Zac Efron

It's not what you think. In fact, if you guessed "they're famous for no reason," obviously you haven't seen our boy Zac in High School Musical. Just saying.

Nicole Richie, Zac Efron are among several young stars recently spotted rocking crimson bracelets - much like the red Kabbalah string Madonna made famous a few years ago.

Is the trend making a comeback?

Richie (pictured here with the string on her limp, bony arm) and Lauren Conrad - also spotted wearing the string of late - each have been sporting a charm of a hand on them called a "hamsa," explains Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of TLC's Shalom in the Home.

"It's a kabbalistic symbol. Wearing it is meant to bring down God's mercy and kindness."

But a rep for Zac Efron (who's girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, also wears one), tells Us Weekly that his bracelet has no significance.

"It's not a kabbalah string," the rep said.

"There's no religious meaning [to the red string]."

Meanwhile, Lauren Conrad's rivals on The Hills, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, are probably rushing to try and patent string, as well as the color red, so they can cash in on this fad.

William Hung got famous for singing, "She bangs... she bangs!"

But at The Hollywood Gossip, we say: He bangs... he bangs!

There are two young studs in particular we have in mind when focusing on this hairstyle: Zac Efron and Pete Wentz.

The former, of course, is sky-rocketing up the handsome charts. He's the star of High School Musical, will be filling Kevin Bacon's shoes (literally!) in Footloose and is dating Vanessa Hudgens. And he's the owner of those beautiful blue eyes. Sigh.

Meanwhile, Pete Wentz has more questionable taste in women. He's seen Ashlee Simpson naked a bunch of times and we can only imagine how painful that much plastic is to spoon with. He's also into music.

So, celebrity gossip readers, which of these young stars looks the hottest? And can you even make such a decision when news of Britney Spears making love to Shannon Funk is such a distraction?

As new couples such as Karen McDougal and Bruce Willis get used to the celebrity gossip spotlight, a young, veteran pair have it down to a science.

And half that twosome is getting herself all sweaty over how attractive the other one looks in a recent photo spread: When asked how her boyfriend looked without his shirt on, Vanessa Hudgens had nothing but nice things to say about the latest Rolling Stone cover boy.

"I think it looks hot," the 18-year-old actress told Ryan Seacrest about the latest Zac Efron photo. "The girls like it."

But does she mind that her High School Musical co-star and love has many female admirers? "No," Hudgens told People magazine. "I mean, I like to scream along, too."

Who doesn't?!? Efron is threatening other young stars, such as Shia LaBeouf, for cutest actor in Hollywood.

Despite living by himself in California, Zac says he stays away from hotspots frequented by other stars his age. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a good time.

"I'm the same age as some other people who are dealing with [celebrity gossip] scandals," he says. "I've got friends out here, and we do what kids our age are doing. We don't need people taking photos of us."

And while Hudgens is more effusive about her feelings for Efron, he tries to keep his love life (relatively) under wraps. You might call him the anti-Spencer Pratt in this regard.

And that's the biggest compliment we can give someone.

Heart throb alert, ladies!

While men are ogling over Katharine McPhee underwear photos, you can set your sights on the new Rolling Stone cover... featuring a sort of topless Zac Efron.

In the affiliated interview, the High School Musical star talks about not actually singing on camera, as well as the pitfalls of celebrity gossip. He sounds a bit full of himself in every response...

On why he refused to go on the High School Musical tour:
"If I had to hear the High School Musical songs anymore, I probably would have jumped off something very tall."

On not being allowed to sing in High School Musical:
"I didn't even sing on the first album. It wasn't my voice in the movie. Even though I wanted to do it. So what do you do when the entire cast is supposed to accept an award at the Billboard Awards and your voice is only on the album in a select few lines. I felt extremely guilty."

* The Hollywood Gossip Note: It's all good, Zac. Brooke Hogan makes money by not really singing, also.

On fame:
"A lot of problems you see people having in this business is that it becomes about their personal lives and not about their work. Matthew McConaughey has single-handedly funded the tabloid magazines for the past two years now. If he would put on a shirt and just get away from the beach, maybe there would be a few less paparazzi around."

* The Hollywood Gossip note: Feel free to replace Matthew McConaughey and shirt with Britney Spears and underwear to relay the same message.

* Another Hollywood Gossip note: Hate to break it to you, Zac, but you're sort of going topless in this cover picture, too.

On the silver "commitment" ring he wears:
"I'm not even going to say who it's from. This is just a ring from a friend that I got. ‘Commitment' is way too weird a word for me right now. I'm wearing it for a friend…It is a female friend, but I can't say who, because then it would be chat-room pandemonium and teenage magazine-hysteria."

* The Hollywood Gossip note: Yeah... it's Vanessa Hudgens.

On criticism:
"I can't even go on IMDB because I know that so much of it would be negative. It's just depressing. I know, for instance, at my cousin's school, there's a club called the I Hate Zac Efron Club. And I laughed hysterically when I heard that. I laughed because if there are people out there devoted enough to make a club that hates me, I've gotta be doing something right."

Well, we're not sure if we follow that logic. But we do know that Ashley Tisdale and teenage girls everywhere do not hate Zac. At all.

Zac Efron.

He's quickly becoming one of the celebrity gossip world's most popular actors. With High School Musical 2 about to premiere, CosmoGIRL! sat down with the co-star of Ashley Tisdale for an interview...

On reuniting with the original movie's cast:
"We had so much fun on the set - the movie is really a by-product of us hanging out. A lot of the funny parts are total improv. The lines aren't even in the script - we just made them up!"

On behind-the-scenes bloopers:
"[In the movie] I had to sink a 30-foot PGA tour golf putt. It took the golf pro eight tries--but I sank it on my first try! That's really my putt that you see in the movie. Another time, Ashley [Tisdale] had to swing and miss--but she let go of the club and it went flying towards a crew member. It was hilarious watching Ashley completely choke."

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudges form Zanessa, a new, young, exciting couple.

On living in St. George, Utah during filming:
"Our houses were all lined up in a row. I was on the end, with Vanessa Hudgens next door. The best part is that we had maid service, so my room was always clean."

The other best part? How close he and Hudgens have become, of course. They're the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of the next generation.

As Hairspray hits the theaters today, one thing is for sure: We can't get enough of Zac Efron!

The adorable young actor from High School Musical plays Link Larkin in the re-make. And USA Today was fortunate enough to sit down with Ashley Tisdale's co-star. Here are highlights from the interview:

• He swivels his hips, but his pelvis is kept in PG-rated check.
• He recklessly risks detention as he stands up for Tracy and responds to a teacher's question: "Kiss my behind!" Only he uses a much naughtier word. One Kim Kardashian specializes in.
• He greets everyone, even Tracy's taken-aback mom, Edna (John Travolta in fat drag), with the "Link wink," a flirtatious move that reeks of processed cheese.

Producer Craig Zadan said of Efron:

"The original Link from Broadway was quite different from what [Zac Efron] is doing. He was more of a comic narcissist. Zac is sensitive, but not wimpy. He has that sort of masculine teen boy thing. His heart connects to Tracy's heart, and you believe them together at the end."

Moreover, Efron is no Jessica Simpson. This smarty maintained a 4.3 average in high school and still hopes to study film at USC.

Finally, what would an interview with this actor be unless he mentioned his relationship with Vanessa Hudgens?

"You know, I've worked with Vanessa a long time and she is an amazing girl. But right now, I just don't want to be that 19-year-old kid talking about relationships. Wait 10 years and I'll call you with a great revelation."

Pretty mature there, Zac. Sounds like this relationship may Kristin Cavallari and Nick Zano-like potential.

Zac Efron realized a few weeks ago that girls don't have cooties.

Even since then, he says the on-screen chemistry between himself and Vanessa Hudgens has been going as strong as the popularity of their show, High School Musical.

"For all of the partner things, me and Vanessa always got paired up," Efron, who is now dating his 18-year-old co-star, told reporters at a Disney Channel event in Los Angeles over the weekend.

"I was like, 'They're not trying us with other people.' For some reason we kept sticking around [for callbacks]. I don't know what it was with Vanessa, but we kind of clicked from the very beginning," People magazine reported Efron as saying.

The pair is now working the same magic off the set, threatening to unseat Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo as Hollywood's cutest couple.

Last week they got cozy at the L.A. premiere of Hairspray, in which Efron plays hunky Link Larkin. The couple watched the film together and held hands as they worked their way through the afterparty on the UCLA campus.

At the Disney Channel event, held to promote High School Musical 27, Efron revealed that he is almost as much of a fitness freak as Lindsay Lohan is a sex freak.

"I definitely like to stay active," he told People. "When I was younger, I was always outside playing sports. There's better things to do than sitting on the couch. I love hiking. If it gets me outside, if it gets me moving, then I love doing it."

Ashley Tisdale, another High School Musical alum, can vouch for Efron's health-conscious side.

"He was me and Vanessa's trainer on the first movie," Tisdale said. "It was so funny because he'd go, 'Do you really want to eat all those carbs?' And we were so scared, so we'd eat the carbs without him knowing, because he'd get on our case. It was fun."

Also fun? Efron's next project: a remake of the dance movie Footloose, in which he plays the Kevin Bacon character â€" a project he says he's honored to be involved in.

"It's iconic," he says. "It's got some amazing music. It would be an honor to make that film again and put my own flair on it. I'm really excited to get started. I can't wait."

Sounds like how we feel about Britney Spears in Playboy. You know it's coming to that.

Zac Efron is a busy, young Hollywood star.

Somehow, though, the star of High School Musical finds time to whisper sweet nothings into the ear of Vanessa Hudgens, star in big-time summer movies and pump some serious iron.

Below, the actor that appears alongside Ashley Tisdale on screen is appearing to work up a sweat on the bench press at a 24 Hour Fitness Gym on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Yes, that's Zac Efron pumping iron. Swoon away, girls.

Where does he get the energy from? Imagine if Britney Spears had this sort of stamina. She could party 24 hours a day!

Moreover, Efron and the rest of the cast of Hairspray made a brief appearance on last night's episode of So You Think You Can Dance. We've got the clip in our celebrity gossip video section.

And let's just say the young Z puts back-up dancer Kevin Federline to shame...

Who cares that John Travolta is playing a woman in the new movie version of Hairspray?

The real news at Tuesday night's premiere in L.A. was that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were seen cuddling in public. There's little doubt this is the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of the teen set.

People magazine was on the scene as Efron - who plays hunky Link Larkin in the film - and his High School Musical co-star arrived separately to the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, but reunited once inside and cozied up to watch the movie with the rest of the Hairspray cast, including Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Afterwards, the couple with the best nickname in Hollywood (sorry, Gyllenhaarsgaard) held hands as they navigated their way through the afterparty at the Ackerman Union on the UCLA campus.

Each Hairspray star had his or her own table. At Efron's, he and Hudgens were joined by their fellow High School Musical alum, Ashley Tisdale. But Zac barely had time to socialize as he was bombarded by fans requesting photos and autographs.

The life of a teenage hunk is far from easy. It's something Jayden James Federline has time to prepare for, at least.

Meanwhile, Hudgens and Tisdale chatted up Hairspray star Amanda Bynes, grabbed some grub and danced to the live band's rendition of "Proud Mary." Once in a while they'd check back in at Efron's table, where his mother, Starla, and Tisdale's mother, Lisa, were also seated.

Tisdale was awfully impressed by her pal's performance in the movie.

"He's hot!" she told People. "I remember when he got this role, I was like, 'That's so cool.' He reminds me of a young John Travolta."

Uh-oh. Might Ashley be making a move on Zac? Keep an eye out, Vanessa Hudgens.

Is Zanessa in trouble?

High School Musical star Zac Efron is seen here kissing someone... who is NOT girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens. Is this ultra cute young couple on the outs?

Of course not. The girl in question here is Nikki Blonsky, Efron's co-star in the movie Hairspray. The peck is all in the name of good fun and publicity, as fans of Zanessa needn't worry that this couple is going the way of Paul Sculfor and Jennifer Aniston any time soon.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Celebrity gossip rumors have been swirling that these two will be pulling a Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo. No, they won't be having sex in a hot tub.

But they may be moving in together sometime in the near future.

It's okay, Vanessa Hudgens. You boy Zac Efron is only smooching Nikki Blonsky here in jest. He still loves you a lot.

While such news may upset those who believe Efron's true love is actually Ashley Tisdale, we're happy for Zac and Vanessa. They seem perfect for one another.

They're as opposite as you can get from Anne Heche and Coley Laffoon.