DISNEY'S LITTLE DARLINGS

Disney has been a springboard for the music careers of countless child actors. It arguably started when Annette Funicello bounced onto the Mickey Mouse Club stage at the tender age of 12. Nearly four decades later, The All-New Mickey Mouse Club introduced the world to a fresh-faced Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who went on to reshape the pop landscape.

Although Brit and Xtina ditched Disney for Jive and RCA, respectively―proceeding to writhe all over MTV and become multiplatinum supernovas―the Mouse set its sights on a bigger piece of the pie; it started with comedy vehicle Lizzie McGuire, which made Hilary Duff a household name as the show moved from small-screen smash to massive brand encompassing movies, music and merch.

The colossal franchises that resulted, including Hannah Montana, High School Musical and Camp Rock, further established Disney as a driving force behind some of today’s biggest recording artists. But for all the soundtrack successes the stars of those shows secured via Disney, most became true megastars once the mouse ears came off—especially with the dawning of the digital age.

These days, thanks in large part to the rise of social media and DSPs, it’s not just the latest Disney stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Dove Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter who are making their mark on the music charts but plenty of Mickey’s other previous playmates; with each new release, the veteran acts reignite their base and send earlier hits soaring.

Take Miley Cyrus. Mere weeks into 2023, the artist formerly known as Hannah Montana has yet another smash on her hands with the female-empowered “Flowers” (Columbia). In addition to being her second chart-topping single in the U.S., it was recently declared Spotify’s most-streamed track in a single week and has given new life to previous releases, including 2009’s “Party in the U.S.A.” (Hollywood) and 2020’s “Prisoner” f/Dua Lipa and “Angels Like You” (RCA).

Then there’s Demi Lovato, who scored her first Top 10 single with “This Is Me” from 2008’s platinum Camp Rock soundtrack (Walt Disney Records). As a solo artist, she’s since released eight consecutive Top 10 albums—most recently 2022’s Holy Fvck (Island). Her social and DSP stats are equally staggering, with highlights like the 1 billion Spotify streams for 2017 smash “Sorry Not Sorry” (Island/Republic/Hollywood/Safehouse).

Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo and Dove Cameron

Selena Gomez, for her part, went from starring on Wizards of Waverly Place to releasing three consecutive Top 10 albums with her band and three clubbier solo albums that all went straight to #1. Her latest Spotify numbers are further testament to her staying power, including 420m+ streams for her recent remix of Rema’s “Calm Down” (Mavin/Virgin) and 57m+ for “My Mind and Me” (Interscope) from her 2022 documentary of the same name.

As for the new kids on the block, Bizaardvark and High School Musical alum Rodrigo was only 17 when her “drivers license” (Geffen) broke multiple Spotify records and became one of the top-selling songs of 2021. It was no surprise when she scored an invitation to perform at the 64th Grammy Awards, where she won Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Still motoring hard, “drivers license” has earned more than 1.7b Spotify streams, bested only by Rodrigo's “good 4 u,” with nearly 1.75b.

Cameron went viral with her first non-soundtrack single, “Boyfriend” (Disruptor/Columbia), in early 2022. The queer-positive anthem has racked up more than 415m Spotify streams worldwide, rising to #10 on the platform’s U.S. chart. It peaked at #2 on Top 40 radio and was certified platinum, which helped secure the former Liv and Maddie and Descendants lead’s Best New Artist wins at last year’s AMAs and MTV VMAs.

Former Girl Meets World actor Carpenter’s “Nonsense” (Island) from the 2022 album emails i can't send recently had a hot run on Spotify’s U.S. chart; it's racked up north of 120m global streams on the platform. What might Carpenter, seen in the pic with Island co-bosses Imran Majid and Justin Eshak, be up to next?

For that matter, will the latest crop of Disney-spawned pop stars have as much staying power as those who came before? Only time will tell, but with history as our guide, we’re betting on a happily ever after. Of course, the aforementioned and their representatives hope we choke on a poison apple.