Breaking Free

For other uses, see Breaking Free (disambiguation).

"Breaking Free"
Single by Zac Efron, Drew Seeley and Vanessa Hudgens
from the album High School Musical
B-side"Start of Something New"
ReleasedJune 8, 2006
Recorded2005
GenrePop
Length3:27
LabelWalt Disney
SongwriterJamie Houston
ProducerJamie Houston
High School Musical singles chronology
"Breaking Free"
(2006) 		"Get'cha Head in the Game"
(2006)
Zac Efron singles chronology
"Breaking Free"
(2006) 		"You Are the Music in Me"
(2007)
Drew Seeley singles chronology
"Breaking Free"
(2006) 		"Get'cha Head in the Game"
(2006)
Vanessa Hudgens singles chronology
"Breaking Free"
(2006) 		"Come Back to Me"
(2006)

"Breaking Free" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. It also appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It is sung by Zac Efron, Drew Seeley[1] and Vanessa Hudgens. It was also released as a single on June 8, 2006.[2] On June 21, 2006, it was certified as a Gold single by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000.[3]

Context

While Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez 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 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.[4]

Composition

The song, performed at the film's climax, is a "chirpy slow-jam". It's written in the key of C minor in the beginning and then it modulates to D minor at the end of the song. [5]

Commercial performance

In its second week on the Billboard Hot 100, 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 chart. The single went platinum.[6]

Music video

As the climax of the film, "Breaking Free" was not released to any video countdowns in the US. In Germany, a music video was created for a remix of the song using behind-the-scenes footage, and was later included on the High School Musical Remix Edition DVD.[7] In 2020, Disney+ added the original scene to their library, labelling it a music video.[8]

Cover versions

British pop-duo Same Difference included a studio version of the song on their debut album, Pop.[9]

American rock group The Faded covered a version of "Breaking Free" for the High School Musical Goes Punk compilation on Skunk-Ape Records, even making a music video on YouTube.[10][11]

The rock band Porter Block also recorded a cover for the Ending Room Recordings cover compilation Guilt by Association Vol. 1.[12]

It was also covered by English teenager Skyla in June 2009.[13]

Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo 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.[14]

Track listings

US and UK single

  1. "Breaking Free"
  2. "Start of Something New"

Italian single

  1. "Breaking Free"
  1. "Start of Something New"
  2. "Se Provi a Volare" (Performed by Luca Dirisio)

Mexican single

  1. "Eres Tú" (Performed by Belanova)

Portuguese single

  1. "Breaking Free"
  2. "O Que Eu Procurava" (Performed by Ludov)
  3. "Só Tem Que Tentar"

French single

  1. "Breaking Free"

European single

  1. "Breaking Free"
  2. "Breaking Free" (Instrumental)
  3. "Breaking Free" (Remix)

Asian single

  1. "Breaking Free" (Performed by Vince Chong, Nikki Gil, and Alicia Pan)

Chinese single

  1. "Breaking Free (Mandarin Version)"

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[27] Gold 45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[28] Gold 150,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[31] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Green, Kris; Wilkes, Neil (September 21, 2006). "High School Musical". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 18, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2007. To set the record straight, the majority of what is sung in the movie is definitely sung by someone else. His name is Drew Seeley
  2. ^ "High School Musical Cast - Breaking Free". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  4. ^ High School Musical Cast, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron & Drew Seeley – Breaking Free, retrieved December 9, 2025
  5. ^ Breihan, Tom (March 24, 2006). "High School Musical: The Cult Success of the Year". Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  6. ^ "Walt Disney Records' High School Musical Soundtrack #1 on Billboard's Top 200; Both Soundtrack and Breaking Free Single Are Platinum; Get'cha Head in the Game Single Goes Gold" (Press release). Burbank, California: Walt Disney Records. Business Wire. March 1, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "High School Musical Remix". December 21, 2006. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  8. ^ "Watch "Breaking Free" | High School Musical Music Video | What to Watch | Disney+ Canada". www.disneyplus.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  9. ^ Same Difference - Pop, 2008, retrieved February 14, 2026
  10. ^ High School Musical Tribute: Goes Punk by Various Artists on Apple Music, March 7, 2009, retrieved February 14, 2026
  11. ^ thefadedband (February 25, 2008). The Faded - Breaking Free (High School Musical). Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Staff, SPIN (May 7, 2007). "Banhart, Watt, Concretes Cover Guilty Pleasures". SPIN. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  13. ^ SteveAATW (April 29, 2009). Skyla - Breaking Free - Out Now. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Soundtrack (Liner notes). Netherlands: Walt Disney Records. 2020. 00050087438999.
  15. ^ "Cast Of High School Musical – Breaking Free". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  16. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Breaking Free". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  18. ^ "History - FIMI". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved May 3, 2024. Set "Artista/Band" on "Ricerca per". Then, in the "Artista/Band" field, search "Gabriela".
  19. ^ "Cast Of High School Musical – Breaking Free" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "Cast Of High School Musical – Breaking Free". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 1/10/2006 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 1/10/2006 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  23. ^ "Vanessa Hudgens Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  24. ^ Billboard (February 11, 2006). "Issue date February 11, 2006". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  25. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2006". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  26. ^ "NZ Top 20 Singles for 2006". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  27. ^ "Danish single certifications – Troy, Gabriela & Disney – Breaking Free". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  28. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Cast of 'High School Musical'; 'Breaking Free')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  29. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – High School Musical Cast – Breaking Free". Radioscope. Retrieved February 20, 2025. Type Breaking Free in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  30. ^ "British single certifications – Cast of High School Musical – Breaking Free". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 5, 2026. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Breaking Free Cast of High School Musical in the "Search:" field.
  31. ^ "American single certifications – Soundtrack – Breaking Free". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
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