Opinion: "Last Chance" and everything we know about this deleted song from High School Musical 3

When Walt Disney Records announced High School Musical 3 soundtrack on June 22, 2008, the fans had the chance to hear the 14 tracks available on the website. Yes, 14. The website listed all songs we already know and a surprise was added at the end, "Last Chance". So, what have happened to this song in the movie and why was it removed from the album?

In the original track list released soundtrack, "Last Chance" is a one of the reprises inside the medley of "Senior Year Spring Musical" that features "Now or Never", "I Want it All", "Just Wanna Be With You" and "A Night to Remember". In the medley "Last Chance" is sung by Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel) and Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Ruling) as the intro to the Spring Musical performance. In Walt Disney Records website, the full song was stated as performed by "The High School Musical 3: Senior Year Cast".

The archived page of Walt Disney Records shows that there was previews available in the page and fans posted on YouTube these previews including "Last Chance". The song preview is a demo version not featuring any cast member voices. Over the years the fans have wondered what have happened to this song and if it would ever be released in full version and even if it was finished in studio. The lyrics have a different verse we hear in the beginning of the reprise song, that goes as,

It's our last chance to share the stage

Before we go our separate ways

We should spend these final days together (We'll be together)

It's the last chance for us to shine

To bring the music one more time

So come on, come on, come on,

Come on, come on, come on

Last chance, last chance

This is our last chance, it's our last chance

 So here's a in depth research and opinion on what could have happened to it.

Song similarities, placement and possible uses

During a High School Musical's 3 scene where the students get to confront Kelsi after she signs the entire class into the Spring Musical of East High, Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) tries to stop the whole discussion telling the students to give it a chance, "This is our last chance do to something together, all of us". Listening to the demo and Gabriella's scene mentioning a phrase similar to the song meaning, we start to see some correlations.

From that, it leads us to think, where would this song be placed in the movie?

The tone in the third instalment is a lot more mature than the other two. This songs instrumentation feels a lot more Disney Channel than the rest of the third soundtrack. It feels out of place and would not fit the storyline since it wasn't just about their last chance of making a musical, but rather about all the characters decisions of their future. The scene that comes after Gabriella's moment is exactly where the movie starts to introduce the story, "What about your future?" Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) asks the students lining up on the stage.

A song about their last chance to be together would feel a lot similar to "Work This Out" and its what sets the story in place in High School Musical 2 where they have to figure out how to make their summer jobs work along their relationships, friendships, and so.

A page from the script that surfaced online around 2009, shows that when Gabriella leaves the musical to attend Stanford everything starts to fall apart (already in the movie), but with an addition that there would be a tension between Troy and Chad (Corbin Bleu) (Another similarity with High School Musical 2). This scene would be a montage style looking at the making of the musical. Below the transcript of the page,

EXT. STANFORD UNIVERSITY - DAY - VARIOUS SHOTS

We see GABRIELLA MONTEZ walking down one the classic archways, carrying a folder of notes.

NEW ANGLE - we see her entering a class with a SIGN out front that reads 'Welcome Honors Class'... but printed in FIVE LANGUAGES.

Intercut with--

INT. EAST HIGH THEATER - STAGE

The WILDCATS are working on their show.

Much activity.

There is obvious tension between TROY and CHAD.

We see SHARPAY dragging RYAN to center stage...working on how to to UPSTAGE EVERYONE ELSE.

Ryan is looking more and more uncomfortable.

Zeke and Jason are goofing around. 

Knock a entire set down.

The show seems to be literally falling apart.

So what's up with this tension between Troy and Chad? Possibly Troy choosing other University than Chad's. This seems that the future of the characters would be already revealed and not a surprise as it is at the end of the movie. Some deleted scenes also show Gabriella possibly showing Troy a pamphlet from Stanford or other colleges. Again, the movie would reveal a lot more about the characters decisions of their future.

Calling back to the song lyrics, "Share the stage", "Final days together" it's possible to see that the plot would be more focused into the Wildcats saying they would be doing the musical together and now everything is falling apart but at the end they found out how to work it out and they're all in this together. It would feel a lot like the previous movies and if it kept the Disney Channel style of filming making it would have made sense with an story centering itself into the musical.

Maybe one of the reasons it was included just in the Senior Year Spring Musical was that it fits the situation and changing lyrics to "High School wasn't meant to last forever" adds the value to this being their last show together as a class and by not putting it earlier in the movie feels more natural, as the characters where living their fears of the future, the relationships dramas, the choices and the changes, letting space for Troy to argue and have his breakdown moment in "Scream" being more intense, the surprises and dialogues more mature. The making of the musical happens as the movie goes and not just the main focus of the whole thing as the tensions and the musical falling apart would have to be resolved in everything getting okay by the end.

There's no conclusive responses for it as all is just based in interpretations. For us, this is what makes sense reading through these pages but that have precious information about how the development of the movie changed during each script revision.

No official information was release by Disney or the people that worked in the movie.