Since its creation in 1955, the Mickey Mouse Club has launched the careers of transformed child stars teenage idols in almost all generations. But we had to wait for the rise of the Disney chain and The All New Mickey Mouse Club, that it has become the catalyst for modern music. From the first wave of Mouseketeers to the millennial stars of the Disney Channel today, these singers have sold tens of millions of albums and maintained a pop domination well into their thirties. With many of these former cardholder members experiencing career returns, we have 10 of the biggest stars in the Disney chain turned into pop singers.
Listen to the best hits from Disney Channel on Apple Music and Spotify, and scroll down to our 10 biggest Disney Channel stars who have become pop singers.
The 10 biggest stars of the Disney Channel have become pop singers
10: Vanessa Hudgens
The actress and singer could still be synonymous with her role in the Disney smash High School Musical, but Vanessa Hudgens has proven that there is life after graduation. Before even joining the Disney family, Hudgens was headed for a career in independent films, but it was High School Musical it would change his career path, guaranteeing him a recording contract and recurring roles in other Disney shows, and, later, High School Musical 2. She made her recording debut with V, in 2006, which gave birth to the hit single ‘Say OK’ and was certified gold.
Hudgens quickly followed with another slice of pop soul, Identified, in 2008, and appeared in High School Musical 3: last year that same year. For the next five years, Hudgens focused on the game and won critics as Rizzo in Fox’s Fat: Live. More recently, she is back on the charts, first with ‘Reminding Me’, a duet with Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Hook, and the collaborative song ‘Lay With Me’, recorded with the electronic duo Phantoms based in Los Angeles.
9: Zendaya
Since its beginnings in the Disney sitcom Shake it at 14, Zendaya rewrote the script of how the stars of the Disney chain arrive at the trajectory “it girl”. She became the role model for girls around the world, after playing a teenage spy who was not only a math genius, but a karate expert in KC Undercover, and she successfully negotiated her contract to place her at the head of the producer at the age of 16. Shake it days, Zendaya made her musical debut, releasing several singles which she interpreted in the show, including “Watch Me” and “Swag It Out” from 2011. In 2013, she abandoned her first eponymous album, was a success viral with “Replay” and became the youngest person to compete on Dancing with the stars, while graduating from high school. Zendaya also became one of the only Disney Channel stars to simultaneously take on leading roles in Hollywood during her time on the network, starring the two Spider Man and The Greatest Showman. Most recently, she starred in HBO’s series of dystopian teen nightmares, Euphoria.
8: The Jonas Brothers
Thanks to the Disney effect, the brothers Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas went from being a local family group in New Jersey to that of teenagers. Before being known, they released their first album, pop-punk-anthem-stuffed It’s time, in 2006. Soon, they had developed a fan base dedicated to television, Camp Rock then like themselves on the original series Jonas, and in various concert films. In 2007, they moved from the first part to headlining with the release of Jonas Brothers, who debuted at No. 5 on Billboard graphic and solidified their status as the largest group of boys in the mid-00s.
After four studio albums together, Joe and Nick Jonas ventured into new territory – Nick to form a new group, The Administration, in 2010, and Joe to release his solo album, Quick life, in 2011. While Nick won gold in the charts with his solo follow-ups, Nick Jonas (2014) and Last year was complicated (2016), and has enviable actor credits both on Smash and Scream queens, Joe then presented the DNCE funk-pop outfit. In 2019, the brothers made their triumphant return with their fifth studio album, Happiness begins, marking their third album n ° 1 and reaffirming their graphic domination ten years after their last release in 2009.
7: Hilary Duff
Even before Hannah Montana, there was another adorable girl next door who captured the heart of American adolescence: Lizzie McGuire, aka Hilary Duff. Thanks to his lead role in the Disney sitcom named after his character, Duff has become a franchise, his face sporting everything from lunch boxes to bedding sets. A year after the show started, Duff was able to show his vocal talents by playing a pop star in Lizzie McGuire Movie, starring her first single, “Why Not”, which she quickly transformed into a recording career.
She made her debut with the Christmas album Santa Claus Lane and completely lost his Disney character on his breakout album, Metamorphosis, in 2003. The album shot at n ° 2 on the Billboard 200 and gave birth to the hit singles for which Duff would be known forever: “So Yesterday”, “Come Clean” and “Sixteen”. Since her debut, the actress / singer has released five studio albums, covering the soft pop-rock of Hilary Duff with the electro-pop filling of Dignity (2007) and Sparks (2015). In early 2020, Duff returned with new music, covering “Never Let You Go” from Third Eye Blind, with producer RAC and her husband Matthew Koma. Not only does it mark the couple’s first track together, but it also marks Duff’s first new song in almost four years.
6: Selena Gomez
This former child star had already accumulated a series of actor credits before joining the next wave of Disney Channel stars at the age of 15. Appearances in other teen sitcoms led Gomez to act in his own show, The Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney would also be the springboard for its transition to singing, having recorded the theme of Wizards before making its debut with Kiss and say in 2009. Breaking with the tradition of Disney solo stars, Gomez took a more rock’n roll path, assembling his own group, Selena Gomez And The Scene, to create a successful pop-rock album. A few gold records and feature films later, Gomez was ready to make his solo statement with 2013’s The Dance of the Stars, a mix of R&B, EDM and dubstep. The club successes would become his benchmark in commerce, with collaborations with Kygo (“It Ain’t Me”) and Marshmello (“Wolves”), but it was his 2015 album, The comeback, on which she really shone, sharing the writing and the production of credits and highlighting the vulnerability that would define her songs. After a series of hit singles “Bad Liar” and “Back To You”, Gomez seriously returned to music, releasing his critically acclaimed album # 1 Rare.
5: Demi Lovato
Not all child stars have powerful pipes, but Demi Lovato makes it easy. Since his leading role in the TV movie Camp Rock, Lovato remains one of the most bankable stars of Disney, always experimenting with the pop formula and unleashing his voice with weapon precision. Lovato’s transition from teen pop sensation to adult pop icon was not without difficulties, but it was her deep honesty about her struggles that made her a role model for young fans. She even managed to transform her turmoil into art with powerful tubes like “Skyscraper”. On six studio albums, it went from pop bubble gum to R&B hymns and reached the upper echelons of rankings with “Sorry not sorry”, which reached 6th place Billboard Hot 100. When it was released in 2017, Tell me that You Love Me, she created a new classic: a response to critics who said that female-led pop was dead. In 2020, the singer returns with a emotional performance of his new ballad, “Anyone” at the Grammy Awards, followed by the infectious “I Love Me”.
4: Christina Aguilera
A product of the 2000s teen pop explosion, Christina Aguilera, alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, made her debut at the New Mickey Mouse Club and dominated the charts in 1999 with joyful pop hits like “ Genie In A Bottle ”, “ What A Girl Wants’ and ‘Come On Over’. His first single, “Reflection”, from the 1998 Disney animated film Mulan, presented to the world an amazing voice that denied him 17 years. Aguilera quickly stood out from the peloton as a singer with immense power and reach, both for her debut and her second year out, Bare, which revealed a more sensual side to the singer on hits like ‘Dirrty’. Constant chameleon, Aguilera has always been ambitious: from hymns to octaves to musical clap-backs through misogyny, she did everything in style, spinning vocal rings throughout the competition.
3: Justin Timberlake
Along with Britney and Xtina, Justin Timberlake was a pop torchbearer for the Y2K era frost generation. The former Mouseketeer went from * NSYNC heartthrob to the first solo pop star faster than you can say “Cry Me A River”. Even during his boy band days, JT and its famous falsetto propelled the group into R&B waters, setting the stage for its “SexyBack” era and its first two successful solo albums. With the help of The Neptunes and Timbaland, the fusion of Timberlake from smooth R&B with pop hooks would turn it into a hot commodity, racking up # 1 hits and platinum albums over a decade. Like many of his fellow Disney Channel colleagues, he recently returned to his roots for Man of the woods, but his pop confections can still be found on countless soundtracks.
2: Miley Cyrus
After spending most of her adolescence as a rock star at the door, Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus took a literal demolition bullet to her former alter ego and introduced the world to a wild child with its splinter, the appropriate title “Bangerz”, in 2013. As one of Disney’s greatest successes, Cyrus has had a career embodying different personalities, from the cool Hannah Hannah Montana, in 2006, to the provocative twerking of MTV VMA, back to the serious singer-songwriter on his latest album, Younger now. Reinvention is nothing new in the pop world, but Cyrus has had more chart success and sound changes than musicians twice his age. Having proven that she was more than just a pop hit, she has the vocal chops and sparkling personality to succeed in each iteration.
1: Britney Spears
Britney Spears is not a pop star, but a cultural phenomenon. The former member of the Mickey Mouse Club has made teen pop the biggest American export. At just 16 years old, she released the world number one single “… Baby One More Time”, blurring the boundaries between teen and adult pop and selling more than 10 million copies of her first album in a year. The single written by Max Martin would set the stage for his career as one of the most successful pop divas, whose package of song, dance and provocative stage presence has become the gold standard that all others followed. Her Rolling stone The cover is etched forever in our collective memories and it is delivered hit after hit on his nine studio albums. Despite his personal setbacks, Spears offers a masterclass in professional longevity, juggling Vegas residences and has reached the ultimate sign of success: a first name business card.
Do you want more? Discover the singers behind Disney’s biggest hits.
Since its creation in 1955, the Mickey Mouse Club has launched the careers of transformed child stars teenage idols in almost all generations. But we had to wait for the rise of the Disney chain and The All New Mickey Mouse Club, that it has become the catalyst for modern music. From the first wave of Mouseketeers to the millennial stars of the Disney Channel today, these singers have sold tens of millions of albums and maintained a pop domination well into their thirties. With many of these former cardholder members experiencing career returns, we have 10 of the biggest stars in the Disney chain turned into pop singers.
Listen to the best hits from Disney Channel on Apple Music and Spotify, and scroll down to our 10 biggest Disney Channel stars who have become pop singers.
The 10 biggest stars of the Disney Channel have become pop singers
10: Vanessa Hudgens
The actress and singer could still be synonymous with her role in the Disney smash High School Musical, but Vanessa Hudgens has proven that there is life after graduation. Before even joining the Disney family, Hudgens was headed for a career in independent films, but it was High School Musical it would change his career path, guaranteeing him a recording contract and recurring roles in other Disney shows, and, later, High School Musical 2. She made her recording debut with V, in 2006, which gave birth to the hit single ‘Say OK’ and was certified gold.
Hudgens quickly followed with another slice of pop soul, Identified, in 2008, and appeared in High School Musical 3: last year that same year. For the next five years, Hudgens focused on the game and won critics as Rizzo in Fox’s Fat: Live. More recently, she is back on the charts, first with ‘Reminding Me’, a duet with Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Hook, and the collaborative song ‘Lay With Me’, recorded with the electronic duo Phantoms based in Los Angeles.
9: Zendaya
Since its beginnings in the Disney sitcom Shake it at 14, Zendaya rewrote the script of how the stars of the Disney chain arrive at the trajectory “it girl”. She became the role model for girls around the world, after playing a teenage spy who was not only a math genius, but a karate expert in KC Undercover, and she successfully negotiated her contract to place her at the head of the producer at the age of 16. Shake it days, Zendaya made her musical debut, releasing several singles which she interpreted in the show, including “Watch Me” and “Swag It Out” from 2011. In 2013, she abandoned her first eponymous album, was a success viral with “Replay” and became the youngest person to compete on Dancing with the stars, while graduating from high school. Zendaya also became one of the only Disney Channel stars to simultaneously take on leading roles in Hollywood during her time on the network, starring the two Spider Man and The Greatest Showman. Most recently, she starred in HBO’s series of dystopian teen nightmares, Euphoria.
8: The Jonas Brothers
Thanks to the Disney effect, the brothers Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas went from being a local family group in New Jersey to that of teenagers. Before being known, they released their first album, pop-punk-anthem-stuffed It’s time, in 2006. Soon, they had developed a fan base dedicated to television, Camp Rock then like themselves on the original series Jonas, and in various concert films. In 2007, they moved from the first part to headlining with the release of Jonas Brothers, who debuted at No. 5 on Billboard graphic and solidified their status as the largest group of boys in the mid-00s.
After four studio albums together, Joe and Nick Jonas ventured into new territory – Nick to form a new group, The Administration, in 2010, and Joe to release his solo album, Quick life, in 2011. While Nick won gold in the charts with his solo follow-ups, Nick Jonas (2014) and Last year was complicated (2016), and has enviable actor credits both on Smash and Scream queens, Joe then presented the DNCE funk-pop outfit. In 2019, the brothers made their triumphant return with their fifth studio album, Happiness begins, marking their third album n ° 1 and reaffirming their graphic domination ten years after their last release in 2009.
7: Hilary Duff
Even before Hannah Montana, there was another adorable girl next door who captured the heart of American adolescence: Lizzie McGuire, aka Hilary Duff. Thanks to his lead role in the Disney sitcom named after his character, Duff has become a franchise, his face sporting everything from lunch boxes to bedding sets. A year after the show started, Duff was able to show his vocal talents by playing a pop star in Lizzie McGuire Movie, starring her first single, “Why Not”, which she quickly transformed into a recording career.
She made her debut with the Christmas album Santa Claus Lane and completely lost his Disney character on his breakout album, Metamorphosis, in 2003. The album shot at n ° 2 on the Billboard 200 and gave birth to the hit singles for which Duff would be known forever: “So Yesterday”, “Come Clean” and “Sixteen”. Since her debut, the actress / singer has released five studio albums, covering the soft pop-rock of Hilary Duff with the electro-pop filling of Dignity (2007) and Sparks (2015). In early 2020, Duff returned with new music, covering “Never Let You Go” from Third Eye Blind, with producer RAC and her husband Matthew Koma. Not only does it mark the couple’s first track together, but it also marks Duff’s first new song in almost four years.
6: Selena Gomez
This former child star had already accumulated a series of actor credits before joining the next wave of Disney Channel stars at the age of 15. Appearances in other teen sitcoms led Gomez to act in his own show, The Wizards of Waverly Place. Disney would also be the springboard for its transition to singing, having recorded the theme of Wizards before making its debut with Kiss and say in 2009. Breaking with the tradition of Disney solo stars, Gomez took a more rock’n roll path, assembling his own group, Selena Gomez And The Scene, to create a successful pop-rock album. A few gold records and feature films later, Gomez was ready to make his solo statement with 2013’s The Dance of the Stars, a mix of R&B, EDM and dubstep. The club successes would become his benchmark in commerce, with collaborations with Kygo (“It Ain’t Me”) and Marshmello (“Wolves”), but it was his 2015 album, The comeback, on which she really shone, sharing the writing and the production of credits and highlighting the vulnerability that would define her songs. After a series of hit singles “Bad Liar” and “Back To You”, Gomez seriously returned to music, releasing his critically acclaimed album # 1 Rare.
5: Demi Lovato
Not all child stars have powerful pipes, but Demi Lovato makes it easy. Since his leading role in the TV movie Camp Rock, Lovato remains one of the most bankable stars of Disney, always experimenting with the pop formula and unleashing his voice with weapon precision. Lovato’s transition from teen pop sensation to adult pop icon was not without difficulties, but it was her deep honesty about her struggles that made her a role model for young fans. She even managed to transform her turmoil into art with powerful tubes like “Skyscraper”. On six studio albums, it went from pop bubble gum to R&B hymns and reached the upper echelons of rankings with “Sorry not sorry”, which reached 6th place Billboard Hot 100. When it was released in 2017, Tell me that You Love Me, she created a new classic: a response to critics who said that female-led pop was dead. In 2020, the singer returns with a emotional performance of his new ballad, “Anyone” at the Grammy Awards, followed by the infectious “I Love Me”.
4: Christina Aguilera
A product of the 2000s teen pop explosion, Christina Aguilera, alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, made her debut at the New Mickey Mouse Club and dominated the charts in 1999 with joyful pop hits like “ Genie In A Bottle ”, “ What A Girl Wants’ and ‘Come On Over’. His first single, “Reflection”, from the 1998 Disney animated film Mulan, presented to the world an amazing voice that denied him 17 years. Aguilera quickly stood out from the peloton as a singer with immense power and reach, both for her debut and her second year out, Bare, which revealed a more sensual side to the singer on hits like ‘Dirrty’. Constant chameleon, Aguilera has always been ambitious: from hymns to octaves to musical clap-backs through misogyny, she did everything in style, spinning vocal rings throughout the competition.
3: Justin Timberlake
Along with Britney and Xtina, Justin Timberlake was a pop torchbearer for the Y2K era frost generation. The former Mouseketeer went from * NSYNC heartthrob to the first solo pop star faster than you can say “Cry Me A River”. Even during his boy band days, JT and its famous falsetto propelled the group into R&B waters, setting the stage for its “SexyBack” era and its first two successful solo albums. With the help of The Neptunes and Timbaland, the fusion of Timberlake from smooth R&B with pop hooks would turn it into a hot commodity, racking up # 1 hits and platinum albums over a decade. Like many of his fellow Disney Channel colleagues, he recently returned to his roots for Man of the woods, but his pop confections can still be found on countless soundtracks.
2: Miley Cyrus
After spending most of her adolescence as a rock star at the door, Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus took a literal demolition bullet to her former alter ego and introduced the world to a wild child with its splinter, the appropriate title “Bangerz”, in 2013. As one of Disney’s greatest successes, Cyrus has had a career embodying different personalities, from the cool Hannah Hannah Montana, in 2006, to the provocative twerking of MTV VMA, back to the serious singer-songwriter on his latest album, Younger now. Reinvention is nothing new in the pop world, but Cyrus has had more chart success and sound changes than musicians twice his age. Having proven that she was more than just a pop hit, she has the vocal chops and sparkling personality to succeed in each iteration.
1: Britney Spears
Britney Spears is not a pop star, but a cultural phenomenon. The former member of the Mickey Mouse Club has made teen pop the biggest American export. At just 16 years old, she released the world number one single “… Baby One More Time”, blurring the boundaries between teen and adult pop and selling more than 10 million copies of her first album in a year. The single written by Max Martin would set the stage for his career as one of the most successful pop divas, whose package of song, dance and provocative stage presence has become the gold standard that all others followed. Her Rolling stone The cover is etched forever in our collective memories and it is delivered hit after hit on his nine studio albums. Despite his personal setbacks, Spears offers a masterclass in professional longevity, juggling Vegas residences and has reached the ultimate sign of success: a first name business card.
Do you want more? Discover the singers behind Disney’s biggest hits.