2000s: Breakthrough with Disney
Two of Song's early roles led to recognition in the Young Artist Awards. Her role in the 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie, The Ultimate Christmas Present, won her the award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie Comedy, Supporting Young Actress". The film centers on two teenage girls, Allison Thompson (Hallee Hirsh) and Samantha Kwan (Song), who find a weather machine and make it snow in Los Angeles. Her 2002 appearance on The Bernie Mac Show led to her nomination for "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series, Guest Starring Young Actress". In the same year, she was in the 20th Century Fox family film Like Mike, which grossed over $60 million. The film stars rapper Bow Wow as an orphan who can suddenly play NBA-level basketball. Song portrays the character Reg Stevens, a thirteen-year-old orphan.
In 2002, Song signed a contract with Disney and appeared in the Disney Channel movie Get a Clue (alongside Lindsay Lohan). Song continued to make guest appearances in Disney sitcoms such as That's So Raven and One on One. She had a recurring role as Tia in the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future, appearing in seven episodes of the series in 2004 and 2005. In Summer 2004, Song starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Stuck in the Suburbs, portraying Natasha Kwon-Schwartz. The television premiere received 3.7 million viewers. The film is about two teenage girls living in suburbia who accidentally exchange cell phones with a famous teen singer. At age 15, she received an early acceptance letter from Harvard University that she turned down. Speaking of the time, she said, "My mom got breast cancer for the first time, I booked Suite Life, and I was accepted into the college I'd always wanted to go to." Her father encouraged her to take the role on Suite Life.
In 2005, Song began appearing in the role of spoiled heiress London Tipton in the Disney Channel Original Series, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The role was initially named "Paris" in an allusion to Paris Hilton. She got the role without an audition Song says, "London is my fantasy person, I wish I could be her. I wish I had her closet." The series is about the residents and workers at the fictional Tipton Hotel in Boston and mainly centers around the trouble-making twins, Zack and Cody Martin (Dylan and Cole Sprouse). The series premiered on the Disney Channel on March 18, 2005, receiving four million viewers, making it the most successful premiere for the Disney Channel in 2005. The series earned a 2007 Young Artist Award for "Best Family Television Series (comedy)", Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Children's Program" (twice) and "Outstanding Choreography", and three Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award nominations for "Favorite TV show" in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2006 Song earned an Asian Excellence Award nomination for "Outstanding Newcomer" for her part in the series.
After her debut on the Suite Life series, Song became a regular on the Disney Channel, and had a voice role in Disney Channel's American Dragon: Jake Long series. In 2006, Song had a voice-over role in Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen. She later starred in an online series called London Tipton's Yay Me!. Song was part of the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, a group of performers from several different Disney Channel television series. She was featured in the recording and music video of a version of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", which was included on the special edition Cinderella platinum edition DVD and on the DisneyMania 4 CD, released in April 2006. In the Suite Life High School Musical-themed episode, Song performed "Bop To The Top" and "Really Great". "Really Great" became the theme song for the online series, London Tipton's Yay Me!. She sang "Bling Is My Favourite Thing" on another Suite Life episode. In these episodes, Song purposefully sang poorly in character as London Tipton. In 2008, Ian Scott wrote and produced demo songs for her, credited to Mark Jackson Productions.Song's first starring role as the title character was in the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, which had over 5.7 million viewers at its premiere. Song was originally planned to play a supporting role, but was offered the lead after starting training in martial arts. Lydia Cook, one of the films's directors, said, "She had the perfect combination of wit and martial arts." The film was about a Chinese-American teenager whose life is turned upside down by a visit from a young Chinese monk (Shin Koyamada); it also deals with Wendy's culture and heritage. Disney Channel executive vice president Gary Marsh called the film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and said of Song: "She's incredibly talented, she's smart. She adds diversity to our network, and she's a real kid." Song felt she could relate to the character's struggles with her heritage since she knew little about her own people before making the film. To promote the film, she posed for the cover of Seventeen, Teen People, Teen, Seventeen Malaysia, and several other magazines, and traveled to Malaysia, Singapore, and Costa Rica. The film received positive reviews from critics. UltimateDisney.com called the film "a great showcase of talent in both acting and martial for Brenda Song." Allmovie described Song as a "charming and appealing personality". Song did most of her own stunt work for the film, with guidance from Koichi Sakamoto. According to The New York Times, the film became a "star vehicle" for Song.
Song reprised her role as London Tipton in the Suite Life spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck. The show's premiere on the Disney Channel drew 5.7 million viewers, and it became the most-watched series premiere on Canada's Family Channel. Disney ordered second and third seasons for the series. Song also starred as Paige in an animated television special for NBC, "Macy's Presents Little Spirit: Christmas in New York". In late 2008, Song made a special appearance at the grand opening of the RTA HealthLine in Cleveland. In May 2009, the cast of 'The Suite Life' became Disney Channel's longest running continuous characters on air. MSN's 2009 cover story on the series stated: "Song is one of the main reasons why the "Suite Life" franchise remains one of the most successful and highly rated series in the Disney stable." Also in 2009, she starred in the telefilm Special Delivery, a film about a bonded courier, Maxine (Lisa Edelstein) and a troubled teen, Alice (Song). The Daily Record called it a "likeable comedy". The Australian publication Urban CineFilm gave Song a positive review for her performance in the film. Song also appeared in the theatrical film College Road Trip with Raven-Symoné and Martin Lawrence.
