Behind the Music with Vanessa Hudgens

If you don't know Vanessa Hudgens, you must have been living under a rock for the past year. But no worries -- it's time to get to know Gabriella, er, Vanessa in a whole different way. The High School Musical star is using her summer break from the highly successful series to pursue her music career with a debut album, V, that will fulfill your every pop music craving.

Vanessa (who's a mix of Filipino, Chinese, Latina, Irish, and American Indian) got her start with the Disney Channel when she starred in two pilots for the channel. But it was HSM that skyrocketed this raven-haired beauty to superstardom. This 17-year-old California girl has performing in her blood -- all of her grandparents were musicians during the Big Band era, and her younger sister, Stella, is an actress as well. Beginning at the age of 8, Vanessa took to the stage and performed in musical theatre, including Evita, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, and more.

Luck was on Vanessa's side when she broke into commercials. One of her friends from musical theatre was unable to attend a commercial audition, so she offered Vanessa the chance to try out. Low and behold, Vanessa scored the gig, and soon she was signed to an agent and starring in many more commercials. Then, in 2003, Vanessa made her big screen debut in Thirteen, alongside fellow newcomers, Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed. Next up was the flick Thunderbirds, in which she played Tintin. On the small screen, she's guest starred on The Brothers Garcia, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Drake & Josh. Then, HSM came along, which ushered in all of Vanessa's dreams. She has Jessica Simpson to thank -- Vanessa sang Jess' "Angels" in her audition!

Now, after achieving worldwide fame with HSM, Vanessa is coming back to her other love, singing. But even though she's releasing her first album, she's no stranger to the Billboard charts: Five of her tracks from the HSM soundtrack have placed in the Top 100 on the charts, including "Breaking Free," "Start of Something New," "When There Was Me and You," and "We're All In This Together." (We're sure her new single, "Come Back To Me," featuring T.I. will achieve similarly amazing success!)

Want to hear more from Vanessa? Check out her debut album, V, out September 26, 2006. And don't miss her on tour with The Cheetah Girls from October 17 until November 15, 2006!