Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.
On Aug. 18, one day after the golden birthday of High School Musical 2, Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel participated in a panel together at FAN EXPO Chicago 2024 in Rosemont, Illinois. The event united the two costars and gathered many fans to celebrate the franchise as a conclusion to the three-day comic convention.
The event was full of nostalgia and fond sentiments, beginning with an exchange of High School Musical-related puns with to reminiscing on the initial movie’s sudden success. But perhaps no moment from the panel was as touching as when Grabeel spoke of his song “You Were My Childhood.” The title is inspired by the many fans who have told him how they grew up with the High School Musical franchise.
“It’s really hard for me to put it into words the gratitude and the luckiness that I feel to be a part of this thing and to know that people are still talking about it, still watching it, still so positively affected by it,” said Grabeel, who communicates through song. “And I just wanted a way to say thank you because we wouldn’t be up here if it weren’t for all of you (the fans).”
From the classic “We’re all in this together” to “Oh the red, white and gold,” the song is full of references that HSM fans are sure to love and appreciate.
Fittingly enough, Bleu was the first person who heard Grabeel’s song.
“It was one of the best gifts that I have ever been given,” Bleu said of “You Were My Childhood.” “Even the way he presented it, he didn’t play it. He didn’t just say, ‘Hey, listen to this.’ He said, ‘No, no, no. Come here.’ And he took headphones, and he just put them on me, and said, ‘You just need to listen to this.’”
When hearing just the first line, “We grew up way too fast,” Bleu recalled how he could tell “something” was happening. It was enough to prompt him to stop the song, reset and start it again.
“I bawled like a child,” Bleu admitted regarding the song’s effect on him. “I uncontrollably started weeping, and I don’t think that I’ve had that sort of a visceral reaction to any song before.”
As though the story wasn’t emotional enough, Bleu concluded the anecdote with a heartfelt compliment for his co-panelist and co-star, who he had referred to as his “brother” throughout the conversation.
“You have imprinted your soul onto this song,” Bleu said, reflecting on what he told Grabeel. “Which is such a beautiful soul.”
