Nickelodeon's Victorious may have been designed as the children's network's answer to Disney Channel series and TV movies like Hannah Montana and High School Musical, but its setting in a performing arts high school sounds more like the movie, TV series, and stage musical Fame. In any case, star
Victoria Justice is fitted into standard-issue teen pop on much of this soundtrack album. Tracks like "Make It Shine (Victorious Theme)" (repeated in a different version under the title "Leave It All to Shine" by
Justice and
Miranda Cosgrove at the end) and "Freak the Freak Out" are typical of the genre, with their relentless beats, synthesized instrumentations, nonstop simple, repetitive choruses, and Auto-Tune vocals. "All I Want Is Everything," with its name-drops to
Madonna and "M.J." (
Michael Jackson), gives away the antecedents, while "Give It Up" sounds like a
Britney Spears reject. The remake of
the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" demonstrates that bubblegum pop hasn't changed much in 40 years. The lyrical themes tend toward light romance, happy and sad, and assertions of self-worth like "Song 2 You," which suggests that it's possible to be content, even without designer clothes. Of course, what really matters is what
Justice and her earnest fellow cast members look like, not what they sound like, especially given the cookie-cutter nature of this music. ~ William Ruhlmann