Ever wondered if the High School Musical alumnus can actually sing in real life?
Zac Efron can sing, and rather well too! Even though he didn’t sing his own lines in the first High School Musical movie, he did for the other two. He has also sung live on TV or social media, and he also stars as the main character in the musical The Greatest Showman – for which he, again, sang his own lines.
Read on to learn more!
Zac Didn’t Sing in High School Musical at First
Zac Efron is synonymous with High School Musical at this point; the franchise gave him his big break as an actor, and pop culture isn’t going to let him forget that anytime soon. This has been difficult for him – shaking off the image of Troy Bolton hasn’t been easy. He spoke to Men’s Fitness about this, saying, “I step back and look at myself and I still want to kick that guy’s ass sometimes. Like, f**k that guy. He’s done some kind of cool things with some cool people, he did that one thing [Neighbours] that was funny, but I mean he’s still just that f**king kid from High School Musical.”
That being said, despite Troy Bolton’s star status as a singer and basketball player, Zac wasn’t the one singing his lines – at least not at first. In the first High School Musical movie, Zac lip-syncs all his songs, which are sung by Drew Seeley, another Disney star who plays Selena Gomez’s love in Another Cinderella Story. However, Zac sang all of his lines in the remaining two movies. He also didn’t go on the High School Musical tour or perform in High School Musical: The Concert – in which the entire cast sings all the songs from the movie live – but this was only because he was busy filming Hairspray at the time. Drew Seeley, once again, had to take his place on the tour.
Zac Is Musically Talented in Real Life
Just because he didn’t perform in High School Musical at first doesn’t mean he lacks musical talent it is quite the opposite with him in real life. He even plays the piano as a hobby! Zac often showcases his musical talent on TV and his social media. For instance, when he was wishing his co-star from Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Adam DeVine, a happy 33rd birthday, he did so by posting a video on Twitter in which he sings a blues-driven happy birthday song and plays the piano alongside it. Adam responded to this post by tweeting that it made him feel “like the prettiest girl in school.”
Zac also sang a duet with on the Ellen Show once, with none other than Taylor Swift herself! If all of this isn’t proof enough of his musical talent, consider the fact that he has sung in many musicals since his Disney days, such as The Lorax, and The Greatest Showman – which is one of his most famous roles to date. Even though the movie wasn’t received well by fans on its announcement, the reception it got on its release was remarkable. Zac and his co-stars, Hugh Jackman and Zendaya, were lucky to make a film that opened to a whopping $434 million at the box office. Hairspray was also a musical.
Zac Almost Had a Singing Career
It should come as no surprise at this point that Zac could have been a singer if he had wanted and if he hadn’t chosen acting instead. Rumor has it that legendary producer Simon Cowell – who has also been a judge on The X Factor and American Idol – offered Zac a record deal during his High School Musical days, claiming that they could “make millions” together. And they probably could have, but Zac turned him down to focus on acting, and hey, we’re not complaining!
And it’s not like Zac isn’t a bit of a musician anyway. For instance, the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman was one of the highest-selling albums of the year. Zac even fought to be able to sing in the second and third High School movies because of how much he enjoyed doing it. At the time, he said, “I’m very fortunate that Drew has gotten proper credit and also that I’ve gotten the opportunity to come back and try it again with my own voice,” adding, “I had to put my foot down and fight to get my voice on these tracks.”