Lovato, JoBros are happy campers in 'Camp Rock 2'

Disney Channel's "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam" (Friday night at 8), a sequel to the 2008 hit "Camp Rock," reunites the Jonas Brothers as the band Connect 3, with Demi Lovato as Mitchie. The summer camp-set movie features fledgling, chaste romances and the lesson that leadership requires cooperation and hard work.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The plot pitches talented teens against other talented teens, culminating in a singing and dancing competition with high stakes. Camp Rock is for kids who want to be rock stars. A rival rock-wannabe camp, Camp Star, sets up business across the lake and threatens Camp Rock's existence.

The camp owner is on the brink of closing Camp Rock as counselors and kids defect to Camp Star, but Mitchie rallies the troops to save the sweet, no-frills camp they love.

(An interesting aside is that the audience watching the competition at the end of the movie is made up of real fans. They were found when the Jonas Brothers and Lovato Twittered the need for extras. Within three minutes, 60,000 people had applied for the 1,500 slots, says a Disney publicist, and by that night, the traffic had reached 1 million, crashing the server.)

DEMI IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Lovato ("Sonny With a Chance"), whom the channel has been grooming for stardom, is aggressively earnest as she sings and dances. Though there's plenty for JoBro fans to enjoy, this is Lovato's movie.

"This was the first film I was not totally overshadowed by them," Lovato says from a Manhattan hotel room. "Going into the film, I knew this time would be different. I couldn't get away with not doing my best performance.

"Dancing is something I have always been passionate about," Lovato adds. "I started with jazz, tap and ballet, and when I hit about 10, I started taking hip-hop."

She can also belt a number, evident as Mitchie leads everyone in "Brand New Day," a catchy tune co-written by Kara DioGuardi of "American Idol" fame.

Lovato, who has been touring with the Jonas Brothers, was thrust into the frenzy swirling around the brothers.

"Their fans are supportive, and they are supportive of me," she says.