This week, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is ready to give you all the feels, courtesy of Joe Serafini, a piano and a Miley Cyrus classic.
In an exclusive clip from Friday’s upcoming episode “The Quinceañero,” premiering exclusively on Billboard below, Seb (played by Serafini) gives his boyfriend Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez) a special birthday present at his surprise party by singing Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” to him. Seb’s rendition is significantly different from the original — gone are the guitars and drums, now replaced by a piano melody, with a few backup strings playing along in the background.
“There’s always gonna be another mountain/ I’m always gonna wanna make it move/ Always gonna be an uphill battle/ Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose,” he sings in the new clip. “Ain’t about how fast I get there/ Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side/ It’s the climb.”
Serafina tells Billboard that he was excited to get to bring Cyrus’ song to High School Musical, especially since he got to place it in an important, LGBTQ-inclusive context. “Singing ‘The Climb’ was a dream come true. I mean, I’ve been singing along with Miley Cyrus since the song first came out when I was a kid,” he says. “And I think the way the writers incorporated it into Seb’s storyline is really beautiful. We all have our own ‘climbs’ in life, and I think LGBTQ+ youth can especially relate to that idea — appreciating the journey to living out loud, unapologetically. And navigating the rough patches along the way.”
The new episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, “The Quinceañero,” premieres Friday, June 11, on Disney+. Check out the exclusive clip below:
