When Vanessa Hudgens was revealed to be the Goldfish on Wednesday's Masked Singer Season 11 finale, it was another unexpected addition to a filmography that has ranged wildly from High School Musical, Grease! Live, and the Princess Switch holiday trilogy to edgier fare like the horror comedy Freaks of Nature, Harmony Korine's racy crime caper Spring Breakers (alongside fellow former Disney starlet Selena Gomez), and the Robert Rodriguez exploitation flick Machete Kills. The Goldfish actually isn't the weirdest role of Hudgens's career — nor is it even her most iconic outfit, since she's also known as the "Queen of Coachella" for her festival fashion.
While longtime fans of Hudgens have been waiting for her to drop a new album since 2008, and might have hoped that her triumphant Masked Singer run signified her return to music-making, Hudgens, who at age 35 is currently pregnant with her first child, tells Music Times, "That's just not the priority right now." But she still wants to continue her career's "really twisted ride" and play against type ("There's so much more depth and dimension in women that I want to explore"), and maybe even perform on the Coachella stage someday.
In the Q&A below and video above, the artist formerly known as the Goldfish (and as Gabriella Montez) opens up about trying to protect her privacy while growing up in a "fishbowl" during a particularly "invasive" media era; her general uneasiness with fame; the unprecedented "creative freedom" she enjoyed while shooting Spring Breakers; her love of Radiohead; her all-time favorite Coachella look; and why she's going to keep "doing things that might divide people a little bit."
MUSIC TIMES: Congratulations on winning The Masked Singer! The Goldfish won the Golden Mask! On the show, you said you consider yourself an actress first, and I don't know if a lot of people remembered or even knew that you could sing like this. Was that any part of your reason for going on The Masked Singer?
VANESSA HUDGENS: Not really, honestly. I mean, I've sang live a lot, whether that's in performances onstage or live televised musicals. You've got to do it for yourself. If you're trying to prove people wrong, or put things in people's faces, you're doing it for the wrong reason. I wanted to do this for my fans. They've been asking for music or singing or anything in that world, and I was like, "This would be a really interesting way to be able to give that to them and see who the real fans are." And turns out they are all real fans!
Absolutely! Is there any new music coming? You haven't released an album since 2008.
Many, many moons ago. No, I always say life's about priorities, and that's just not the priority right now.
Understandable, but I'm just pointing out that I think there's an audience for that, if you ever do decide to prioritize music one day. And since we're talking music, I have to ask about how you're known for some other outfits besides the Goldfish costume. How did you become the "Queen of Coachella"?
I think I've just been going for a really long time. ... The first time, I think it was like 2008. Paul McCartney played that year... and I think the Cure. [Editor's note: That was 2009, a very good year.] I just became obsessed after that and went back every year. And then when they started doing the two weekends, I would go both weekends and I just loved it. It was just a good time. I love music festivals, I love music, and any time I can run around on a grass field barefoot, I'm very happy.
When Coachella started to become really big and people started taking pictures of celebrities in their festival outfits, you were one of the first famous Coachella style-setters. How did you come up with all your looks that lot of women at Coachella still copy today?
I feel like I was just trying to emulate my favorite era, which is the '70s I think, or of Woodstock. I think of people on the grass, just vibing out to their favorite musicians, and that's kind of the ideal vibe to me when it comes to music festivals. That was definitely what I was trying to emulate.
Just to put it out there... would you ever play Coachella, maybe? Or have you ever played it, like as a surprise guest during someone else's set?
No, I've never set foot on a stage at Coachella, but yeah, at some point in life that would be pretty iconic! I would love it.
If you could guest with anyone at Coachella, who would it be?
I mean, the first name that comes to mind is Radiohead, just because I'm the biggest Radiohead fan. Oh my God. But I feel like I might faint standing next to Thom Yorke.
That would be iconic.
I just need them to go on tour again! I just need it.
Going back to that era, the era of the aughts, you talked on The Masked Singer about how when you were first in the "fishbowl," thrust into the public eye, that was hard for you. And I understand that, because I look back at how the media treated people like you, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, all your young Hollywood peers. TMZ was new, Perez Hilton was huge, and lot of that press coverage would not fly today. How did it take a toll on you?
I mean, I always say that fame doesn't change you, it just exposes you. I was a very shy child growing up, and while I love being the center of attention when it comes to performing and showcasing things that I have gifts for, when it comes to my personal life, I really shy away and I prefer to have my privacy. I don't want my whole life broadcasted. I really do my best to shy away from that and keep my personal life as buttoned-up as possible. But yeah, it was a very wild ride, and I feel like paparazzi had no boundaries. I feel like it's gotten a little better now. I feel like there's been certain things put into place that allow for a slight bit more protection. But it was very, very invasive, and deep inside me is the little girl who's just shy and wants to hide. It was an aggressive wakeup call. But I think that just having to deal with it for so many years now, you evolve and you figure your way around it, how to cope and have a relationship with it that works for you personally. And I feel like I've found that.
The internet was different then, but also, social media was very new.
I mean, when I first came into the spotlight, social media was not a thing. I remember after High School Musical came out, I just got my very first Myspace, and that was the thing! But yeah, it was just a different time.
You did mention, on The Masked Singer, that seeing "encounters with exes" on TikTok annoys you, but, with TikTok and other social media, have things from your past gone viral in a good way? Are new audiences discovering High School Musical and other work you've done through social media?
Yeah, I feel like High School Musical is something that continues to live on throughout the generations. It surprises me still when kids come up to me saying that they love it and they've seen it a million times. It's just insane how it just continues to have legs and gets passed down through generations. I think that's the power of musicals. I look back at some of my favorite musicals growing up as a kid, and they still totally hold the test of time.
Is that why, for your first Goldfish song, you covered Olivia Rodrigo, because she also starred in the High School Musical franchise?
Yeah! I was doing things the entire time to let people know that it was me! The first song was "Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo, who played Gabriella in the High School Musical TV show. My second song was "Baby Come Back," and my first single when I was 16 years old, "Come Back to Me," had a sample of that song in it, and I was singing some of the same licks and riffs that I was singing when I was 16. There were a lot of clues along the way.
Another clue I picked up on was when you talked about reinventing your image and "diving into edgier waters." I assumed that was a Spring Breakers clue. What memories do you have of making that film? When you look at the ensemble cast, that was iconic. Was the reaction at the time? Were your fans on board, or were they like, "Whoa, what's going on?"
I think that there was a little bit of both. I think when you do things outside of the box, it's not going to be for everyone, but that's always been my cup of tea: doing things that might divide people a little bit. Like, if you're doing broad strokes, then are you really even having a perspective or a point of view on it? And that was one thing that I really wanted to do. I love Harmony. People know me from High School Musical, but my personal taste is I love really dark films by offbeat directors, and I love a really twisted ride. And when Spring Breakers came into my vision, I was like, "This is something that I need to be a part of." I was really honored and proud to be a part of that project. It was a wild ride and it was so much fun. The cast was phenomenal. I remember the script itself was quite small and was filled out a lot by everyone.
Really? Did you improv?
Oh yeah, a lot! Some of those scenes literally weren't even in the script. It would be Harmony coming over to us and being like, "I have an idea for a scene..." And then he would tell us, "OK, now — go!" And he'd be like, "Whatever you want you want to do..." The creative freedom was just so amazing and something that you don't always get. And that's the thing I love about independent features.
Did anyone in your camp say that was a bad idea to take that role, that it was too off-brand?
No, that was the kind of parts that I'd always wanted to do. High School Musical came from left field and took me off of the course that I originally saw for myself — a course that I was very grateful for, but it definitely wasn't what I had planned. ... I feel like after doing High School Musical, I had to fight for the parts that I actually really wanted. I didn't want to keep playing the girl next door, the nice, sweet girl. There's so much more depth and dimension in women that I want to explore. I had to fight for those parts. And it was literally The Frozen Ground into Spring Breakers into Gimme Shelter, all three of which really demanded a lot of me emotionally and physically and on my psyche. But it was a journey that I was really proud of going on.
When you talk about not wanting to play the girl next door, I love that one of your roles of a lifetime was in Grease Live!, and you didn't play Sandy. You played Rizzo, the way cooler part. And that was obviously a clue on The Masked Singer, about someone close to you passing away the night before that performance. I'm so sorry for your personal loss, but do you feel like that was a turning point for you professionally? The news headlines the day after Grease Live! were all about you being the breakout star of the show despite such tough circumstances.
Oh, that's sweet. Did it feel like some crazy pivot? No. Did it feel like something I would always hold my head up high with and be proud of? Yes, of course. I knew in the moment that it would be a really beautiful way to honor my father, and that's what he would've wanted. It was a really special part and I was so supported in that moment by the cast and the producers and the team, and that's something that will keep us all bonded forever.
And I imagine your father would've gone a real hoot out of you playing the Goldfish?
Oh, he would've loved it! My gosh.
Well, I loved it as well, so congratulations on your win. One quick question before I let you go, because we were talking about Coachella: Do you remember your favorite fit, as the kids say?
The second year that I went, I feel like it's so overplayed, but I wore this vintage white crochet top I had with denim shorts, and I was running around barefoot and was wearing these feather earrings that I had made, and I had a little tambourine. I felt very free and it was just a very practical outfit, but I felt very in my '70s/Woodstock of it all. So, that probably takes home the prize.
And it's much more practical than a Goldfish costume! But you wear it well, no matter what. So, let's put it into universe: Coachella 2025, you're surprise guest during the Radiohead set. Or, they're the surprise guests in yours. You never know.
I mean... I would... I have no words. [laughs]
This Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity. Watch Vanessa Hudgens's full interview in the split-screen video above.
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