High School Musical makes Disney history with gorgeous same-sex love song
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ character Carlos sings a love song to his boyfriend Seb, who feels insecure in their relationship. (Disney Plus)
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has made Disney history with the studio’s first-ever same-sex love song.
The super-meta Disney Plus spin-off – set in a fictionalised version of the school where the original film trilogy was filmed – continued its second season Friday (16 July) with a historic moment.
In the episode, Carlos Rodriguez (played by Frankie Rodriguez) discovers that his boyfriend Seb (Joe Serafini) feels insecure in their relationship.
So, in classic High School Musical fashion, he decides to prove his devotion in a song.
The ballad, titled “In a Heartbeat”, details how “fantastic” Seb is and how Carlos would “keep coming back” to his boyfriend “in a heartbeat”. Carlos sings that he hopes Seb knows he will “never dance alone”.
“You’re the sweetest guy I’ve ever met,” Carlos adds. “I’m as lucky as lucky can get. Too good to be true, knowing somebody like you.”
The song ends with Carlos and Seb dancing together in gorgeous suits amid swirling lights, both grinning from ear to ear as they closely embrace.
High School Musical actors are dating in real life
In an interview with EW, the two actors – who are dating in real life – shared what it meant for them to deliver Disney’s first LGBT+ love song. Rodriguez said it felt “amazing” to bring queer love to Disney because “it’s so needed”.
“The fact that we get to be that representation that we definitely did not get to see growing up on a platform like Disney with a popular franchise, it means a lot,” he added.
Rodriguez told EW he loved how the+ storyline is “played in a really sweet, romantic way versus what most queer storylines involve, like a coming out scene” or bullying.
He hoped fans could “take away from sort of hope and feelings of support” from watching their characters.
According to EW, the two actors began dating in real life shortly after they began portraying an onscreen LGBT+ couple. Serafini joked that they “started as good friends” before realising “we should go on a date or something”.
Serafini added that he sometimes had to remind himself that they aren’t their characters.
“They’re still in the early stages of their relationship, meanwhile we’re a little further along.”
