Zip-a-KNEE-do-dah? On the heels of Olivia Rodrigo’s newest music video, “Good 4 U,” a new phenomenon seems to have sprung up. Well, it’s more like fans have finally put a name to something in the Disney canon that’s a tale as old as time: the pop star stance known as “Disney knees.”
“Someone said ‘Disney Knees’ so I had to do my research,” one fan wrote on Twitter, sharing screenshots of the likes of Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Hilary Duff all using a similar pose: collapsed in at the knees as they dramatically belt out their respective tracks.
Other Disney stars who’ve definitely adopted the stance at one time or another during their days at Hollywood Records? Think Ashley Tisdale, Aly & AJ and Selena Gomez, back when the latter was fronting Selena Gomez and the Scene.
Another Twitter user wrote, “I saw Twitter refer to this as ‘Disney Knees’ or ‘Disknees’ today and now I am seeing it EVERYWHERE” — and it’s true. Once you notice the iconic move, you can’t un-see it. It’s everywhere from Demi belting out “This Is Me” in the finale of 2008’s Camp Rock to Miley snarling her way through the “7 Things” music video.
And while most examples cited by fans revolve around female Disney stars, it should be noted that Joe Jonas has almost certainly done the “Disney knees” at least once or twice in his career with the Jonas Brothers. (Someone give the Camp Rock movies another binge and look out for Shane Gray’s skinny jeans, STAT!)
While you head into the week blasting the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star’s latest bop — in preparation for the release of her debut album, Sour — just keep in mind that, as one fan put it, “the Disney knees legacy lives on.”
Check out plenty of Disney knees examples, below.