It’s no secret that Disney fame often leads to mainstream success, and over the course of the Billboard Hot 100 chart’s history, we’ve seen actors and musicians from Disney Channel movies and shows turn into some of today’s biggest stars.
Most recently, Sabrina Carpenter scored her first Hot 100 chart topping song with “Please Please Please,” which made its way to the top of the tally on the chart dated June 29, 2024. With the achievement, Carpenter joins a number of fellow Disney musicians to earn a No. 1 hit, including Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Justin Timberlake and more.
Besides the chart toppers, there are a number of former Disney darlings that have Hot 100 hits under their belts, even though they didn’t reach the summit. For example, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron and Drew Seeley‘s “Breaking Free” from High School Musical reached No. 4 on the chart dated February 11, 2006. Fellow HSM alums, Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel, got a No. 35 hit with “What I’ve Been Looking For” during the same week. Raven Symoné entered the chart way back in 1993 with “That’s What Little Girls Are Made Of” (No. 68) and reappeared in 2006 with “Strut” (No. 53), alongside fellow Cheetah Girls stars Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan and Kiely Williams. Hilary Duff‘s 2007 hit, “With Love,” meanwhile, peaked at No. 24 in 2007.
In the 2010s, Ross Lynch entered the chart alongside Grace Phipps and Jason Evigan with “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’,” which peaked at No. 82 in 2013. Meanwhile, Demi Lovato notched their biggest chart hit with “Sorry Not Sorry,” which reached No. 6 on the tally dated Nov. 11, 2017.
Ryan Gosling — who was in The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in the 1990s, scored his first appearance on the Hot 100 when “I’m Just Ken,” from 2023 Barbie movie, debuted at No. 87.
In celebration of former Disney stars’ success on the charts, see below for a list of nine former Disney stars who have topped the Billboard Hot 100.
The Princess of Pop performed in the final two seasons of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to become a mainstay on the Billboard charts. Of her 36 songs on the Hot 100, she’s had five No. 1 hits, including “…Baby One More Time” (1999), “Womanizer” (2008), “3” (2009), “S&M” with Rihanna (2011) and “Hold It Against Me” (2011).
Like Spears, Aguilera was also on the final two seasons of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to become one of the biggest pop stars. She’s had 30 total hits on the Hot 100, including five No. 1s: “Genie in a Bottle” (1999), “What a Girl Wants” (2000), “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)” (2000), “Lady Marmalade” with Lil’ Kim, Mya and P!nk (2001) and “Moves Like Jagger” with Maroon 5 (2011).
Another Mickey Mouse Club alum! The “Mirrors” singer appeared in the sixth and seventh seasons of the series, and went on to have a successful pop career. As a solo artist, he’s notched five No. 1 hits out of his 39 songs that have made the chart: “My Love” with T.I. (2006), “SexyBack” (2006), “Give It to Me” with Nelly Furtado and Timbaland (2007), “What Goes Around…Comes Around” (2007) and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (2016). As a member of *NSYNC, he topped the chart with 2000’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.”
Miley Cyrus won fans’ hearts when she starred as Miley Stewart in Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, and her success continued well beyond the TV series’ finale. She has a whopping 61 hits on the Hot 100 and two No. 1s: 2013’s “Wrecking Ball” and her Grammy-winning song, 2023’s “Flowers.”
Selena Gomez skyrocketed to superstardom when she portrayed Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place, and since then, she’s proven to be a force to be reckoned with in music, film, TV, makeup and more. On the Hot 100, she has 41 hits with one chart-topper: 2019’s “Lose You to Love Me.”
Ever since they burst onto the scene with their first Hollywood Records single, “Year 3000,” the group became popular musicians on the Disney Channel, and went on to have their own TV show (Jonas) and starred in the Camp Rock franchise. On the Hot 100, the sibling trio have 26 songs on the tally with one chart-topper: 2019’s “Sucker.”
Rodrigo had several roles on Disney in her early career, including Paige Olvera on Bizaardvark and Nini Salazar-Roberts on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. At just 21 years old, she’s already broken into the mainstream with 30 Hot 100 hits and three chart-toppers: “Drivers License” (2021), “Good 4 U” (2021) and “Vampire” (2023).
Like Rodrigo, Carpenter had several Disney roles in her career, including voicing Princess Vivian in Sofia the First and starring as Maya Hart on Girl Meets World. She released her debut album, Eyes Wide Open, in 2015 and, since then, has gained five Hot 100 hits. She snagged her first chart-topper in 2024 with “Please Please Please.”
OK, so technically Chasez hasn’t had a solo Hot 100 hit, but the star — who started his career as a singer on The Mickey Mouse Club — notched a No. 1 hit as a member of *NSYNC alongside Timberlake with “It’s Gonna Be Me.”