Ashley’s changing her tune

Although Ashley Tisdale recently turned 24, in some people’s eyes, she’s still that scheming, platinum-blond teen diva from the Disney trilogy “High School Musical.”

She’s trying her best to change that. Tisdale recently traded in her light tresses for a return to her dark brown roots, and the cover of her new album, “Guilty Pleasure,” features her in a tight black skirt and semi-revealing top.

But she’s not trying to make a dramatic break from her youthful image. She appears in the new kid’s movie “Aliens in the Attic,” and says she still wants to keep her “High School Musical” fans.

“I’m not trying to run away from my fans at all,” she says. “I want them to grow with me.”

Q: What are the challenges in trying to create your own identity apart from the character Sharpay in the “High School Musical” series?

A: I wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for those projects, but I feel that dyeing my hair back to its original color … it does separate me from that in a way, because everybody really knows me as the blond bubbly character, and this is a different side.

Q: There’s so much focus on young female stars to see if they will mess up. Does that put pressure on you?

A: I don’t drink and I don’t smoke. … I like to have fun but my fun is different from other people’s fun. Just because I live in L.A .doesn’t mean I have to have a Hollywood life.

Q: Would you do a “High School Musical 4,” “5” or “10”?

A: I feel like we graduated (laughs) … I think that they should definitely keep going with the franchise because it makes so many people happy and for the fans … but there comes a time to move on, and I feel like this is the time to go out and do other things.

The birthday bunch

Singer Tony Bennett is 83. Actor Martin Sheen is 69. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 68. Director John Landis is 59. Actor Jay North (“Dennis the Menace”) is 58. Actor Isaiah Washington is 46. Actress Evangeline Lilly (“Lost”) is 30.