just started taping the second season of Disney's The Suite Life of Zac & Cody. "I watched Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls for inspiration. She does these mean things but she always has a smile on her face.
In addition to the TV show and the movie, Ashley is also focused on her next goal, recording a pop album. "I would love to do a duet with Jessica Simpson, she's a great singer. And Jesse McCartney one day."
As for Zac, who has appeared on numerous plays and TV shows including Summerland with Jesse, he says he has no plans to head into the studio. And despite the success of the movie, he claims he doesn't really consider acting his profession...yet. "At this point, when people ask me if I'm an actor, I say I'm a student. Acting has always been a hobby. It's just that now my hobby is taking off. My friends finally get to see what I've been doing all these years."
Yeah, and if they don't believe he's a real star all they have to do is turn on the TV, or check out iTunes.
From Teen People