The 18-year old co-star of the Disney smash "Hannah Montana'' is facing the moment when she transitions away from being a child star to a young adult performer.
It's a move fraught with danger for a burgeoning career, as Disney stars such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Osment's recent co-star, Miley Cyrus, already know.
Osment seems ready for it.
"It's not as hard as you think, when you have this idea of what type of music you want to play,'' said Osment, who performs on Saturday at the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning at the Solberg Airport in Readington. "I'm not
trying to have this image of the Disney girl-turned-whatever. It's music that I love, and I'm playing music that I love. It's music that I want to make, and I'm not trying to make anybody happy but me and my fans. That's what's important to me.
I'm not trying to be anybody I'm not, because that's how you lose it.''
To this point, Osment's musical output has been largely pop-oriented alt-rock. A new track, "Let's Be Friends,'' from her upcoming album, due in the fall, sees the musician delving into an electro-rock vibe.
"It's definitely more edgy,'' said Osment of her new music on the phone from a tour stop in Halifax, Canada. "It's more based on the production of music. We're trying to make it stand out.''
As for Osment's acting, it's the final lap for her and the crew on thesmash "Hannah Montana.'' Filming has concluded for the series' fourth and final season, in which the Stewart family (played by Miley and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus)
moves to a ranch. Miley has a choice of going to college with her BFF Lily Truscott (Osment) or continue her music career as Hannah Montana.
"Everybody kind of grows up in the final season,'' Osment said. "We've all matured.
We all have boyfriends and normal jobs, and everybody has new hair and clothes. The kids who have been watching the show since they were little, we showed them that we all grew up together.''
The growing includes Osment's portrayal of Lily, who's often called on to provide the show's comic relief.
"Lily was always kind of a goofy, silly character, kind of Miley's best friend and cheerleader,'' Osment said. "She didn't have her own identity until probably the second season. To figure a character out, you have to spend some time with
her. I feel like I put myself into her and added some sarcasm to her a little bit because that's definitely me.''
Osment said she'll be announcing a new acting project soon. But first, she's ready to rock … and electro rock … the Festival of Ballooning, which draws more than 175,000 each year to see the more than 125 sport and special-shaped hot air
balloons take to the skies.
"I'm really excited to play,'' Osment said. "It's going to be a really cool show.''
CONCERT SCHEDULE
Air Supply, 8 tonight
Emily Osment, 2 p.m. Saturday
George Thorogood & The Destroyers, 8 p.m. Saturday
Rick Springfield, 3 p.m. Sunday
With the impending release of "Charlie St. Cloud," the big summer weepie starring Zac Efron, it's safe to say that the actor has successfully escaped the shackles of Disney's monster franchise.
