Fake news?: Zac Efron didn't sing in High School Musical

One of my guilty pleasures of Facebook is reading some of the ridiculous things people share from "news" outlets believing they are true. I always try to do my own investigative work because I want to firmly believe when I talk about a subject I really know what I'm talking about.

Have you ever brought up something you thought you knew the details about only to be told everything you knew was a lie? If not, you're lucky. It's one of the worst feelings when you're the kid who wants to always be right; I learned that at an early age.

Since I spend so much time doing this on my own, I figured why not make a blog series about it? I think it could be fun. This series may not be weekly, just as a heads up. But, it'll always be something I find interesting, and, honestly, I find the most mainstream things intriguing so I am sure you all will love this as well. I am the epitome of basic- no shame.

Recently, while scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled on a post by my sister, Savannah. This is pretty ordinary for me. Facebook works off algorithms, and Savannah and I are all over each others posts. We have a lot in common because, well, we're amazing. So, I see her post and it has Zac Efron on it. I'm a huge fan, to say the least, so my interest is instantly peaked.

First, if you are reading this and somehow don't know who Zac Efron is, you may know the movie series that really launched his career: High School Musical. When I was in middle/high school this series was the most talked about Disney idea since Finding Nemo (they hold a 3 year gap on release dates in case you're wondering).

Efron plays Troy Bolton in the series, a high school jock who finds his way to the musical theater scene by falling in love with the new girl, Gabriella Montez (played by Efron's ex-lover Vanessa Hudgens). The movie has bad boys, geeks, theater nerds, jocks, bullies, and a great plot of overcoming diversity. It was relatable to teens, preteens, and even elementary school kids to an extent. The girls wanted a love story like Troy and Gabriella, and the boys probably secretly wanted to not have the pressure to be something they aren't- that's just my theory though. Most importantly, and I do want to put emphasis on MOST, Troy Bolton was H-O-T HOT!

Peep this beautiful side-by-side of Zac then and now. SWOON!


So what was this huge news story I saw on Savannah's status? It was gut wrenching, to say the least. Here is the picture attached to the post:

I could've cried. To be completely honest, when I read it I thought it was fake. It had to be. My whole life I have believed Zac Efron had the body of a god and the voice of an angel, and if it wasn't true I didn't know what I could and couldn't believe anymore. Do Goldfish snacks really smile back? Am I really in good hands at All State? Do I really eat fresh at Subway? It was like I was having stoner-vision where the whole world just exploded in my brain, and nothing made any sense. So I took a deep breath and decided to investigate the blasphemy.

The article that truly hit the nail on the head for my research came from J-14, a magazine focused mostly on teens and news related to the younger crowd. I used to purchase every new J-14 magazine when I was younger. I had a J-14 poster of Zac Efron on my wall- talk about inception. Here is a link directly to the post: #Facts: Here's the Real Reason Why Zac Efron Didn't Sing in 'High School Musical'

So, a look into the research of others as well as a direct quote from Efron himself informed me that the post was in fact true... or MOSTLY true. Apparently, Efron recorded every song for the movie, but his vocals weren't up to par with Disney standards. So, Disney took Efron's vocals and meshed them with Drew Seeley's vocals to form Troy Bolton. There are many different reasons this was believed to happen, but the stand-out theory appears to be Efron didn't have the range to hit the notes necessary. Is this the truth? No one knows for sure.

Once the first movie took off and became overwhelmingly popular, Efron decided it was time to take a stand.

"That was a very huge point for me. I had to put my foot down and fight to get my voice on these tracks,"Efron told J-14 magazine in reference to the second movie. Efron also explained that there was no explanation given to him at the time of the first movie release as to why his vocals weren't used. Poor chiseled, handsome, rugged fella. Is it getting hot in here? Moving on..

Efron has no hard feelings toward Seeley, though. In the same interview to the Orlando Sentinel, which was actually just unearthed by J-14, Efron 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 [in High School Musical 2]."

This was information I was lucky to find in teenVogue's article Zac Efron Says He Had to "Fight" to Get His Voice in "High School Musical 2".

So my next question at hand came pretty naturally... Who in the world is Drew Seeley? Also, is he some hidden man candy we should all know about? Well, sort of!

He's a looker, that's for sure! Apparently, he's even more than that. According to the High School Musical Wiki page, Seeley has sang many songs for the Walt Disney Company. The only reason we know about him now is because of the drama related to his vocals being used in the first High School Musical movie. In fact, Seeley took Efron's place in the High School Musical concert series while Efron took time to film the movie Hairspray. We were all oblivious- living in our own world, didn't understand... See what I did there?

Anyways, Drew Seeley has went on to make his own music career while Efron continued to pursue acting. Here's a song by Seeley on YouTube: Into the Fire. Wayne Brady is in the video so it's definitely worth the watch.

This is the man-candiest post I have ever made.

I will finish this eyeopening, depressive blog entry with a song from both High School Musical and High School Musical 2 so that you can hear for yourself the differences. I am deeply saddened by the realization. I am sorry to have had to inform you, readers. Don't worry though, we are still all in this together... Now, there's just one more of us than we knew about previously!

High School Musical- Get'cha Head in the Game

High School Musical 2- Bet On It

What are your thoughts on this information? Did you already know, or was this eyeopening for you as well? I would love to hear in the comments below or on Facebook!