Theatre
By Numbers
High School Musical By Numbers: Every song in the stage musical
Here’s your breakdown of every song on the High School Musical soundtrack
Anyone who grew up in the naughties knows that the High School Musical soundtrack is beaten out only by High School Musical 2. As the Disney musical makes a return to the London stage, so do all the songs that have lived rent-free in our brains since 2006. If you’re ready to embrace the nostalgia – or you’re lucky enough to be hearing these bangers for the first time – then here’s the perfect place to start, with your rundown of every song in High School Musical at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.
‘Start Of Something New’
At East High, basketball player Troy Bolton tells his friends about meeting Gabriella Montez on New Year’s Eve during a ski trip. Meanwhile, Gabriella, who has just moved to East High, tells her new friends about the same evening. They flash back to that night, before returning to present day, where the group sing about their New Year’s Resolutions.
Differing from the film, which shows Troy and Gabriella meeting in real time, the musical pays homage to Grease’s ‘Summer Nights’, as the couple reflect on their holiday romance.
Key lyric: “But now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart/The start of something new”
‘Get’cha Head In The Game’
After running into Gabriella again, Troy is distracted at basketball practice, unable to stop thinking about how they sang together on New Year’s Eve. The team and his dad, who also happens to be the coach, attempt to keep him focused, but Troy’s mind keeps wandering.
Key lyric: “Why am I feeling so wrong?/My head’s in the game but my heart’s in the song”
‘Auditions’
Auditions begin for the school musical, ‘Juliet and Romeo’, written by shy student Kelsi. A run of bad auditions leaves drama teacher Ms Darbus unimpressed – until Ryan and Sharpay take to the stage.
Key lyric: “I can make this happen/I know it in my heart”
‘What I’ve Been Looking For’
Brother and sister Ryan and Sharpay are the stars of the drama department, and their upbeat take on Kelsi’s song, whilst not quite what the composer imagined, is well-received by Ms Darbus. It’s not the most romantic of renditions, but they’re polished and note-perfect, giving them a solid lead over the competition.
Key lyric: “It’s hard to believe that I couldn’t see/That you were always there beside to me”
‘What I’ve Been Looking For (Reprise)’
Troy and Gabriella arrive after auditions close, and perform a slower, more heartfelt rendition of the song with Kelsi at the piano. Ms Darbus overhears them and invites them to a callback.
Key lyric: “So lonely before I finally find/What I’ve Been Looking For”
‘Cellular Fusion’
News gets out about Troy and Gabriella’s callback and starts to spread around the school, as students call and text each other. Troy’s basketball team are alarmed, as are the Brainiacs, who want Gabriella to compete in the Scholastic Decathlon with them. Sharpay and Ryan determine that the two have to be taught the rules.
Key lyric: “Rule number one: Pick the right clique”
‘Stick To The Status Quo’
Troy and Gabriella accidentally set off a revolution in the lunch hall. Everyone is supposed to stay in their lanes at East High, but students begin confessing ways in which they have betrayed the ‘rules’ of their cliques and taken up other interests. As chaos erupts, Sharpay ends up in the firing line, covered in food. She announces that somebody will pay.
Key lyric: “Don’t mess with the flow, no, no/Stick to the status quo”
‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’
Troy and Gabriella dance in the school’s rooftop garden, reflecting on how their meeting unexpectedly changed both of their lives, and confessing how much they like each other.
Key lyric: “I can’t take my eyes off of you/I know you feel the same way too”
‘Counting On You’
The basketball team and the Brainiacs team up to make sure that Troy and Gabriella go their separate ways. The separate groups accost Troy and Gabriella, encouraging to go all in on their cliques and forget the musical. Eventually, Troy tells the team what they want to hear to get them off his back. Unfortunately, he’s unaware that his words are being transmitted directly to Gabriella.
Key lyric: “Now the pressure is way up high/Which way are you gonna go?”
‘When There Was Me And You’
Gabriella is deeply hurt by Troy’s words and the two grow distant. This heartbreak anthem is Gabriella’s solo in the film, but in the stage version, Troy joins in, expressing his own loneliness and regret.
Key lyric: “But everybody else could tell that I confused my feelings with the truth/Because I liked the view/When there was me and you”
‘Start Of Something New (Reprise)’
Troy, learning about the set-up, finds Gabriella and tells her that he didn’t mean his words. He reminds her of their New Year’s meeting with this reprise.
Key lyric: “I know it’s for real/This could be the start of something new”
‘We’re All In This Together’
After learning that the callbacks have been moved to the same time as the Decathlon and the big game, Troy and Gabriella tell their teams they won’t be singing. But their friends rally to help them do both, feeling guilty for the rift they drove between the two.
This anthemic number comes a little earlier in the stage version, but returns at the end of the show for the same triumphant finale as in the original film.
Key lyric: “We’re all in this together/Once we know that we are, we’re all stars/And we see that”
‘Bop To The Top’
As the teams engineer a way for Troy and Gabriella to attend the callbacks, Ryan and Sharpay perform their callback song, about the ruthless ambition needed to succeed in the world of performing arts.
Key lyric: “Anything it takes to climb/The ladder of success”
‘Breaking Free’
As the auditorium fills with students, Ms Darbus has no choice but to let Troy and Gabriella audition, despite their lateness. The two overcome their nerves and perform this duet in front of everyone about breaking out of the box they’ve been put in.
Key lyric: “We’re soaring, flying/There’s not a star in heaven we can’t reach”
‘We’re All In This Together (Reprise)’
The cast unites in a reprise of this uplifting number, reminding each other they’re stronger united than divided.
Key lyric: “Together’s where we belong”
