NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Drew Seeley opened up about replacing Zac Efron on the High School Musical tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Seeley provided the singing voice for Efron\u2019s Troy Bolton in the original 2006 film<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Seeley said that fans had a \u201ccognitive dissonance\u201d when they saw him on stage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Drew Seeley\u2019s path to the High School Musical<\/a> tour was long and winding, but fans didn\u2019t always appreciate that in the first moments of the show.<\/p>\nSeeley, 43, appeared on the Oct. 22 episode of Get Your Head in the Game<\/a> with Bart Johnson<\/a> (who played Coach Johnson in the movies). Seeley, meanwhile, co-wrote the movie\u2019s song \u201cGet\u2019cha Head in the Game,\u201d<\/a> sung by Troy Bolton. When Zac Efron<\/a> was cast as Troy, Disney decided to use Seeley\u2019s voice instead of Efron\u2019s for Troy\u2019s singing.<\/p>\nSeeley told Johnson that director Kenny Ortega<\/a> knew his voice from the demo he recorded, and he spent time with him and cast members like Ashley Tisdale<\/a>, Vanessa Hudgens<\/a>, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel in the studio recording the movie. But after the movie was wrapped, Seeley figured, \u201cIt’s a Disney Channel movie. I made $500 and then go back to P. F. Chang\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"DISNEY](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/4IswkgZBGC.wCnXSRlohGg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/ea492d345e45dda27ae7c2e30478d2ec\"\/)
<\/span><\/div>\n\nDISNEY CHANNEL\/FRED HAYES<\/p>\n
Zac Efron in ‘High School Musical’<\/p><\/div>\n
The movie premiered on Jan. 20, 2006, when he was on shift at P.F. Chang\u2019s. \u201cIt was playing on the bar top TVs,\u201d he remembered. \u201cAnd I was telling my coworkers, \u2018That’s my that’s my voice on there.\u2019 They’re like, \u2018Yeah. Okay, dude. Get back to work.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
But High School Musical turned into a massive success, and Disney decided to have the cast members tour and perform the songs in concert. But Efron was filming 2007\u2019s Hairspray and wasn\u2019t available.<\/p>\n
\u201cDisney and [Ortega] could have really thrown me under the bus when it came time to tour and Zac wasn’t available,\u201d Seeley said. \u201cBut they said, \u2018You know the music. You were here from the beginning. Hop on board this ride.\u2019 \u201d Seeley said he was \u201cgrateful\u201d they went with him.<\/p>\n
Johnson said, \u201cThat must have been strange. Like, you’re the lead guy now of this show.\u201d Seeley agreed, explaining he barely knew the cast before the tour. But there were bigger challenges.<\/p>\n
![\"Christopher](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qXJY.QoaPEOskJdQSl3PFg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/943fe19bb14c721756ac157e785c7078\"\/)
<\/span><\/div>\n\nChristopher Polk\/WireImage<\/p>\n
Drew Seeley in 2009<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe hardest part of the tour was the opener was \u2018Start of Something New,\u2019\u201d Seeley said. \u201cThe stage is backlit, and then I gotta come out by myself.\u201d He started singing the first line of the song \u2014 \u201cLiving in my own world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you don’t see who it is, and then the lights come on. And I remember in every city, there the audience would be like, \u2018Yeah!\u2019\u201d Until they saw he wasn\u2019t Efron.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they’d be like, wait a minute and die down. \u2018Oh, it’s not Zach.\u2019 So then I had to spend the rest of the song trying to win them back,\u201d he said. \u201cBut credit to the movie and the music, I don’t think it would have mattered who was up there. I think by the end of the first song, they were all in.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the tour was \u201cso much fun\u201d but that some people still have \u201ca weird cognitive dissonance\u201d about him and Efron. \u201cEven now, people are still finding out, and the response is either, \u2018Oh my gosh. You were my childhood,\u2019 or \u2018You ruined my childhood.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople try to make this, like, Team Drew, Team Zac thing, and it’s just it’s not that,\u201d he said. He added that he\u2019s only met Efron \u201ca few times\u201d but he\u2019s \u201calways been super kind and cordial.\u201d<\/p>\n
After about four months of touring, Seeley\u2019s High School Musical journey ended; Efron voiced Troy in the second and third films, released in 2007 and 2008.<\/p>\n
But the actor remains grateful. Looking back at when he co-wrote \u201cGet\u2019cha Head in the Game\u201d (which took 20 minutes), he said, \u201cMy next five, six years was like a meteoric rise in opportunities just because of that one session.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drew Seeley opened up about replacing Zac Efron on the High School Musical tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Seeley provided the singing voice for Efron\u2019s Troy Bolton in the original 2006 film<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Seeley said that fans had a \u201ccognitive dissonance\u201d when they saw him on stage<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Drew Seeley\u2019s path to the High School Musical<\/a> tour was long and winding, but fans didn\u2019t always appreciate that in the first moments of the show.<\/p>\n Seeley, 43, appeared on the Oct. 22 episode of Get Your Head in the Game<\/a> with Bart Johnson<\/a> (who played Coach Johnson in the movies). Seeley, meanwhile, co-wrote the movie\u2019s song \u201cGet\u2019cha Head in the Game,\u201d<\/a> sung by Troy Bolton. When Zac Efron<\/a> was cast as Troy, Disney decided to use Seeley\u2019s voice instead of Efron\u2019s for Troy\u2019s singing.<\/p>\n Seeley told Johnson that director Kenny Ortega<\/a> knew his voice from the demo he recorded, and he spent time with him and cast members like Ashley Tisdale<\/a>, Vanessa Hudgens<\/a>, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel in the studio recording the movie. But after the movie was wrapped, Seeley figured, \u201cIt’s a Disney Channel movie. I made $500 and then go back to P. F. Chang\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n DISNEY CHANNEL\/FRED HAYES<\/p>\n Zac Efron in ‘High School Musical’<\/p><\/div>\n The movie premiered on Jan. 20, 2006, when he was on shift at P.F. Chang\u2019s. \u201cIt was playing on the bar top TVs,\u201d he remembered. \u201cAnd I was telling my coworkers, \u2018That’s my that’s my voice on there.\u2019 They’re like, \u2018Yeah. Okay, dude. Get back to work.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n But High School Musical turned into a massive success, and Disney decided to have the cast members tour and perform the songs in concert. But Efron was filming 2007\u2019s Hairspray and wasn\u2019t available.<\/p>\n \u201cDisney and [Ortega] could have really thrown me under the bus when it came time to tour and Zac wasn’t available,\u201d Seeley said. \u201cBut they said, \u2018You know the music. You were here from the beginning. Hop on board this ride.\u2019 \u201d Seeley said he was \u201cgrateful\u201d they went with him.<\/p>\n Johnson said, \u201cThat must have been strange. Like, you’re the lead guy now of this show.\u201d Seeley agreed, explaining he barely knew the cast before the tour. But there were bigger challenges.<\/p>\n Christopher Polk\/WireImage<\/p>\n Drew Seeley in 2009<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThe hardest part of the tour was the opener was \u2018Start of Something New,\u2019\u201d Seeley said. \u201cThe stage is backlit, and then I gotta come out by myself.\u201d He started singing the first line of the song \u2014 \u201cLiving in my own world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you don’t see who it is, and then the lights come on. And I remember in every city, there the audience would be like, \u2018Yeah!\u2019\u201d Until they saw he wasn\u2019t Efron.<\/p>\n \u201cThen they’d be like, wait a minute and die down. \u2018Oh, it’s not Zach.\u2019 So then I had to spend the rest of the song trying to win them back,\u201d he said. \u201cBut credit to the movie and the music, I don’t think it would have mattered who was up there. I think by the end of the first song, they were all in.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the tour was \u201cso much fun\u201d but that some people still have \u201ca weird cognitive dissonance\u201d about him and Efron. \u201cEven now, people are still finding out, and the response is either, \u2018Oh my gosh. You were my childhood,\u2019 or \u2018You ruined my childhood.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople try to make this, like, Team Drew, Team Zac thing, and it’s just it’s not that,\u201d he said. He added that he\u2019s only met Efron \u201ca few times\u201d but he\u2019s \u201calways been super kind and cordial.\u201d<\/p>\n After about four months of touring, Seeley\u2019s High School Musical journey ended; Efron voiced Troy in the second and third films, released in 2007 and 2008.<\/p>\n But the actor remains grateful. Looking back at when he co-wrote \u201cGet\u2019cha Head in the Game\u201d (which took 20 minutes), he said, \u201cMy next five, six years was like a meteoric rise in opportunities just because of that one session.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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