"Breaking Free" is a song from the

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner nam ...

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

''. It also appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It is sung by

Drew Seeley Andrew Michael Edgar Seeley (born April 30, 1982) is a Canadian actor, singer, songwriter and dancer. He has recorded many songs for the Walt Disney Company. He danced as a child in Ontario until he was about preteen age and then moved to Florida ...

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' trilo ...

, and

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in ''Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006� ...

. It was also released as a single on June 8, 2006. On June 21, 2006, it was certified as a Gold single by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales of over 500,000. The song subsequently appeared on Vanessa Hudgens' compilation album, ''A Musical Tribute'' and appears on the Disney compilation album, ''

Disney Channel Playlist ''Disney Channel Playlist'' is a compilation album of music featured in Disney Channel Original Series, as well as Disney Channel Original Movies. It was released by Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disn ...

'', which was released on June 9, 2009.

Context

While

Troy Bolton The following article is a list of characters appearing in the ''High School Musical'' film series. Currently, the characters who appear in ''High School Musical'', ''High School Musical 2'', and '' High School Musical 3: Senior Year'' are liste ...

and

Gabriella Montez The following article is a list of characters appearing in the ''High School Musical'' film series. Currently, the characters who appear in ''High School Musical'', ''High School Musical 2'', and '' High School Musical 3: Senior Year'' are liste ...

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.

Composition

The song, performed at the film's climax, is a "chirpy slow-jam". It's in the key of C minor in the beginning and in D minor at the end of the song.

Commercial performance

In its second week on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, 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 The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...

chart. The single went platinum.

Music video

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.

Cover versions

British pop-duo

Same Difference Same Difference were an English bubblegum pop duo from Portsmouth, England, made up of siblings Sean Smith and Sarah Smith. They came to prominence in 2007 when they finished third in the fourth series of the ITV talent show, ''The X Factor'' ...

who came third on

series 4 Series 4 could refer to: * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model * BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 4 series, line of nVidia video cards * Scania 4-series, the truck model line * South African Class 6E1, Series 4, el ...

of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' 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 Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

and recorded a 21st-century version of the

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Japanese hit "

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". 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 YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. "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 Porter Block is an American, New York-based power pop band, formed by Peter Block and Caleb Sherman. Since 2006, the band has released five albums and one EP, including several collaborations with Mike Viola. History Porter Block formed in the ...

also recorded a cover for the Ending Room Recordings cover compilation '' Guilt by Association Vol. 1''. It was also covered by English teenager

Skyla Skyla (born Lucy Batty, 5 March 1991) is an English dance singer from Altrincham. Career Skyla was signed by 3 Beat/ AATW in 2008. She was working alongside producers Scott Rosser (from Cahill), Mike Di Scala (Ultrabeat) and Nemesis. Her ap ...

in June 2009.

Joshua Bassett Joshua Taylor Bassett (born December 22, 2000) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He is known for his starring role as Ricky Bowen in '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series''. Early life Bassett was born and raised in Oc ...

and

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She gained recognition in the late 2010s with her lead roles on the Disney television programs ''Bizaardvark'' and '' High School Musical: The Music ...

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.

Track listings

US and UK single #"Breaking Free" #"Start of Something New" Italian single #"Breaking Free" #"Start of Something New" #"Se Provi a Volare" (Performed by

Luca Dirisio The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...

) Mexican single #"

Eres Tú Eres (English: "You Are") may refer to: * "Eres" (Alejandro Fernández song), 2008 * "Eres" (Café Tacuba song), 2003 * "Eres", a song by Anahí from her album ''Inesperado'', 2016 * "Eres", a song by José María Napoleón, 1975, later covered ...

" (Performed by

Belanova Belanova was a Mexican pop music, pop band that formed in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, in 2000. The group consisted of Denisse Guerrero (lead vocals), Edgar Huerta (keyboards, programming) and Ricardo "Richie" Arreola (Bass (instrument), ba ...

) Portuguese single #"Breaking Free" #"O Que Eu Procurava" (Performed by Ludov) #"Só Tem Que Tentar" French single #"Breaking Free" European single #"Breaking Free" #"Breaking Free" (Instrumental) #"Breaking Free" (Remix) Asian single #"Breaking Free" (Performed by

Vince Chong Vincent Chong Ying-Cern (, born 1979) is a Malaysian singer, internationally known by his stage name Vince , is the first reality TV star to issue from Malaysian Akademi Fantasia. Chong is popular as a R&B-inclined singer-songwriter. His popul ...

Nikki Gil Monica Pauline "Nikki" Santos Gil-Albert (; born August 23, 1987) is a Filipino singer, actress, host, model, and video jockey. She is known for being part of the afternoon remake of '' Carlo J. Caparas' Pieta'' (2008–2009) and, in 2009, for ...

, and Alicia Pan) Chinese single #"Breaking Free (Mandarin Version)"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2006 debut singles Vanessa Hudgens songs Zac Efron songs 2006 songs Pop ballads Songs from High School Musical (franchise) Walt Disney Records singles Songs written by Jamie Houston (songwriter) Songs written for films 2000s ballads Male–female vocal duets