San Diego native Joshua Bassett writes music, produces, and plays five instruments. He's best known as Ricky Bowen on the Disney-plus show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Signed to major label Warner Records, Bassett was only 16 years old in 2020 when he released his first original songs, “Common Sense” and “Anyone Else.” which within a year had together earned over 20 million streams.
His single “Lie Lie Lie” debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart and garnered praise from The New York Times, Elite Daily, Pop Sugar, Teen Vogue, and E! Online. Within a week of its release, the song had scored nearly four million U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads, according to MRC Data, helping it debut at number 25 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Its video was shot in Joshua Tree during the pandemic lockdown.
In December 2020, he performed his original holiday song “The Perfect Gift” from the High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, on GMA3. Another single dropped as well, "Telling Myself."
His single "Only a Matter of Time" was released in January 2021, along with an accompanying music video, from a self-titled EP that debuted February 26, 2021.
“I wrote this song in the summer of 2020, in a moment in time where social media was bringing a lot of darkness to my life,” he says. “It was healing to put my phone down, turn off the noise, and just write. There’s good that comes from social media, but it’s also become a place where people can say anything about anyone, no matter how false or damaging with no accountability. We’ve gotta be much kinder to each other and recognize there are real people behind the screens.”
A single for "Feel Something" dropped in June 2021, with an accompanying video that he co-directed with his creative director Sarah Carpenter. The clip features Bassett and three friends embarking on an evening street adventure that begins at a self-service car wash and takes them through shopping cart wars, an outdoor movie screening, and more. He also has a collaborative track with his Disney-plus co-star Olivia Rodrigo, “Best Part/Even When.”
Around the same time, he was nominated Favorite Male TV Star at the 2021 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and livestreamed his first virtual concert.