Get ready to fill up those playlists! High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has kicked off season 2 with incredible musical numbers, and they’re only going to increase. HollywoodLife has an EXCLUSIVE video of the HSMTMTS cast and creator Tim Federle breaking down the new songs of season 2.
“One of my favorite and dances from season 2 is the opening number for ‘Something In the Air,'” Frankie Rodriguez gushes. “And I think it’s just because we had so many fun memories filming it. It was our first week back, so there was all this excitement.” The musical number set the tone for an amazing second season.
In an upcoming episode, Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo’s “The Best Part/Even When” duet as Ricky and Nini will be revealed. “‘The Best Part/Even When’ is a really cool duet between Ricky and Nini,” Joshua explains. “On Valentine’s Day, Ricky writes a song for Nini, and Nini writes a song for Ricky. They both don’t think the other person did, and it turns out that the songs actually perfectly work together.” The HSMTMTS showrunner adds that “The Best Part/Even When” is “the magic of what musicals can do, which is the inherently emotional pull of a melody that says more than words ever could.”
The second episode of season 2 features one of the show’s best musical numbers: “1-2-3.” The song is performed by Ashlyn, Gina, and Kourtney as they audition for Beauty and the Beast. “‘1-2-3’ is very dance prominent, which I absolutely loved,” Sofia Wylie says. Dara Reneé notes that the song is “just about accepting yourself, loving yourself. That was just so much fun to film.” Even Joshua couldn’t help but rave over the song. “It is such a powerhouse of a number,” Joshua says.
The season 2 premiere featured samplings of High School Musical 2’s “Bet On It” and “Fabulous.” Even though East High is now tackling Beauty and the Beast for the new musical, there will be more HSM2 musical numbers to come. “In season 2 we sing a bunch of High School Musical 2 songs. We definitely wanted to touch upon that legacy. I think the best songs really drive the plot forward, and I think we go even further with that in season 2,” Tim reveals. New episodes of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series air Fridays on Disney+.