Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show
Artist- Various
Nickelodeon
have really jumped on the Disney bandwagon in producing hit TV shows with a
music led narrative that leads itself to the release of albums of music. This
album was the first music release from the hit TV show Victorious. With the
program sadly ending after four seasons, I take a look back at the first
release to see why the music was as popular as it was.
Track 1- Make It Shine
Opening track Make It shine is a simple pop track
that acted as the show’s theme tune. Lyrically the track is clichéd but
inspirational teen orientated lyrics that find singer Victoria Justice singing
to us of her reserved and nervous feelings, but at the end of the day you
should just go for your dreams and eventually things will be great for you. The
track is light and fun and finds the singer giving us a smooth and light vocal
performance that is reinforced by the use of Auto Tune and which feels very
much like Justice is indeed shining. The production of the track features a
steady drum machine bass with heavy synthesisers and so use of a gritty
electric guitar to give the song this vibrant electro pop energy, and so this
song is just and infectiously enjoyable tune that is perfectly catered for the
programs target demographic.
3.5/5
Track 2- Freak the Freak Out
Justice first Billboard Hot 100 charting track and
the highest charting single release from the album, Freak the Freak Out is
another teen orientated electro pop tune with slightly more of a rock edge.
Lyrically the track is thematically centered around managing relationships,
with Justice putting on the role of a girl trying to get the attention of her
partner who doesn’t seem to listen. The songs lyrical concept has a nice
storytelling quality and the chorus is catchy in terms of its straightforward
essence, although the ‘whoa’ hook is too clichéd. Justice gives us a vibrant
vocal performance that has a bit more of a feisty tone than the previous song
but which is still light and enjoyable. The relentless beats and synthesized
instruments of the production gives the song a focused and fun dance quality,
and so this is another track that is structured well and astutely commercially
orientated.
3.5/5
Track 3- Best Friend’s Brother
Lyrically focusing on the idea of Justice crushing
on her friend’s brother but not pursuing the crush for the sake of the
friendship, Best Friends Brother features a writing credit from Justice herself
and has a rougher and slightly more dance orientated sound than the previous
single. The lyrics are cute but feel a bit too girly and simple, and so the
song primarily would only be good for the main demographic of the TV show in
terms of teenage girls. Vocally Justice gives a flirtatious tone to the verses,
but the chorus feels like she is over singing and shows the weakness of her
voice through the use of Auto Tune. The rough sound of the production with
forceful electric guitar and punchy dance orientated beats is a vibrant sound
that you can roll your head around to, but on the whole this song is too
clichéd and doesn’t have the slightly more universal appeal of the two previous
songs.
2.5/5
Track 4- Beggin’ on Your Knees
Going back to a lighter sound than the previous
track, this is another fun dance and teen pop song that finds Justice in a
fierce state of mind as she lyrically seeks vengeance on her boyfriend for his
relationship with another girl. The song has a vibrant energy that is great in
the way that the lyrics and vocals really build to a forceful chorus that is
very catchy, with Justice giving us her strongest vocal performance on the
record so far. The song is also cool in the way it is fierce but still very youthful
and fun, with the production giving the song a nice sound that is based in this
looping guitar riff and heavily synthesized dance beats. This is much more of a
polished fun number and brings the record back to a more fun and less clumsy
feeling quality.
3.5/5
Track 5- All I Want Is Everything
Initially featuring more of an acoustic based sound
than the previous track in terms of the use of stirring strings, All I Want Is
Everything quickly develops into another fun electro pop tune with slightly
more of a pop rock tinge. Lyrically the track finds the singer finding that
things are clearing and she is just going to give her all and just wants
everything in life to feel alive. The lyrical content isn’t as great here as
song borders on Justice being this spoiled girl who just wants everything rather
than an aspirational lady. The vocal performance is light and fun but is too
fast paced for the singer and doesn’t quite pull off the whole vibrant and goal
achieving persona that you want. Whilst the production is interesting with the
use of an orchestra, the song quickly dissolves into typical teen pop territory
with the use of dance beats, and so this song just feels catered for teenage
girls whose musical tastes don’t stretch far.
2/5
Track 6- You’re the Reason
Opening with a funky, more acoustic production
before being joined by the slightly more frenzied electro bass line, this song
is a light pop tune that can be seen as a love song. Lyrically the song focuses
on Justice telling this person how they make her feel confident and just great,
and they really need to know the role they have in her life. The songs lyrical
message is sweet and clichéd, whilst the vocal performance is light and cute
but doesn’t have a complete sense of originality. The songs production has a
peppy energy with the use of more acoustically driven instruments, and so
whilst it is typical pop for teenagers, the song is strong on this record in
terms of the diversity that it offers.
3/5
Track 7- Give It Up
The first track on the record not to feature
Victoria Justice, this track is sung by cast members Ariana Grande and
Elizabeth Gillies. The song is another pop orientated tune, but the song is
different as it has a little bit of an urban twist. The lyrics of the song find
the girls in a very girly frame of mind as they sing to this guy who they like
and who should just give it up and listen to his feelings. The track has a
flirtatious edge that marks it out against the other tracks, and the girls
vocals are a bit more powerful and attention grabbing than Justice, with the
duo blending nicely in terms of harmonies. The production of the track features
a strong electric guitar bass and a kind of funky rhythm that feels unique on
the record, and so this is a strong musical offering that gives the record some
nice variation.
3.5/5
Track 8- I Want You Back
A cover of the Jackson Five and the first song on
the album to be completely credited as the Victorious track, I Want You Back
sticks very closely to the original and is a simple pop cover. The track finds
Victoria Justice taking a central role vocally, with her performance being light
but lacking the real charisma needed for this song, whilst the rest of the cast
provide smooth and soulful background vocals and harmonies. The song simply
features a more pop driven sound than the original version in terms of the
clattering piano melody and peppy, synthesized beats, and so this is a nice
light cover but only works for people who aren’t really that familiar with the
original song (i.e. the TV shows target audience).
2.5/5
Track 9- Song 2 You
The first of the album lite piano ballads is a sweet
song sung by the shows cast members Victoria Justice and Leon Thomas. Lyrically
the track focuses on the idea of not being the best person in terms of designer
clothes and material things, but they have a nice heart and give this girl this
song. The track is light and cute with vocal performances that blend well
together and have a heartfelt quality, but the song’s lyrics feel very clichéd,
and although the bridge is powerful in terms of the vibrant electric guitar,
the rest of the songs sound just feels like typical teen pop rock with the
steady drum beats and light electro orientated beats, and so this is just
another catered for one type of market track.
2/5
Track 10- Tell Me You Love Me
Another lite pop piano ballad, this track finds
Victoria Justice singing once again with Leon Thomas, but this time she takes a
central role vocally. The song finds the duo singing to this person about how
they know they have been hurt in the past, but if they admit there love
everything will be all round. The cute simplicity of the tracks lyrics is nice
and more catchy than the previous tune, even though the songs lyrical message
is something that is typically recycled in pop. The duo once again blend
together nicely, but with the preppiness of the production with the simple pop
piano melody that track feels slightly more powerful, and so this is definitely
a better piano pop ballad.
3.5/5
Track 11- Finally Falling
At first you think this is another pop piano ballad,
but then the feisty drum machine bassline kicks in and the track develops into
this simple pop rock orientated tune that brings the record back to this firm,
up tempo state. The track lyrically focuses on Victoria Justice as this girl
who finally sees things clearly and doesn’t care what other people think,
because she has finally fallen in love. The simple tone of the sound production
is preppy and bouncy and so just feels infectious, with the sweetness of the
tracks lyrics being quite catchy. The vocal performance is also just light and
sweet, and so definitely makes the track more believable.
3.5/5
Track 12- Leave It All to Shine
The album ends with a mash up of the show’s theme
tune with the theme tune of another hit Nickelodeon TV show, ICarly. The songs
theme tunes are also nice in their own way, but this mash up feels designed
purely for the fans of the show and doesn’t work as an actual cool track in its
own right
2/5
Final Review
This record is largely commercial orientated dance,
electro and teen pop music that caters well for the shows audience, but can’t
translate to a wider audience. However the songs that are here are for the most
part expertly crafted, with catchy lyrics, enjoyable vocals and astute pop
production that is just infectiously fun, and so as far as teen orientated
music shows go, this is a strong offering that is potentially among the best.
5.5/10
Best Track- Beggin’ on Your Knees
Worst Track- All I Want Is Everything
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