I have a really obvious confession to make: I watched the sing-a-long version of High School Musical 2. Nope, that's not the confession; I couldn't help which version was on when I sat down to watch. The admission is more that by the end, against my own will, I was trying to sing along. Still, that's obvious. Because High School Musical 2 is impossibly catchy and lovable.

Disney Channel movies have a long history of cheesy, clean, wholesome fun. High School Musical - the original - fit directly into this mold. A fluke of a success, the original film was cute, catching the attention of tweens across the country. But the popularity spread at an exponential rate, making it so there was not one group of friends without a closet HSM lover. The premiere of the second was hotly anticipated - there are tons of stories on the internet of kids postponing their birthday parties, parents planning official get-togethers around the largest tvs, and there were even some college kids I knew who made quite a few calls to make sure someone had a cable package with the Disney Channel.

When they talked in February 2006, Ashley Tisdale told MediaVillage junior correspondent Maya Motavalli that she had a ball playing "mean girl" Sharpay in High School Musical. She must have had a blast reprising the role, because Sharpay is even meaner in HSM2. Read on to learn how Ashley prepared for her career-making role the first time around.

Currently starring in both High School Musical 2 and the feature film Hairspray, Zac Efron is one of the hottest actors in television and movies today. Early last year, when the media spotlight had yet to focus on him, Zac talked with MediaVillage junior correspondent Maya Motavalli about the first HSM, how he prepared for the role of Troy and what it was like to have his first "passionate" on-screen kiss during the making of the movie.

Originally Published February 15, 2006

Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale and their co-stars in the two High School Musical movies are household names today, but that wasn't the case in early 2006. It wasn't until weeks after the first film premiered and its soundtrack album blew through the roof that adults learned what kids and tweens already knew: The stars of Disney's HSM were the stars of the future, and the franchise was one that would live on for years (and possibly generations) to come.

MediaVillage, however, had the inside track on the HSM phenomenon. Junior correspondent Maya Motavalli, who was 11 years old at the time, was talking about the movie months before it debuted. Indeed, it seemed that Maya and her friends knew the words to all of the songs on its soundtrack even before they saw the movie. Such is the influence of the Internet, especially on the young.

Maya (with a little help from MediaVillage editor Ed Martin) interviewed Zac and Ashley in February of last year for a series of columns on MediaVillage. With High School Musical 2 about to make its wildly anticipated debut on the Disney Channel we thought this would be an interesting time to rerun those interviews and see what had been going through the young stars' minds when HSM mania was just beginning.

Returning stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman are all in fine form. Together, they're the most perfect six-pack of young television talent the medium has produced since Friends debuted in 1994.

BACK: MONIQUE COLEMAN; ZAC EFRON; RICH ROSS, PRESIDENT, DISNEY CHANNEL WORLDWIDE; ASHLEY TISDALE; ANNE SWEENEY,CO-CHAIR & PRESIDENT DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP; KAYCEE STROH; GARY MARSH, PRESIDENT, ENTERTAINMENT, DISNEY CHANNEL WORLDWIDE; VANESSA HUDGENS; OLESYA RULIN
FRONT: RYNE SANBORN; KENNY ORTEGA; LUCAS GRABEEL; CHRIS WARREN, JR.

We're two days away from what may be the most eagerly anticipated telecast of the year -- Disney Channel's High School Musical 2, the not-too-long awaited sequel to last year's unexpected blockbuster. Among kids and tweens it's going to be even more popular than the year's other giant TV entertainment event, the season finale last May of American Idol. I suspect it's going to appeal to millions of teens and young adults, and adults who are young at heart, as well.

Early last year, while all eyes were on the breakout hit High School Musical, the premiere of another new Disney Channel production titled Hannah Montana generated similar excitement among the millions of kids and tweens that comprise the network's audience. A scripted comedy series with music about a girl named Miley Stewart who keeps her identity as an international pop-music superstar named Hannah Montana a secret so she can experience the life of a normal teenager when she isn't performing, Hannah quickly became one of the biggest franchises in the history of the network and made a superstar out of Miley Cyrus, the young actress and singer who plays the title character. The success of the series was only the beginning. The Hannah Montana album became the first television soundtrack to debut at No. 1 on a Billboard chart. Miley joined the recent sold-out Cheetah Girls concert tour for several performances in character as her alter ego. The inevitable Hannah Montana products followed, including a popular clothing line. And Miley is working on an album as herself, rather than Hannah.

Click here to read the rest of Miley Cyrus on Season Two of Hannah Montana

As detailed in yesterday's column, Friday Night Lights, The Wire, Broken Trail, The Shield and 24 are among my choices for the top ten programs of 2006. Here are the remaining five:

Click here to read the rest of High School Musical and American Idol are Programs of the Year

With starring roles in the hit movies Halloweentown III: Halloweentown High, High School Musical and Return to Halloweentown behind him, and the eagerly anticipated High School Musical 2 coming up next year, Lucas Grabeel is now one of the most popular young actors on the Disney Channel. But he is becoming known for his guest starring roles on more grown-up fare, as well, including Boston Legal, Veronica Mars and Smallville. He's also branching out as a musical performer (he'll be part of the two-month, nationwide High School Musical concert tour that kicks off at the end of November) and in movies. In fact, Grabeel called to do an interview with MediaVillage reporter Maya Motavalli from St. Louis, Missouri, where he is currently filming the independent feature Alice, co-starring Alyson Stoner, Luke Perry and Penny Marshall. Grabeel had just returned to St. Louis after a drive to his hometown of Springfield, Missouri, for a "real quick" visit with his parents. After the interview he was heading to a local studio to record songs for Alice. The movie isn't a musical, Grabeel says, "but there are songs in it… my character in the movie has a garage band."

Click here to read the rest of Exclusive Interview! High School Musical Star Lucas Grabeel Tells All -- Part Two

With starring roles in the hit movies Halloweentown III: Halloweentown High, High School Musical and Return to Halloweentown behind him, and the eagerly anticipated High School Musical 2 coming up next year, Lucas Grabeel is now one of the most popular young actors on the Disney Channel. But he is becoming known for his guest starring roles on more grown-up fare, as well, including Boston Legal, Veronica Mars and Smallville. He's also branching out as a musical performer (he'll be part of the two-month, nationwide High School Musical concert tour that kicks off at the end of November) and in movies. In fact, Grabeel called to do an interview with MediaVillage reporter Maya Motavalli from St. Louis, Missouri, where he is currently filming the independent feature Alice, co-starring Alyson Stoner, Luke Perry and Penny Marshall. Grabeel had just returned to St. Louis after a drive to his hometown of Springfield, Missouri, for a "real quick" visit with his parents. After the interview he was heading to a local studio to record songs for Alice. The movie isn't a musical, Grabeel says, "but there are songs in it … my character in the movie has a garage band."

Click here to read the rest of Exclusive Interview! Return to Halloweentown Star Lucas Grabeel Tells All -- Part One/a>

Disney Channel tomorrow night will debut Hannah Montana, another live-action comedy series targeted to older kids and tweens. Hannah joins an impressive lineup of similar programs on Disney, including That's So Raven, Phil of the Future and last year's hit The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, but unlike those shows Hannah features original music in every episode. This seems to be the perfect time for Disney to launch a weekly comedy with music, as enthusiasm for the network's mighty High School Musical is still going strong and young Disney Channel viewers are eagerly awaiting another original production with music produced just for them. Hannah will certainly benefit from that growing expectation. Heavy on-air promotion on the network throughout the ongoing High School Musical phenomenon won't hurt, either.

Click here to read the rest of MediaVillage Exclusive: Miley Cyrus Talks About her New Disney Channel Series Hannah Montana

Before High School Musical came along, the Disney Channel program that was generating the most buzz was the kid-com The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Thru February it is Disney's highest-rated series of the year among kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14.

Click here to read the rest of MediaVillage Exclusive: Dylan and Cole Sprouse of Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

Zac Efron, who stars as singer and basketball star Troy in Disney Channel's High School Musical, recently talked with Maya Motavalli of MediaVillage about the movie, its music and his on-screen kiss with co-star Ashley Tisdale. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.

Click here to read the rest of Exclusive: High School Musical star Zac Efron Talks with MediaVillage About the Making of the Movie and Its Smash Soundtrack

Best known to Disney Channel viewers as Maddie, the sweet candy counter girl in the network's hit series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Ashley Tisdale also stars as the talented and scheming Sharpay in the network's original movie High School Musical. She recently talked with Maya Motavalli of MediaVillage about her roles, her co-stars and her music. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.

Click here to read the rest of Exclusive! High School Musical Star Ashley Tisdale Talks with MediaVillage About Her Acting, Her Music and Her Role on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

You may not recognize the names Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale, but if you have children or find yourself near any kids, mention them and you'll suddenly be the center of attention.

Click here to read the rest of MediaVillage Exclusive: Stars of High School Musical Tell All