Tisdale was gaining recognition enough from her role as candy-store clerk Maddie on Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and steady voice work for that network's animated Kim Possible. But Tisdale's fame would skyrocket for her portrayal of song-and-dance standout Sharpay Evans in the TV movie High School Musical, a Disney Channel phenomenon that premiered to a record number of viewers and launched a multiplatinum-selling soundtrack.

Tisdale became the first female artist to debut with two singles simultaneously on Billboard's pop chart (both duets from the HSM soundtrack). She'll appear in a sequel to HSM, and she's also wrapped voice work on Disney Channel's forthcoming animated series Phineas and Ferb. Could she possibly have time to do any more? You bet! Somewhere in between all that excitement, Miss Tisdale recorded her own CD, Headstrong, which, of course, splashed down at No. 5.

Club Lifestyle "Just Not Me"
Beyond her high-profile TV projects and considerable vocal chops, there's something else that makes Tisdale a recurring presence in teen-scene mags, including Tiger Beat and Bop: With all due apologies to Miley Cyrus, she may be the closest thing the under-20 generation has to a girl-next-door celebrity.

Unlike "those other" twentysomething starlets who lap up the Hollywood nightlife dance floor by dance floor, Tisdale—at least for now—prefers things a touch less lively. "I'm not really comfortable in clubs," she told CosmoGIRL! Prom. "I'm a lot younger than my age. It's just not me." She reports, in fact, attending her senior prom dateless, then hitting In-N-Out Burger before heading home for a slumber party with two gal pals.

Apparently, home was never a bad place to be for Tisdale. She claims to understand her protective father's interest in knowing all her friends, a carryover, she says, from her small-town New Jersey upbringing. In interviews she's quick to mention the strong role family plays in her life; she counts big-sister Jen as her best friend. Even now, she says, she often stops in for dinner at her parents' place, just down the block from her L.A. condo.

These aren't lifestyle choices you would usually expect from a young woman recently named one of Teen People's 25 Hottest Stars Under 25. But they seem consistent with Tisdale, who says she still enjoys going to her old high school's football games and saying hi to her former teachers.

Zoom in Close ... But Don't Touch
The Deal or No Deal question of the hour, then, is this: Does Tisdale's teenybop-meets-smooth-hip-hop music mirror her personal style? And what exactly is she teaching willful young fans? In a sentence (and for the most part), Headstrong turns out to be as positive as Tisdale seems to be. Several tracks appear aimed, in fact, at championing a healthy self-concept. On dance-invitation "Not Like That," the singer says she shouldn't be confused with club-hopping types, offering, "I just wish they'd see what I'm like in real life." On the soulful "Love Me for Me" Tisdale suggests she's not the "girl that you see in the magazine" and resolves that she "won't be someone I'm not for somebody else." And she draws boundaries on physical affection on "Don't Touch (The Zoom Song)," telling a young suitor, "You see my body, not who I am" and challenging him, "You wanna get somewhere/Then, boy, don't touch me there."

"We'll Be Together" celebrates the more innocent aspects of falling in love ("Don't ever stop listening to your heart") and emphasizes the importance of patience ("Some things are meant to be and they'll be there/When the time is right").

When Tisdale does go gaga over a guy, she turns on the heat but keeps the flame low, taking a step toward the sensual on "He Said She Said" where she slyly offers, "One night with you, boy, just one night with you/All the things we could do/Every day I think of/One night with you/no one else but us two/All our dreams would come true." (Images of Tisdale, on the CD sleeve and on her Web site, strike a similar balance between demure and sexy, stepping up to but never quite going "over the line.") Stuck in a bad relationship ("Over It"), Tisdale at least knows when to say when: "I am getting out/I'm moving on."

Wholesome or Headstrong?
So what's that youthful, swirling din, you ask? That's the sound of tweens everywhere demanding a ride to Target to pick up a copy of Headstrong, a CD full of "See, Mom, I told you it was clean!" material they're dying to relate to.

And it's that sound that's made me spend the last few days trying to pin down the moral character of yet another fresh-faced celebrity—an exercise that's proved to be a bit like test-driving a car on a roundabout: You need to cover a bit more ground before you know what you're dealing with. Tisdale's résumé is still too short, perhaps too Disney-heavy, to suggest how her personal values will inform future creative choices.

There's certainly the possibility that she could follow in the footsteps of several high-profile pop divas who once talked of virginity and sang about teen crushes but soon earned their black belts in the art of being musical seductresses. That's relevant here partly because Tisdale turned in a somewhat sexier performance while doing the High School Musical concert tour than she did in the movie. And because she cites the progressively more sensual Jessica Simpson among her favorite artists ("I think I'd pass out if I met her") and counts Gwen Stefani among the artists on her iPod—influences that fans of her wholesome work would probably rather she avoid.