Corbin Bleu fans will get treat at fair

By John Benson

The actor and singer will perform some as-yet unreleased songs.

Having become a tweener household name, “High School Musical” actor and pop singer Corbin Bleu is already looking ahead to the follow-up album of his 2007 debut, “Another Side.”

“We’re pretty far along, and we have a couple of songs that I’m actually performing at the show in Ohio,” said Bleu, calling from a tour stop in Kentucky. “The second album won’t be released until sometime in February because I’m not done with it yet. I don’t have a title, but once I’m done touring around September, I’ll head back into the studio and start finishing that up.”

That means fans attending Bleu’s show Thursday at the Canfield Fair will be hearing new songs before anyone else. Among the unreleased tracks are the anthemic rock-sounding “Whatever It Takes,” the R B ballad “Champion” and the slow number “Close.” It’s the latter track that Bleu said is currently a show-stopper in his set.

“I actually bring up a young lady from the audience,” Bleu said. “We do this phone bit, where a lot of girls in the audience prior to the show go in this booth and give us their phone number. And then during the show, we pick one, call that number and whoever is in that theater, we bring her up on stage.”

This is a pretty special time for the 19-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native, who over the past decade has made a name for himself as a singer, dancer, actor and model. Aside from the new album, Bleu stars in feature film “Motocross,” which is due in theaters in January.

He also appears in some other movie called, um, “High School Musical III,” which is due out in theaters Oct. 24. Bleu, who said there are plenty of big numbers in the new movie, offers fans a glimpse of what may be the last installment of the popular Disney Channel franchise.

“As far as the characters, you see the relationship and the last time these Wildcats will be at East High,” Bleu said. “So it’s very emotional, especially for the true fans of ‘High School Musical.’ It’ll be a very emotional time for them.”

When discussing his current headlining tour, Bleu isn’t afraid to talk about himself and an entertainment “Thriller” that pretty much set the bar for live performance.

“It’s a great show,” Bleu said. “I grew up in theater, so everything for me is very theatrical, and there is no moment in the show that there’s not something going on. I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson, and when Michael Jackson performs, he just doesn’t get up there and play the songs. He actually has a show. It’s a real performance.

“I look up to that and try to mold myself after that as well. So there’s always something happening on the stage. We have props, costumes, a live band, singing and dancing. It’s a lot of work, but it’s always worth it. It’s been a fun experience.”