Talking to Vanessa Hudgens

By CARLENE MILLER

She’s on the television. She’s on your little sister’s T-shirt. She’s on magazines, posters, and she’ll soon be on the big screen. You can finally see her in person at the Hamburg Fairgrounds, when Vanessa Hudgens performs at the Erie County Fair at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9.

NeXt recently interviewed Hudgens to discover more about her newly released second album, her work on “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” due out Oct. 24 in theaters, and her success so far.

NeXt: When did you know you wanted to be involved in show business?

Vanessa: Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always loved singing and dancing, it was kind of like second nature to me. When I was doing little stage performances, community theater, I was just so at home being on stage. It just felt like somewhere where I could be myself.

NeXt: How did you become involved in “High School Musical”

Vanessa: I just auditioned like everybody else did. I heard about it, and I sang a song, did a scene, and from there on, it was a wild journey because we had to do about three more callbacks after that, and I just kept going and going.

NeXt: How would you describe your “High School Musical” experience?

Vanessa: Very surreal. I mean, it’s very rare that something becomes what “High School Musical” has become. It’s a whirlwind. We are so fortunate to be a part of it, and everything that’s happened has just opened doors for all of us. We grew up together. “High School Musical” is our home, it’s our real high school, and we all love each other so much.

NeXt: Did you ever think that “High School Musical” would reach this level of success?

Vanessa: Definitely not. I signed on to do a Disney Channel movie, and there’s been, like what, 60 other Disney Channel movies? I was content with how much fun I had doing it. I never expected it to do what it did, especially like now, after doing a theatrical release. It’s amazing.

NeXt: Are you excited for “High School Musical 3″?

Vanessa: I could not be any more thrilled. We worked our butts off, we really did. There’s 17 songs now. The whole scheme of it is much larger. The dance numbers are more over the top and exaggerated. We really tried everything in our power to make it the best we can. I’ve seen the preview probably 10 times now because I’m so excited to see the end result.

NeXt: What are your upcoming projects?

Vanessa: I just released my second album, “Identified.” I’m going to be going on tour. I did a movie called, well, it was called “Rock On”, but I guess they’re changing the name again, and that comes out in, I think, February. I’m really excited about that because it’s a different role for me to play, because in “High School Musical” I’m like the happy, sweet girl. In ["Rock On"] I’m kind of like the dark, weird, gloomy, has-no-friends girl.

NeXt: What do you like about your new album, “Identified”?

Vanessa: I like it because it has more bits and pieces of me. It’s kind of different in the sense that you hear different sides of my voice. I just got to play, have fun, try to do new things, and be creative with it. It deals with a few issues that are a little more grownup. It’s not just pop. There’s a dance song, and there’s also a little more funkier songs. I felt like I had a little more control over it and a little more time than I had with the first one.

NeXt: Are there any other plans for the “High School Musical” franchise?

Vanessa: No. It’s our senior year, we graduate, and “High School Musical” isn’t “High School Musical” if we graduated. So, as far as we’re concerned, no.

Carlene Miller will be a junior at Alden.

Originally published by NeXt Correspondent.

(c) 2008 Buffalo News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.