Jaheem Toombs isn’t just a former child actor—he’s a 23-year-old composer and lyricist who’s crafting the next generation of Disney anthems. He wrote Dream Come True, the heartfelt duet performed by Malachi Barton and Freya Skye’s Victor and Nova in ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires.
“‘Dream Come True’ is the theme of this era of life,” Jaheem tells the Pride podcast. “That song name is so fitting.”
The track, which plays during one of the film’s most emotional moments, has taken on a life of its own online. Fans are praising its throwback feel and calling it a return to the golden age of High School Musical and Camp Rock. “I was hoping that it would be nostalgic,” Jaheem says. “That’s what I had to pull from.”
To prepare, he went back and studied the greats: “I immediately went back and watched all of Troy and Gabriella’s duets and watched all of Mitchie and Shane and watched every single Disney couple that I could think of,” he says. “In my mind I was like, what made it so magical and romantic and wonderful?”
Rather than emulate, he got personal. “I literally sat down and journaled as these characters,” he explains. “It was really trying to discover and find out who Victor and Nova were.” He calls the result “on purpose, on accident, on purpose, on accident, on purpose.”
A Lifelong Love for DCOMs
Before he was writing music for Disney, Jaheem was the kind of kid who would memorize every lyric and force his family to watch his performances in the living room.
“High School Musical was my genesis,” he says. “It was my personality. I was really wild and intolerable about it. You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t Corbin Bleu.”
Those movies were more than just fun—they were a lifeline.
“I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, so those DCOMs were really, really, really formative and special for me,” he shares. “I knew that if I didn’t fit anywhere else, I was like, I can kick it with the Wildcats.”
That connection made it all the more surreal when he and his best friend, Matthew Edward Martinez, co-wrote “Over Again” for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The Season 3 ballad was performed by real-life couple Frankie Rodriguez and Joe Serafini, who play Carlos and Seb.
“They had built such a wonderful love story between Joe and Frankie on that show,” Jaheem says. “To get to even touch that a little bit was just so exciting.”
Representation Is the Real Dream
Writing queer love songs for Disney isn’t just another credit on Jaheem’s résumé—it’s deeply personal.
“I know what it would’ve meant to me,” he says. “It is just so special and wonderful that we get to tell these stories and that I get to be a part of bringing them to life.”
He praises showrunner Tim Federle for writing such a “beautiful love story” and Disney for “making it accessible for millions of children… because I’m one of them.”
“High School Musical has always given me the space to see myself,” he says. “As time goes on and we get even more expansive, it’s just so beautiful and gorgeous.”
From Bedroom Pop Star to Viral Disney Hitmaker
Now, Jaheem is watching kids around the world do exactly what he used to do—put on a show.
“This morning I saw an incredible video of a whole family,” he says. “The kid comes in the middle of the room, he goes, ‘All right, everybody get ready for the show.’ And Victor and Nova come out into the living room and perform Dream Come True. They got the cousins involved playing the pillars.”
The moment hit him hard. “That was so me,” he says, laughing. “It is just so wild to see that happening again… a song that was born under my bedroom gets to be the soundtrack to that moment for some other kid.”
Keeping the Magic Alive
Jaheem says he hopes to keep working with Disney “for the rest of my life—or as long as I’m able.”
“I hope that I can contribute more bops for [kids] to perform for their families at Sunday dinner,” he jokes. “It was so valuable to me to wake up and rewatch my favorite song and dance musical and feel like I belong somewhere. It’s so simple, but it’s so important.”
With upcoming projects like Descendants: Wicked Wonderland on the horizon, he’s just getting started. Listen to the full conversation below.
