Essex girl rocks in her fizzy Disney debut

originally posted here

By Lisa Sewards
UPDATED: 23:17 GMT, 15 September 2011

It's been billed as the new High School Musical but its stars insist they are all real musicians.
Disney’s latest teen block-buster, Lemonade Mouth, follows a gang of five kids who form a band after their school’s arts programme is cut. 
Based on the book of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes, Lemonade Mouth has already pulled in more than 13.5 million viewers and ranks as the top original movie on U.S. cable TV this year.
The film has the usual Disney feel-good storyline of teenagers seizing opportunity and expressing their individuality, but the actors say the music is edgier and more spirited than that of High School Musical.
It stars British actress Naomi Scott, 18, who is now working with Steven Spielberg on his sci-fi drama, Terra Nova.
Naomi’s parents run a Pentecostal church in Essex and she was spotted at a choir by Kelle Bryan, of girl band Eternal.
In the show, she plays Mohini Banjaree, a bass guitarist who struggles with her parents’ high expectations of her. 
The cast also includes 18-year-old Bridgit Mendler - a regular collaborator with American boyband the Jonas Brothers - as lead singer Olivia White.
Adam Hicks, 18, who plays keyboardist Wen Gifford in the film, is a gifted drummer, while Hayley Kiyoko, who plays lead guitarist Stella Yamada is a drummer and guitarist with The Stunners - the opening act for Justin Bieber’s 2010 world tour.