Zac Efron’s “True Voice” Stuns Fans After ‘High School Musical’ Demo Surfaces
Zac Efron’s singing from the early “High School Musical” days is getting a lot of attention, and not all of it is positive. A demo clip of the actor performing “Get’cha Head in the Game” surfaced on social media Tuesday, showing what his voice sounded like in the 2006 Disney Channel movie.
While Efron played the lead, Troy Bolton, in the original film, the singing was actually done by actor and singer Drew Seeley. The two-minute video shows the iconic basketball scene with Efron singing, giving fans a rare look at his original vocals.
Original demo of "Get'cha Head in the Game" with the vocals of Zac Efron leak online. 20 years after the release we can finally hear his voice.
— High School Musical Fan Archive (@archive_hsm) November 11, 2025
With the date from June 2005 the song has some different adlibs and the instrumental was still under production. #HSM20 pic.twitter.com/Tfa2vlVM4P
Reaction online was mixed, with some fans openly criticizing the demo. “This sounds a mess,” one wrote, while another added, “Thank god for Drew Seeley cause omfg my ears!!!!!! They’re bleeding!!!! … he redeemed himself with ‘Bet on It’ though so I’m not gonna do too much.”
Others offered context, explaining that Efron’s voice wasn’t used because the songs weren’t originally written for him. “It’s not that Zac couldn’t sing the songs, the songs just weren’t written for his voice,” explained one social media post, referencing an interview with director Kenny Ortega.
Ortega reportedly said the first film’s soundtrack was always intended for Seeley’s vocals, while the second and third films were written for Efron. “He definitely needed to sit his vocals out the first movie to lock in for the second one,” another fan noted.
Efron did go on to perform his own singing in High School Musical 2 (2007), High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), and the 2007 movie Hairspray, showing that he could handle the songs once they were tailored to his voice.
It seems this demo is more of a curiosity than a reflection of his talent, offering fans a peek at what might have been if Efron had sung from the start.
What do you think about Zac Efron’s original singing voice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
