#iwentdeepwiththisone

The above is one of my favourite pictures of Kelsi. I think it encapsulates everything that I like about her: quiet, thoughtful, mature and modestly brilliant. My intro has a list of questions that I want to ask about the Trelsi pairing, but I’ve had to shuffle in some questions as well, when new thoughts occurred to me. The full list of questions so far is as follows:

1- Who IS Troy Bolton?

2- Who IS Kelsi Nielsen? (I’ll be referring to this a lot for today’s instalment)

3-  What makes the Trelsi friendship and dynamic so friggin’ special? Why does it make me want to weep and write poetry?

4-  Why are there so few Trelsi scenes? What is the effect of this? Where could we have seen more Trelsi?

5-  So, what’s wrong with the central canonical pairing, Troyella?

Today’s new question is:

Question-- Kelsi Nielsen and romance: what’s the attraction?

I’m super happy to return to discussing my second-favourite character, Kelsi Nielsen. As has already been established (and routinely ignored during the movie series), Kelsi Nielsen is one of the most interesting and emotionally complex characters out of the cast, which makes all her scenes compulsively rewatchable. There are several key points I need to understand about Kelsi’s motivations throughout the movie series, and what this potentially means for her and others. We’re going to look at her romantic instincts, the origins thereof, her canonical relationships, her fervent Troyella worship, and like-minded musings. 

Please note that I will not be discussing the alleged “Ryelsi”. I do not recognize this pairing: as far as I am concerned, it does not exist. Nothing inside this sham sheds any light upon Kelsi Nielsen (or Ryan Evans for that matter), makes any positive contribution to the plot, character arcs or anything else. It is a nonsensical and insulting concoction, executed with such staggering inconsistency so as to beggar belief that those writing it actually got paid. Furthermore, it appears that this fabrication was motivated by prejudice, which is completely unacceptable in my book. In the modern era, we should develop each character fully irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, religion and so on. 

So, Kelsi’s romanticism is a key element of her personality and her character. For the most part, this romanticism is expressed in her songwriting. Although I believe that Kelsi’s songs can be applied to her relationship with Troy, I do not believe that her songs were written about him. This is a key distinction. Her lyrics demonstrate a maturity and emotional versatility that have more complex shades-- far too complex to be just directed at one person. Indeed, her lyrics do not contain any clues that would lead me to believe she was speaking about a particular person. However, it is clear that she is speaking about a particular type of person, and from this we can deduce her philosophy about love and her expectations in a relationship. I have selected three main ballads for analysis: “What I’ve Been Looking For” (HSM I), “You Are The Music In Me” (HSM II) and “I Just Wanna Be With You” (HSM III). What clues do these songs reveal about the type of person Kelsi likes? 

1- “What I’ve Been Looking For”

We must assume that Kelsi wrote this song either during the first semester, or during the Christmas Holidays. Because so little information is given about Kelsi’s life as a whole, nothing is certain here. I consider this to be Kelsi’s most important song by virtue of the fact that she was willing to confront Sharpay over the rendition (whilst making little to no complaint when Sharpay crucified her songs in HSM II and HSM III), and the emotional involvement she displays when performing it with Troy and Gabriella. In this song, she discusses:

1- Her surprise at finding the right person: “It’s hard to believe, that I couldn’t see, that you were always there beside me.”

2- Her isolation because of being without a suitable partner: “Thought I was alone, with no one to hold...”

3- Her insistence upon looking for the right person, instead of taking whatever comes: “So lonely before, I’ve finally found, what I’ve been looking for.” The bold emphasis is my own. 

The song lyrics suggest that Kelsi might very well be oblivious to another person’s romantic interests, hence why “it’s hard to believe” that she could find herself recognizing those feelings and returning them. However, they also reveal another paradox in Kelsi’s shyness; the song is entitled “What I’ve Been Looking For”, which demonstrate that she has expectations of romance, and does not, despite her withdrawn nature, believe herself to be completely unlikeable. It just has to be the right person. But the shyness does factor in, as stated in another lyric: “So good to be seen, so good to be heard, don’t have to say a word.” This suggests that Kelsi struggles with words, and thus expresses herself better in songwriting. It suggests shyness. Notice that Kelsi never mentions seeing and hearing this other person, so that they don’t have to say a word, which could imply that she does not expect this potential person to be as shy as she is, which makes sense, since opposites attract. In fact, it implies that Kelsi expects this other person to make up for her own deficiencies: she isn’t good at expressing herself, and so she expects this other person to make things easier for her. She is lonely, and thus she expects this other person to provide her with companionship-- namely, being “always there beside me.” She struggles with directions (this could be figuratively as well as literally), and thus expects this other person to be the leader, the guiding hand. “So long I was lost, I’m finally found, I’m loving having you around...” 

Now, that particular lyric has religious connotations; the value of being “found” in Christianity refers to salvation. This is relevant not because Kelsi is necessarily religious (we have no information on this), but because it demonstrates that she has very high expectations in a relationship. Is this positive? Or is this negative? Or is it both? I will discuss this later on. The prospective person must know her, and be good for her, must fit with her like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. This person must inspire feelings that she’s never felt before, and must be worth the years of loneliness that she has endured to finally find the right person. When she finds this person, she will be “found”/saved from her previous state. The use of religious imagery, whether intended or unintended, is striking here. It is also worth noting that Kelsi’s lyrics are by and large conservative. She rarely, if ever, explores attraction and never explores sexual tension. Rather, this is something that Sharpay adds when crucifying her songs, as I will discuss in a moment. (Honestly, everything will be discussed in a moment! My head is crammed with ideas! :D). All of her romantic ballads venerate the emotional connection between the protagonist (herself) and her perfect partner (an unnamed person). The tempo of this song is supposed to be slow and steady, hence her dismay with Sharpay’s rendition. All the feelings that she discusses are romantic feelings, and are also feelings of friendship, as we will see for HSM III. The song is positive and optimistic, though tinged with (previous) wistfulness and even sadness. I think this is a fine achievement for Kelsi.

By the way, another important thing. The song is really about Kelsi. But it is written for a male and female character (Arnold and Minnie). This shows Kelsi’s versatility as a composer. Even if you took Kelsi out of the equation, then you’ve got a song that reflects all people and all times; everyone longs to find that special other half of themselves, and everyone has had fears and doubts and periods of loneliness, presumably whilst watching other people happy in their own relationships. The duet formation is an inspired idea. In fact, I want to challenge common wisdom in the movies. In HSM III, Sharpay says that “Kelsi always writes her best songs for Troy and Gabriella,” thus leading us to assume that Troyella inspire good music. However, might I propose the possibility that rather, it is Kelsi’s mastery writing duets that inspires her best songs, with Troy and Gabriella just being a handy addition? Why do I say so? Because “What I’ve Been Looking For” was written long before she ever met Troy and Gabriella, and it is an excellent and inspired piece. Remember, she had been submitting ideas for the school musicals presumably for several years, and we haven’t heard the many other songs she must have written. With practice comes mastery. She is already an excellent composer and songwriter. There’s no evidence whatsoever that Kelsi was suddenly inspired to write after meeting Troy and Gabriella, so why would we assume they were the only reason for her further duets? Surely it does Kelsi’s immense talent a disservice to attribute it solely to the central (and disastrous) main couple. 

2- “You Are The Music In Me”

Prior to receiving a job at Lava Springs, Kelsi had been intending to write music over the holidays. Yet more evidence that she did not need Troy and Gabriella to do so. Like I said in my analysis of Kelsi Nielsen, composing is in her blood. She needs to compose like I, a writer, need to write. And she is a perfectionist and disciplinarian in this endeavour; in HSM III, prior to the hazing stunt, Kelsi is shown, in a TINY scene, frowning in dissatisfaction and crossing out something. We are not shown whether she is composing, but given that they are in the auditorium, and given that she is normally shown hunched over her manuscripts elsewhere, this assumption seems likely. Kelsi wants every note to be exactly right. The summer holidays would be an excellent opportunity to spend hours more devoted to her craft. 

Now, it has just occurred to me that there is either an omission at the beginning of HSM II, or a significant plot hole. When Kelsi accepts the job at Lava Springs from Sharpay, Troy had not yet been offered a job. At the time when Troy is offered a job from Mr. Fulton, Kelsi was nowhere near (probably at home, writing music). But by the time we get to Lava Springs, Kelsi has a song ready for Troy and Gabriella, despite potentially having no knowledge that they would even be present. How has this inconsistency occurred? I must make an assumption to fill in the holes. Since Troy got jobs for all his friends, then Kelsi may have received this information via that route. The most likely example is that perhaps Jason or Martha phoned her to say that they’d be off to Lava Springs, and OMG, Kelsi is off there too! What a coincidence! Perhaps Jason would be more likely to have passed on the information that Troy was also going to be working there, since he spends more time with Troy than does Martha. So Kelsi perhaps received this information, and having presumably been given a job brief from Sharpay (composing for the Talent Show), sees a golden opportunity to rope Troy into performing in the Talent Show. This would be consistent, given her eagerness for Troy to perform in the Winter Musical. This seems the only way to reconcile Kelsi’s next duet and her clear intentions to write for Troy and Gabriella. She might only have discovered their presence when she turned up to work, but this seems unlikely, as she would need the time to compose the song, and Mr. Fulton was keeping them all to a strict schedule. Besides, the song is ready not long into the job. So she must have known beforehand, and most likely found out from Jason. 

What is VERY interesting about this duet is that it is the only one of my selected major songs where Kelsi makes a link between music and romance. You would think that she’d have used musical imagery in every other song, but no. Emotional connection comes first. Now, for the Lava Springs Talent Show, she sets about composing a romantic ballad with a similarly deep level of emotional involvement, once again demonstrating her high expectations for a relationship. “You Are The Music In Me” means what it says on the tin. Her music is not just written for the sake of fame, money or even applause; it is inspired by this unnamed person. Once again, I do not make the assumption that this person is Troy. Why? Because by this time, Kelsi was going out with Jason Cross. I do not make the assumption that the unnamed person is Jason, either. We will look at this in more detail later on. So her music is inspired. This person has to therefore be a part of her: “You’re harmony, to the melody, that’s echoing inside my head...”, (bold emphasis my own), so deeply connected that they know the notes she must write before she writes them. Lofty expectations, folks. :D 

Now, I said that Kelsi does not include, or consider, sexual attraction/tension in her music, but Troy definitely adds this in when singing the following line: “And like a common thread/Hmm, you’re pulling me.” This is more evidence of Troy’s more spontaneous approach to performance, and how he translates genuine emotions into how he sings and what he’s trying to communicate. As we can see, Kelsi approves of this addition, even though it’s far bolder than she would have gone. One could ascribe a sexual nature to the central lyrics, “You are the music in me,” but I’m not sure this is what Kelsi intended. She is more emotional than physical. 

(Sharpay, of course, loads her rendition with sexuality. :D )

Other key differences in Kelsi’s thinking are striking. Here she says, “It’s like I knew you before we met.” In other words, she isn’t confined to the shadows, waiting for the right person; she has already has an idea of who they are. Not a physical image, but an emotional idea. Instead of her suddenly realizing they were right there the whole time, like in HSM I, this person is pulling her towards them. They are attracted to each other. This shows that the protagonist is therefore more confident: “I sang you words I never said.” Beforehand, the protagonist (Kelsi) didn’t have to say anything. Now she can “sing”. This is significant because Kelsi doesn’t often sing her own songs (it would have been very interesting to see her singing her own romantic ballads in full), and appears more content either lip-syncing them and, more importantly, playing the piano. She is the shy girl who has, for the most part, hidden behind the piano whenever she could get away with it. The idea of Kelsi singing a romantic ballad to her chosen interest is intriguing and bold. But like I said, she is more than she appears to be. Guess who else likes singing romantic ballads to their chosen interest? Troy. What does remain the same is that Kelsi uses music as a medium of expression, hence the “I never said” part. 

By the way, notice that Kelsi never writes “I love you” in her song lyrics. She is never that direct. Instead, she uses more poignant and profound ways of expressing this sentiment. These methods demonstrate that Kelsi’s songs show a maturity beyond her years. At the time of writing “What I’ve Been Looking For”, she was around 16. These are pretty high expectations for a teenager! Too high, if you ask me, given that she has barely broken into true adulthood yet. She does, however, have a very strong concept of what love is, and what it should be, and she knows how to recognize it. This therefore begs the question of her attachment to Troyella, which does not demonstrate love. More on this later. 

We see more evidence of Kelsi’s love of the emotional connection in the chorus: “When I hear my favourite song, I know that we belong/You are the music in me, yeah, it’s living in all of us/And it’s brought us here because/You are the music in me.” What does this mean? I’m so glad you asked. :D This chorus implies that of the many songs that exist, songs which live in “all of us” (as in, many different people), there is only one she and the unnamed person understand, and when they both hear it, they are drawn together. So once again, Kelsi is writing a song that not only relates to herself, but is true for all people at all times. Kelsi says that love is music, and that music is love. Likewise, love supports and inspires music (particularly in her case), and music supports and inspires love (allegedly in the case of Troyella). The depth of meaning in this song makes Sharpay’s later butchering of the song (although Kelsi does appear quite absorbed in performing this version) all the more horrendous. The most important lyrics are: “Because you see the real me/As I am/You understand/And that’s more than I’ve ever known”. These lyrics can be applied to Kelsi’s relationship with Troy, as out of the entire cast, she seems to know him best, although I do not believe they are about Kelsi’s relationship with Troy. It’s just a happy coincidence. Again, there is a change as the song implies that the protagonist and his/her chosen partner are in a crowd: “To hear your voice/Above the noise/And know I’m not alone/Oh, you’re singing to me...”, which is again a sign of increased confidence. When performing this song, Troy seems to understand this concept instinctively, which is why he naturally moves towards Gabriella when performing, to mimic the idea of being drawn together by music. Often, when performing, Troy will use movement to convey his message, something that often surprises Gabriella; she by contrast is more awkward and has to follow direction more often. 

Another important lyric is as follows: “We’ve got the power to sing (what we feel)...” Again, this screams of new-found confidence. Beforehand, Kelsi didn’t “have to say a word”, but now, she is full of song. In other words, her chosen partner will empower her to express herself without any awkwardness or shyness. On the topic of saying what you feel, we can also note Kelsi’s increased confidence when she just assumes, upon seeing Troy and Gabriella, that they will immediately agree to singing the leads just as she had planned. Hence her disappointment when Troy shoots down that idea after a period of hilarious alarm. I’ve got to give Gabriella some credit for giving Kelsi a chance to be heard; after hearing the song’s potential (and possibly being surprised at Kelsi’s good singing voice?), Troy changes his mind. This follows a consistent trend in HSM I and HSM II, where hearing Kelsi’s music makes Troy relent in his unwillingness to perform, and become more involved in the art once again. Is this not significant? It would have been far better for Troyella if Gabriella’s musicality was the motivation for him to perform in the musicals. However, this is not the case; Gabriella just persuades him in HSM III, because she can always get him to do things that she wants, NOT because she is necessarily devoted to the craft. Compare that to Troy’s stunned expression after hearing “What I’ve Been Looking For”, and his “Great job, Kels,” (and that surprised expression as he stands by the piano) after hearing “You Are The Music In Me.” Her music strikes just the right notes and that melts his previous resistance. 

3- “I Just Wanna Be With You”

This is probably my favourite ballad of the three, although coming very close with “What I’ve Been Looking For”. For some context, this song was written for the Senior Musical, where each member of Ms. Darbus’ class is playing themselves. Having been entrusted with composition, Kelsi does, as Sharpay says, write her best ballad for Troy and Gabriella. This is supposed to be a reflection of Troy and Gabriella’s relationship, but as I have said, it is nothing of the sort. However, once again, Kelsi is the real protagonist of the song, and the object of her affections is once again unnamed. By this stage, Kelsi has broken up with Jason and is single. (I do not recognize the other “relationship” offered as an option for her). Although this song is joyful, Kelsi’s mood at this stage probably was not. 

(Again, I am steadfastly ignoring the ridiculous Ryan-Kelsi piano scene which makes me cringe and fast-forward. Please assume this for the entirety of this post).

What evidence do we have that Kelsi might have been unhappy when writing this? I would point to the following lyrics: “You know how life can be/It changes overnight/Sunny then raining/But it’s alright...” The bold emphasis is my own. This is very interesting to me. Kelsi’s previous songs begin with her as the protagonist, alone, who discovers her love interest by surprise (HSM I), or who finds her love interest at the same time that he finds her (HSM II). In this song, we have an assumed state of happiness at first, which then changed into sadness. But Kelsi is hopeful that this time, things will be better. Why? Because this person is her friend: “A friend like you/Always makes it easy...” It seems that Kelsi is alluding to an unhappy past, not just only an unhappy relationship, although that appears a very likely candidate. Maybe a betrayal of some kind? Kelsi is very skilled with words (contrary to her shyness) and uses a lot of metaphors in her songs, such as “You’re harmony, to the melody...” in HSM II. When she speaks of rain, she is speaking about sadness. When she says, “But it’s alright,” she is referring to her persistence and resilience; no matter how many setbacks she experiences, she always picks herself back up again. This is why she kept submitting ideas for musicals, despite receiving numerous rejections. 

Another difference with this ballad is that Kelsi speaks more about the future here. This makes sense, as she has just applied to attend one of the best Performing Arts schools in the country, and would potentially be moving almost 2 000 miles to New York. She’s leaving her whole previous life behind, and had the screenwriters cared more about Kelsi than they did about Gabriella, we could have seen her feelings on this massive change in her life. However, in this ballad, we see that she is under pressure: “I gotta lotta things/I have to do/All these distractions/Our future’s coming soon/We’re being pulled/A hundred different directions...” Kelsi is nervous in her anticipation of the future; in reality, she is single and possibly unhappy around this time. But she wants to amend this in the song to say “But whatever happens/I know I’ve got you,” because 1)- it’s being written for Troy and Gabriella to sing, 2)- more importantly, Kelsi is an optimist. This is very important. She believes it can happen for her (again). Now, I have questioned the high expectations of romance in Kelsi’s songs. In fact, I said here that this could lead to trouble in her relationships should she take such expectations seriously. The failure of her relationship with Jason (coming soon) is one such potential example, and unless Kelsi learns the lessons from this, she may be doomed to failure again. The chorus of this song is catchy, but unrealistic: “No matter where life takes us, nothing can break us apart (You know it’s true)” Either Kelsi has learned nothing or she is trying to brighten her mood by creating this parallel universe where everything works out fine. In addition, she is also writing for what she apparently believes is an example of attainable romance: namely, Troyella, so of course, there HAS to be a positive ending. I guess an alternate song like “All I Wanna Do Is Get Away From You”, whilst definitely more appropriate for Troy to sing, would be far less catchy. :D 

As I have said before, in this song, Kelsi highlights the importance of friendship in romance. She has alluded to it in the previous songs, but here, it is spelled out plainly. “A friend like you, always makes it easy/I know that you get me, every time...” The use of friend, as opposed to a romantic term is significant in this regard. Kelsi needs someone she can get along with, someone who understands her (which is similar to her HSM I ballad) and is there unconditionally. Unlike her HSM I ballad, however, Kelsi suggests some reciprocity in her own affections, again as a friend as well as love interest: “Through every up, through every down/You know I’ll always be around/Through anything you can count on me...” Because of how much loyalty and devotion Kelsi shows towards Troy, quite unlike any other character (most notably his own girlfriend), and because of her need for him to succeed, I have often stated that these lyrics are a reflection of her friendship/relationship with Troy. Not about him, but very easily applied to him should one see that connection. This is Kelsi’s central philosophy, which makes her a great friend. She’s in it for the long haul; by this stage, she wants to put 110% into a relationship. In fact, this song is notably more Kelsi-centred than the other two. She can confidently state her romantic interests, and declare her feelings for someone, instead of merely describing how that person makes her feel (HSM I ballad). And unlike her HSM II ballad, she doesn’t need music to connect with them at all here. What she needs is friendship and a long lasting connection that can outlast all challenges. “It doesn’t matter where we are/We’ll be alright/Even if we’re miles apart...” The mention of miles (distance) is significant, once again demonstrating that Kelsi is thinking about the future, and the effect of that upon the prospective relationship. Unlike a certain lady, Kelsi would be keen to put 110% into a long-distance relationship, as evidenced by these lyrics. 

Again, Kelsi’s lyrics are conservative. “Just wanna be with you/Only you.” This means that Kelsi cannot do one-time flings/crushes/one night-stands/casual relationships or promiscuity. It’s either all in, or all out. There’s no halfway step. So even though Kelsi has high expectations in a relationship, she is willing to put in over and above her fair share, to be devoted and loyal to the unnamed love interest, even when distance separates them. She would never stray under the excuse of being far away. This is because she is extremely sure that this relationship will last: “The sun will always shine/That’s how you make me feel/We’re gonna be alright/What we have is real...” The line that I’ve put into bold is somewhat paradoxical; despite the idealistic nature of these lyrics, as well as the next (”And we will always be together”), what Kelsi defines as a “real” relationship is actually... real. She speaks of loyalty, friendship, devotion, resilience and persistence, all of which she is willing to demonstrate to the object of her affections. That is what gives this, and all her romantic ballads credibility. 

Kelsi’s composition here is much more mature; she uses different melodic patterns and more instruments. This is a great contrast with the far simpler (although by no means inferior) “What I’ve Been Looking For”, which features a basic melody line, harmony and piano accompaniment. In “All I Wanna Do...”, the singers have to change key for the chorus, and go up and down chromatic semitones. 

A significant reason this song is so memorable is because of Troy. He understands the song and infuses it with energy. It seems to me, given that Ryan only has to choreograph Gabriella during this song (and it’s like baby steps with her; she constantly looks surprised and lacks any inspiration or sponteneity), that Troy most likely developed some of the choreography himself. Either that, or he expanded upon it in some way. Think about this: after being exhausted from the 1053 mile stunt, Troy managed to turn in a brilliant performance, and get the JUILLIARD JUDGES on their feet, clapping-- something that neither Kelsi, Ryan nor Sharpay managed to do. He brought his personality, honesty, understanding and raw talent to the song, and made it a showstopper. As we can see, later in HSM III, it appears to be Troy’s idea to allow everyone onto stage whilst performing. The fact of Troy moving closer to Gabriella as the song develops complements the song perfectly; by the time we get to the central chorus, both are on stage together. Most of the attention is drawn to Troy, who moves, in a fluid and agile fashion, towards the stage. Again, I think that he’s doing improv throughout. Even during the rehearsals, he makes some changes, once again indulging in his favourite habit of sitting on the piano (better than that full bodied backwards dive he did in HSM II), after which he throws down the manuscript (because he doesn’t need it), and twirls Gabriella around. Both Ms Darbus and Jimmie look impressed, Ryan conducts enthusiastically. 

My favourite part of his performance is during the Musical itself, where he sits next to Kelsi and mimes playing the piano exactly in time with her. This is a great metaphor for their relationship; from the beginning, they have always been exactly in tune with each other, on the same page, understanding each other without words. I think that was definitely improv, and Kelsi enjoys this. She’s impressed and feeding off his energy. I don’t think she was expecting it (one reason being that he didn’t even turn up on his supposed cue!), but she has such great faith in Troy’s ability to perform her songs in the spirit that they were written, that she rolls with it, happy to let him take the lead. This is why I have argued that Troy should have been the one watching Kelsi compose this song; the teamwork their showed during practice in HSM I is almost thrown out the window come HSM III, because, once again, the writers didn’t care two figs for the relationship they’d created which outshone the central romance.