"Breaking Free" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Zac Efron, Drew Seeley and Vanessa Hudgens | ||||
from the album High School Musical | ||||
B-side | "Start of Something New" | |||
Released | June 8, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:27 | |||
Label | Walt Disney | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jamie Houston | |||
Producer(s) | Jamie Houston | |||
High School Musical singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Zac Efron singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Drew Seeley singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Vanessa Hudgens singles chronology | ||||
|
"Breaking Free" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical . It also appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It is sung by Zac Efron,Drew Seeley [1] and Vanessa Hudgens. It was also released as a single on June 8,2006. [2] On June 21,2006,it was certified as a Gold single by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000. [3]
While Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez face prejudice from the basketball and scholastic teams,respectively,they both decide that they can pursue their secret dream of performing in a high school musical. The song is sung during the film's climax when Troy and Gabriella participate in the callbacks in front of the entire student body. In-universe,the duet is written and composed by Kelsi Nielsen for the second act of the Twinkle Towne school musical.
The song,performed at the film's climax,is a "chirpy slow-jam". It's written in the key of C minor in the beginning and then it modulates to D minor at the end of the song. [4]
In its second week on the Billboard Hot 100,the single jumped from number 86 to number 4,the largest jump in the chart's history up to that point. "Breaking Free" was also the top-selling song of the week,reaching number one on the Digital Songs chart. The single went platinum. [5]
The music video for this song was a clip from the movie and musical High School Musical. It was not released to any video countdowns in the US,because it was the climax song of the movie and Disney did not want it to be released. In Germany,a music video was created for a remix of the song using behind-the-scenes footage,which was later included on the High School Musical Remix Edition DVD.
British pop-duo Same Difference who came third on series 4 of The X Factor were due to release a cover version of "Breaking Free" on April 21, 2008. However, this was later canceled as the pair started working with Stock Aitken Waterman and recorded a 21st-century version of the Kylie Minogue Japanese hit "Turn It Into Love". The duo did, however, include a studio version of the song on their debut album, Pop .
Kayla Oldenburg also has plans to do a cover version of the song. The song is purported to be recorded in a live outtake from her impending marriage and will be released on a "pay as you see fit" model online. A physical release of the track is planned on 8-track as well.
American rock group The Faded covered a version of "Breaking Free" for the High School Musical Goes Punk compilation on Skunk-Ape Records. The video for the single is available on YouTube. "The original song is beautiful and sweet – there's absolutely nothing wrong with it," says vocalist, Gene Blalock, "but I think the message of the song – being yourself and breaking free from others' expectations and demands – gets lost on a wider audience who only hear this pretty duet. Reworking the song makes the message more accessible." The Faded's version replaces the duet, with Blalock doing the primary vocals, and members Micheal Diamond and Freddy Maciel offering backing harmony.
The rock band Porter Block also recorded a cover for the Ending Room Recordings cover compilation Guilt by Association Vol. 1 .
It was also covered by English teenager Skyla in June 2009.
Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo performed a cover for the season one finale of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series . The song was also on the show's soundtrack.
US and UK single
Italian single
Mexican single
Portuguese single
French single
European single
Asian single
Chinese single
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Germany (BVMI) [18] | Gold | 150,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [20] | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
High School Musical is the soundtrack of the Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name. Recorded in five days, it was released on January 10, 2006, and became the best selling album of that year, having sold more than 3.7 million copies in the US and 7 million copies worldwide. As of January 2016, the album has sold 5 million copies in the US, making it the best-selling TV soundtrack since 1991 when Nielsen SoundScan started tracking music sales.
"What I've Been Looking For" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical (2006). The song was written and produced by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts, and it was included on the film soundtrack of the same name. Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel sing it in a fast tempo. A reprise version, titled "What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)" was also recorded, but in a slow tempo. It is credited to be performed by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, although Efron vocals were mixed with those of Drew Seeley.
"If I Never Knew You" is a song by American singers Jon Secada and Shanice, from Disney's 1995 animated feature film, Pocahontas. The song was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and originally recorded by American singer Judy Kuhn in her film role as the singing voice of Pocahontas, and American actor Mel Gibson in his role as Captain John Smith. Shanice and Secada's version is heard during film's end credits, and was released on September 12, 1995, as the second single from the film's soundtrack by Walt Disney Records, after Vanessa Williams' pop and R&B rendition of the Academy Award-winning "Colors of the Wind".
"I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the 1980 musical Les Misérables. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyrics are by Herbert Kretzmer, based on the original French libretto by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel from the original French production.
V is the debut studio album by American singer Vanessa Hudgens, first released on September 26, 2006, via Hollywood Records. The album has been given mostly positive reviews. V debuted in the United States at twenty-four, selling 34,000 copies in its first week. The album has spawned two singles, lead "Come Back to Me" and follow-up "Say OK". In February 2007, the album was certified Gold by RIAA. As of April 2008, the album has sold 570,000 copies in the United States. Hudgens supported the album with serving as an opening act for The Cheetah Girls' The Party's Just Begun Tour and also on the High School Musical: The Concert tour. The album was voted as the seventh best album of 2007 by the readers of Billboard.
High School Musical: The Concert was a concert tour performed by members of the cast of the popular television film series, High School Musical, sponsored by AEG Live and presented by Buena Vista Concerts. The concert toured cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. High School Musical: The Concert expanded the Disney Channel franchise that had previously produced a triple-platinum selling soundtrack and had planned a movie sequel.
"What Time Is It?" is the opening musical number and first single from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical 2. It is featured on the High School Musical 2 soundtrack, and is the first song off the High School Musical 2 soundtrack.
"Magic" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu, which starred Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Written and produced by Newton-John's frequent collaborator John Farrar, "Magic" was released as the soundtrack's lead single in May 1980 and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2. On August 30, it was displaced from the top by Christopher Cross's "Sailing".
The discography of Vanessa Hudgens consists of two studio albums, six soundtrack albums, fifteen singles, and seven music videos. Hudgens has also recorded several other releases as her High School Musical character Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical film series' soundtracks. The songs she has recorded entered several international music charts and most of them were duets with the cast members of the High School Musical series. Hudgens' biggest hit song is the High School Musical duet "Breaking Free", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"This Is Me" is a pop rock song performed by Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas in their roles as Mitchie Torres and Shane Gray from the 2008 Disney Channel television film Camp Rock. It premiered on Radio Disney on June 6, 2008, and an acoustic version was released by Walt Disney Records onto digital platforms on June 17 as the fourth single from the Camp Rock soundtrack album. The song has versions and adaptations in eight languages and an acoustic version included in different editions of the official soundtrack. A live version is also included on Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the soundtrack to the 2008 Walt Disney Pictures film of the same name. It was released on October 21, 2008, in the United States.
"Now or Never" is the opening musical number and first single from the Walt Disney Pictures film, High School Musical 3: Senior Year. The song is also the first track of the movie's soundtrack. However, when the song is performed in the movie, the first verse is omitted.
"Circle of Life" is the song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M as the film's opening song. In an interview, Rice said he was amazed at the speed with which John composed: "I gave him the lyrics at the beginning of the session at about two in the afternoon. By half-past three, he'd finished writing and recording a stunning demo." John sang a pop version of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video.
The discography of the cast of the American film series High School Musical—primarily composed of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman—consists of three soundtrack albums, one live album, five compilation albums, two remix albums, one extended play and 12 singles. All albums and singles were released on Walt Disney Records. Collectively, the three soundtrack albums have sold 9.8 million copies in the United States, as of January 2016.
"Someday" is a song from Disney's 1996 animated feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and originally recorded by American singer and actress Heidi Mollenhauer in her film role as the singing voice of Esmeralda. It was one of three recordings, along with "In a Place of Miracles" and "As Long as There's a Moon", that were discarded during the storyboarding process to be replaced by "God Help the Outcasts." The codirectors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise both desired a quieter song for Esmeralda's scene inside the Notre Dame cathedral.
"Let It Go" is a song from Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film Frozen, whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song was performed in its original show-tune version in the film by American actress and singer Idina Menzel in her vocal role as Queen Elsa. It was later released as a single, being promoted to adult contemporary radio by Walt Disney Records in January 2014. Anderson-Lopez and Lopez also composed a simplified pop version which was performed by actress and singer Demi Lovato over the start of the film's closing credits. Disney's music division planned to release Lovato's version of the song before Menzel's, as they did not consider Menzel's version a traditional pop song. A music video was released separately for Lovato's version.
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is a song from the 2013 Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film Frozen, with music and lyrics composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The song is also present in the musical adaptation. As of 25 November 2016, the total sales of the digital track stands at 1,600,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it second on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history.
"We're All in This Together" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical and appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It features vocals from the cast of the movie including Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, and Drew Seeley, who sings for Zac Efron's character Troy Bolton. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, with production credited Gerrard, and executively produced by Kenny Ortega, Bill Borden, and Barry Rosenbush. The song uses elements to simulate a school pep rally, such as a whistle and school band instruments. It also features a dance in the chorus iconic to the scene in the original movie. The song was released as the second single from the soundtrack on October 16, 2006 and is considered a signature song from the franchise.
Descendants is a soundtrack album by the cast of the film of the same name, released on July 31, 2015 by Walt Disney Records. The soundtrack peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, number one on the US Top Digital Albums and topped the US Top Soundtracks.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Soundtrack: Music from the Disney+ Original Series is the soundtrack album for the first season of the streaming television series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which was released on January 10, 2020, by Walt Disney Records. The program itself was first distributed on streaming service Disney+ on November 12, 2019; following a preview simulcast on ABC, Disney Channel and Freeform on November 8, 2019.
To set the record straight, the majority of what is sung in the movie is definitely sung by someone else. His name is Drew Seeley