Bleu Man Group: Corbin Bleu Gets Serious

Zac Efron isn't the only member of the High School Musical cast winning over the hearts and minds of women across America. Corbin Bleu (a.k.a. Chad Danforth) will be pulling a Will Smith (pre-Men in Black II)/Justin Timberlake (jack of all entertainment trades) before you can say Dancing with the Stars five times fast. Bleu has been in the game since he was two years old, but he still claims to be a normal dude. He recently released a full-length album, Speed of Light, and in January, he performed his single, Moments That Matter, for the Obama ladies at the Inaugural Concert in Washington. He stars in the film Free Style (as a tough, yet sensitive, motocross racer), for which he sang the theme song and produced. In discussing his current endeavors, we discovered some rather interesting tidbits about Mr. Bleu. Magic tricks, anyone?

Describe the sound on your album.
The sound is electronic, R&B, pop. I had inspiration from a whole lot of different genres. I listen to all different types of music—rock and hip hop, jazz, classical. I worked with two producers on this album, Eric Hudson and Brian Kennedy, who have both worked with really top-name people, so they know the music on the radio. Eric Hudson did “Flashing Lights” for Kanye West, and Brian Kennedy did “Disturbia” for Rihanna, so they knew the sound I was looking for. We also made it a personal sound for me.

What’s different about this album for you?
From a personal standpoint, it’s a completely different album. All the stories are from personal experiences of mine, and we created all songs from scratch as opposed to doing submitted songs. WE concentrated on finding songs that really fit. They’re all songs ranging from relationships, love, and family, and anything really personal to me.

The video for “Moments that Matter” opens with you playing piano. Do you play any other instruments?
I don’t. I just play piano, but I want to learn guitar and saxophone really badly, especially the saxophone. I love the saxophone. I think it’s just a really beautiful, sexy-sounding instrument.

Who is your biggest music idol?
Michael Jackson. Yeah, I love Michael. Pretty stoked about the shows in London. I’ll hopefully get a chance to go out there and see him perform.

Which part of the process did you enjoy the most in making this album?
I always love being on the stage. That’s been my favorite part, especially touring and being in front of the fans and playing on stage. I love having a good time with my band and the dancers. The rehearsal process is fun, because the album has the electronic dance feel that it does, and I’ve already been thinking of dance concepts to go along with the songs. I’m all about entertainment.

What’s on your iPod right this second?
Every day I go through a different phase because I enjoy all different types of music, but right now I’m in my reggae mood. I’m just in a chill mood. When I’m driving around I’m listening to a lot of Bob Marley and the Wailers. I get my satellite radio on and tune in to The Joint.

Did you pick up any motocross skills on the set of Free Style?
I’ve become obsessed with the sport. I love it. It’s incredible to watch, and I go to all the races now. I have a bike, a Kawasaki 250. I love riding and have a few friends that ride as well, and we go all the time.

Did you do any of your own stunts in the film?
I did ride. My character rides three different bikes. One of them is his dirt bike, of course. He also rides a Honda Nighthawk as his means of transportation. And he’s a pizza delivery guy, so he rides a Vespa. I got a chance to ride all three. I trained enough to be comfortable on the bike and be able to ride, but I’m not of the caliber of the real racers, so I didn’t do any stunts, but I did ride a lot in the film.

Do you keep up with your High School Musical costars? How ‘bout that Vanessa Hudgens?
Yea, we all still talk. They’re all pretty cool.

What’s next for your HSM characters?
They announced 4, but it’s not with us. They introduced underclassmen in the third film.

What’s your craziest fan story?
We were in France for the High School Musical 3 premiere, and anything surrounding High School Musical is nuts. It’s just absolutely crazy. We did a signing, and once we got back in the car to drive away, the car was surrounded and there were literally people on top of the car, banging on the car and banging on the windows. We felt like we were gonna get attacked, they were almost smashing through the car, it was like Dawn of the Dead.

Since you grew up as a child actor, are there any normal kid things that you feel you’ve missed out on?
No. I went to a regular high school, it was an arts high school, but I still went to regular school. I was constantly in dance classes, and other recreational activities, so I was around kids my age and I had a great home life. It was a little bit of a double life, just kind of going back and forth. I was on the set doing school work there. But my parents are wonderful people, and they did a great job of allowing me to have a balance.

So you were like a real-life Hannah Montana?
Except it wasn’t a secret.

Speaking of Hannah Montana, did you enjoy working with Miley Cyrus?
Of course. That was my first relationship with Disney, that’s where it all started. Her and I did the pilot episode, so before she was doing Hannah Montana, we were hanging out. She’s really cool.

Are you having a difficult break from Disney as you get older and start to choose projects that have more mature content?
It’s a process that’s already begun. I always say I’m a positive person, and I like to share as much positivity with my work as I can. I have a reputation of doing that. But, I don’t have a contract with anybody, so I’m reading different scripts, and I’m already looking at different projects that are a little bit more mature. I’m not necessarily trying to shock anybody, and I’m not trying to prove anything. It’s not that I’m not a Disney artist as much as I am just looking forward to being able to do some different characters who have meatier roles.

Do you consider yourself a role model?
How can I answer that without sounding like a complete pompous asshole? Obviously there’s a lot of younger kids that look up to us, and people are interested. Any time you’re in some sort of spotlight, you have a duty to set some sort of example, and we’re all pretty good people. We all tend to be positive and optimistic and try to do as much as we can, you know, to be good role models.

Will you please describe your dream girl?
When I meet her, I’ll let you know.

Now that you’re embarking on your music career, do you have any ultimate rock star fantasies?
I’ve always loved magic, and I’m all about the entertainment factor of shows. I’m very much into being onstage having you be surprised, and wonder, “How did he do that?” Or, “How did they come up with that?”

Where do you go out?
To be honest, I don’t really go out to bars and clubs in LA, that much. Restaurants are good. I like hole-in-the-wall places, but I like restaurants in New York more. I love Morton’s. Good lobster at Morton’s. The Cheesecake Factory is awesome.