Breaking Free facts for kids

Quick facts for kids "Breaking Free"
Single by Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Drew Seeley
from the album High School Musical
Released	June 8, 2006
Recorded	2005
Genre	Pop
Length	3:27
Label	Walt Disney
Songwriter(s)	Jamie Houston
Producer(s)	Jamie Houston
High School Musical singles chronology
"Breaking Free" (2006) "What Time Is It?" (2007)
Vanessa Hudgens singles chronology
"Breaking Free" (2006) "Come Back to Me" (2006)
Drew Seeley singles chronology
"Breaking Free" (2006) "Get'cha Head in the Game" (2006)

Breaking Free is a super popular song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. It's also on the movie's soundtrack. The song is sung by Drew Seeley, Zac Efron, and Vanessa Hudgens. It was released as a single on June 8, 2006. Just a few weeks later, it sold over 500,000 copies! This earned it a "Gold" award from the RIAA.

The song also appeared on Vanessa Hudgens' album, A Musical Tribute. You can also find it on the Disney album, Disney Channel Playlist, which came out in 2009.

What's the Song About?

This song is a big moment in the High School Musical movie. It's sung by the main characters, Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. They both love to sing, but they keep it a secret. Troy is a basketball star, and Gabriella is a super smart student.

They decide to follow their dream of performing in the school musical. "Breaking Free" is their duet during the final tryouts. They sing it in front of everyone at school. In the movie, the song was written by Kelsi Nielsen for the school play.

How Popular Was "Breaking Free"?

"Breaking Free" was a huge hit! It quickly became very popular.

• It jumped from number 86 to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was one of the biggest jumps ever at that time!
• It was also the best-selling song of the week. It reached number one on the Digital Songs chart.
• The song even went "platinum," meaning it sold over a million copies.

Music Video Fun Facts

The music video for "Breaking Free" is actually a clip from the High School Musical movie itself. Disney didn't release it as a separate video in the US. This was because it was the big song at the end of the movie. They didn't want to give away the exciting ending!

However, in Germany, a special music video was made. It used behind-the-scenes footage from the movie. This video was later included on the High School Musical Remix Edition DVD.

Cool Cover Versions

Many artists have covered "Breaking Free" since it came out.

• The British pop group Same Difference recorded a version for their album Pop. They were on a TV show called The X Factor.
• The American rock band The Faded also covered the song. Their version was for an album called High School Musical Goes Punk. The band's singer, Gene Blalock, said they wanted to make the song's message even clearer. He felt the original song's message about being yourself could get lost.
• Another rock band, Porter Block, also recorded a cover.
• English singer Skyla released her own version in 2009.
• More recently, Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo performed "Breaking Free." They sang it for the final episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Their version is also on that show's soundtrack.

Different Versions Around the World

The song "Breaking Free" was released in many different countries. Sometimes, it came with other songs.

US and UK Single

• "Breaking Free"
• "Start of Something New"

Italian Single

• "Breaking Free"
• "Start of Something New"
• "Se Provi a Volare" (Sung by Luca Dirisio)

Mexican Single

• "Eres Tú" (Sung by Belanova)

Portuguese Single

• "Breaking Free"
• "O Que Eu Procurava" (Sung by Ludov)
• "Só Tem Que Tentar"

French Single

• "Breaking Free"

European Single

• "Breaking Free"
• "Breaking Free" (Instrumental)
• "Breaking Free" (Remix)

Asian Single

• "Breaking Free" (Sung by Vince Chong, Nikki Gil, and Alicia Pan)

Chinese Single

• "Breaking Free (Mandarin Version)"

Charts

See also

In Spanish: Breaking Free para niños