Drew Seeley

Andrew Michael Edgar Seeley (born April 30, 1982) is a Canadian actor, singer and dancer. He has recorded many songs for the Walt Disney Company. He danced as a child in Ontario until he was about preteen age and then moved to Florida.

Early and personal life

Seeley grew up in Toronto and fell in love with performing. He was once part of a boy band called Nu Ground. He was cast in Hal Prince's revival of ''Show Boat'' and stayed with the production for a year. In 2005, Seeley started working with Ray Cham, an established producer, and together they wrote "Get'cha Head in the Game", a song that was a nominee in the Creative Arts Primetime Emmy for Best Original Music and Lyrics.

Seeley is married to actress/comedian Amy Paffrath. The couple has one child, a daughter, who was born in 2019. That same year, Seeley received U.S. citizenship.

Career

2004–2010: Breakthrough films and debut album

In 2004, Seeley acted as the singing part of Jordan Cahill in the Disney Channel Original Movie Stuck in the Suburbs. He auditioned for the role of Jordan Cahill, but lost the part to Taran Killam. He appeared in the movie as a hotel employee.

In 2005, Seeley began working with founded producer Ray Cham and together they wrote "Get'cha Head in the Game" for Disney's quadruple platinum High School Musical soundtrack. This garnered them an Emmy nomination in the Best Original Music and Lyrics category. He also auditioned alongside Zac Efron for the role of Troy Bolton in the first ''High School Musical'' film, to which Efron won the part while Seeley acted as the character's singing voice, which was blended with Efron's voice in post-production. In addition, Seeley filled in for Efron (who could not join the tour due to a scheduling conflict with the shooting of the 2007 film adaptation of the Broadway musical '' Hairspray'') on the North America and Latin America tours of '' High School Musical: The Concert'', playing in 60,000 seat arenas and he can be heard on both soundtracks and '' High School Musical on Stage!''.

Seeley's association with Disney continued and he can be heard as a featured artist on several Disney soundtracks/compilation albums including '' Disneymania 5'', '' Disneymania 6'', '' Disney Channel Holiday'', '' Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 9'', and ''Byou''. Drew's duet with Spanish-born Mexican singer Belinda "Dance with Me", from the platinum '' Cheetah Girls 2'' soundtrack, was played on the Disney Channel and on Radio Disney. Drew appeared in Belinda's video of " Ni Freud ni tu mamá". Drew also made a guest appearance on the 2008 Chipmunks CD '' Undeniable'', singing an updated take on "Shake Your Groove Thing" with Alvin and the gang. Seeley appeared in the Hallmark Channel Movie ''Claire'' opposite Valerie Bertinelli, and in the film ''Fly Kidz'', for which he co-wrote and produced the soundtrack. He also wrote and performed music for the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Jump In!'' starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer.

Seeley starred opposite Selena Gomez and Jane Lynch in ''Another Cinderella Story'', playing the pop star Joey Parker. Drew wrote and performed four songs in the film, and shot music videos for both versions of his hit song, "New Classic".

In the summer of 2009 he starred as Prince Eric in the Disney Broadway Musical ''The Little Mermaid'', and had a leading role in the horror movie '' The Shortcut''. In June 2010, Seeley starred in the Hallmark Channel television movie ''Freshman Father''.

2011–present: ''The Resolution'', films, television, and live performances

Seeley's album ''The Resolution'' was released on April 5, 2011. In support of the album, Drew went on a national tour where he performed his own original music. He also sang a song for the Disney Channel original series '' Shake It Up''. A duet with Adam Hicks, "Dance for Life," premiered in the episode "Vatalihoosit It Up", backed by a routine performed by dance crew the Jabbawockeez. "Dance for Life" was featured on the soundtrack for the show, '' Shake It Up: Break It Down''. Seeley's song "It's Always Been You" was used as the theme of ''Crown for Christmas'', a 2011 Hallmark Channel movie.

On June 12, 2011, Seeley was reported to have joined the CW's hit teen drama series '' 90210'', but ''Entertainment Weekly'' later reported that he dropped the role due to a conflict with his schedule. In March 2012, '' I Kissed a Vampire'' was released, in which Seeley stars alongside Lucas Grabeel and Adrian Slade. In June 2012, he co-starred in the Lifetime movie, "Talhotblond", playing young "Tommy". Seeley has also released music videos for his song "Beautiful", and most recently "Into The Fire". Drew recorded a song for the third ''Shake It Up'' soundtrack '' Shake It Up: I Love Dance'', called "I Do". It featured on Walmart-exclusive editions as a bonus track. The song was also featured in the ''Shake It Up'' season 3 episode, "I Do It Up".

In 2013, Seeley began filming his role in a new film, ''Elixir'', which was renamed '' Lovestruck: The Musical'' on ABC Family. Seeley played the role of "Young Ryan". He played opposite Chelsea Kane (Young Harper), Jane Seymour (Harper), Sara Paxton (Mirabella), Tom Wopat (Ryan), and Alexander DiPersia (Marco). He is featured singing his rendition of Usher's "DJ's Got Us Fallin’ in Love". In conjunction with the new movie, Seeley co-wrote and performed "Here & Now," the theme song to ABC Family's spring promotional campaign. The song was featured on Seeley's dance-pop EP released in April 2013. In 2014, Seeley performed as "Bob Gaudio" in Jersey Boys for the US tour.

In 2022, he recorded “Fire” for the doll-based webseries Rainbow High.

Drew Seeley has actively participated in benefit concerts organized by Hold On Til Dawn, a nonprofit initiative supporting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

On September 23, 2023, Seeley performed at the second Hold On Til Dawn benefit concert held at Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Massachusetts. The event featured a lineup including Alexz Johnson, Grace Kinstler, Jared Moore, and local artist Johnny, with all proceeds directed to the AFSP.

He returned for the third benefit concert on January 26, 2025, at The Abbey in Orlando, Florida. This concert marked the reunion of pop duo MKTO (Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller) after over five years, alongside performances by Seeley and Johnny. The event continued the mission of raising awareness and funds for suicide prevention., https://www.holdontildawn.com/about

Seeley's involvement with Hold On Til Dawn underscores his commitment to mental health advocacy through music.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Stage

Discography

;Studio albums
* ''~DS~'' (2006)
* ''The Resolution'' (2011)
* ''Downtime'' (2018)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Podcast about his marriage proposal to his wife Amy
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeley, Drew
1982 births
Canadian male dancers
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male soap opera actors
Canadian male television actors
Canadian male voice actors
Canadian male songwriters
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States
Lake Brantley High School alumni
Living people
Male actors from Ottawa
Singers from Ottawa
21st-century Canadian male actors
21st-century Canadian male singers
21st-century Canadian singers