Everyone remembers Selena, Demi, Miley, the Jonas Brothers and the rest of the musical Disney Channel stars who have monopolized the airwaves, but let's look past the Disney machine to its not-quite-as-successful counterpart, Nickelodeon. A studio with just as many pop star offerings that deserve a spotlight. There are plenty of now forgotten hits by Nickelodeon stars and its time we remember that Nick was just as immovable in their demands that their young talent cover as many media genres as possible.
Nickelodeon pop stars may not have collectively reached the same level of success as the Mouse House (excepting Ariana Grande who has obviously made a name for herself post-Nick), but they had some catchy tunes among them. Songs from Nickelodeon stars like Keke Palmer, Drake Bell, Emma Roberts, and Miranda Cosgrove remind us of what a weird place the 2000s were for young adult entertainment. Marvel at these cringe-inducing offerings from your favorite Nickelodeon pop stars.
If there's any, forgive the pun, justice in the world, Victoria Justice will be remembered for the petty outburst that fell from her mouth on-camera when Ariana Grande was getting more attention than her and not for her music. We did get a truly great meme out of the former. But Justice gave a singing career a go, as most Nickelodeon starlets were want to do, and did not succeed.
Her offering to the world was the cringe-inducingly titled "Freak the Freak Out." The video features fellow Victorious cast members and sounds like a song written for one of Degrassi's in-universe bands.
Ariana Grande has had, by far, the most successful post-Nickelodeon singing career in memory. But some of her earlier hits are a little bit slept on. Her 2013 album, Yours Truly, had some great '90s-tinged, mini-Mariah Carey sounding bops that deserve to be as well-remembered today as "Problem" or "Side to Side." Take, for example, "The Way." This tune also features her future boyfriend Mac Miller providing us with a rap verse that references the movie Bruce Almighty.
School of Rock's band manager and iCarly star Cosgrove came at the world with "About You Now" in 2009, a year after pop culture died in 2008. The song peaked at number 8 in the US charts but she hasn't managed to generate a hit since. Maybe she's sticking to acting. What else do Nick stars do after they grow out of kid sitcoms?
"Santa Tell Me" is a slept-on, should-be-Christmas classic. This song needs for more attention and should be blasted on all Christmas playlists. Ariana has already proven she has the same if not more chops than Christmas Queen Mariah. Come December, this should be played proudly and loudly alongside "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and "Last Christmas."
McCurdy's probably a bit more famous these days for her feud with former Sam & Cat co-star Ariana Grande, but back in 2011 she tried her hand at kick starting a country music career. McCurdy deviated from the pop-tinged genre stylings most Nickelodeon actors favored and released "Generation Love" - a song that consisted of her lamenting about the state of the current generation.
It was a little "you kids better get off my lawn!" in tone. Maybe she was trying to appeal to a country-loving older crowd?
Have you ever heard anything that sounds more 2007 than this song? "Bottoms Up," from Palmer's 2007 debut album So Uncool, is either a song about drinking alcohol or putting one's butt up into the air. Sung by 13-year-old. Dubious age appropriateness aside, it's a great song and deserves more recognition.
