History and timeline of Disney Channel stars topping Billboard album charts
- Miley's early and prominent success
The first Disney Channel star who reached this accolade is Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus with her debut album Meet Miley Cyrus (2007). Cyrus continued her success with her second album Breakout in 2008. After departed from Hollywood to sign with RCA, Cyrus consistently charted her top-3 albums from 2013's Bangerz, to 2023's Endless Summer Vacation. Prior to Cyrus, the first Disney Channel star to rank inside top 3 in Billboard albums chart was Lizzie McGuire star Hilary Duff with her debut album Metamorphosis in 2003, however Duff's album peaked at number two behind Britney Spears' third album In The Zone.
- Selena vs. Demi rivalry
The rivalry between two Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato began when they starred in the 2009 Disney Channel movie Princess Protection Program. Two years later in 2011 both signed with Hollywood Records with Selena's album with The Scene When The Sun Goes Down and Demi's debut album Unbroken battled for the top spot on the album chart, only losing to Adele's 21. In 2013, the rivalry between these two continued to heat, as Selena released her debut solo album Stars Dance when Demi with her self-titled second album battled for the top spot. Selena's album topped the U.S. album chart with Demi's album slotted in behind Selena, but topped the Canadian album chart instead. The rivalry between Selena and Demi resumed in 2015 when Selena signed with Interscope, while Demi signed with Island. That same year in 2015 both Selena and Demi released their own albums respectively Revival and Confident. Once again it was Selena's album Revival topping the Billboard album charts. Selena's next and most recent album Rare (2020) became her latest number one album on Billboard album chart while Demi's post-rehabilitation album Dancing with Devil sits the top 2 behind Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande's album Positions. With the release of her 2020 album Rare, the Wizards Of Waverly Place star Selena Gomez became the first (and only to date) Disney Channel star to top all of her three consecutive studio albums on the Billboard albums chart.
- Olivia's resurgence
After success of getting lead roles in Disney Channel series Bizaardvark and High School Musical The Musical The Series, Olivia Rodrigo surges to the top of the album charts with her debut album Sour (2021). The album consisted her first number one single "Driver's License" and nominated at 2022 Grammy Awards for Best Album. Rodrigo followed this success with her second album Guts in 2023 with "Vampire" as the album's lead single. The album also nominated for the same category at 2024 Grammy Awards.
- Here comes the Carpenter
big week for the vertically challenged https://t.co/CwCU8T9nUJ
— Sabrina Carpenter (@SabrinaAnnLynn) September 3, 2024
- Who's next?
This is the question that we will looking for in the next couple of years. The next Disney Channel stars who will top the Billboard album charts in the future would be: Liv And Maddie and Descendants star Dove Cameron who is getting ready for her second album Alchemical Vol. 2; Gabby Duran and Descendants 4 star Kylie Cantrall who's already on her breakout performance; Austin & Ally star Laura Marano; and Descendants star Sofia Carson who recently dueted with K-pop star Jimin of world number one boyband BTS (Bangtan Boys) with the single "Slow Dance". Only Cameron and Carson who had contributed in Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants soundtracks for the first and third films which topped the Billboard album chart in 2015 and 2019 respectively. Could these names (Cameron, Carson, Marano and Cantrall) follow the footsteps of Cyrus-Gomez-Lovato-Rodrigo-Carpenter success? We will just wait and see!
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