"Freak the Freak Out" is a song performed by American actress and singer Victoria Justice, written by CJ Abraham, Michael Corcoran, Nick Hexum, Zack Hexum, and Dan Schneider, and produced by Corcoran and Abraham with Greg Wells, for the Nickelodeon television series Victorious. It was released on November 22, 2010, as the lead single from the series' soundtrack album, Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show, on which it was included as the second track.[1] It's Justice's debut single in her career.
Background and release[]
Dan Schneider, the creator of Victorious and one of the writers of the song, revelead in a Blogger post on October 16, 2010 that one-hour special episode "Freak the Freak Out" would be aired on November 26 and feature a new song of the same title, which would be released on iTunes.[2] Soon after, a trailer for the episode came out featuring part of this song.[3][4] The series' official Twitter account announced the song would be released on November 23.[5] However, it was eventually released a day earlier.[1] "Freak the Freak Out" was the second track from the show released on official music platforms, after "Make It Shine".
"Freak the Freak Out" was also available to listen to on the series' website TheSlap, on the Nickelodeon website, and on the website of Schneider's other Nickelodeon series, iCarly.[6][7][8] The song was confirmed for inclusion on the first soundtrack album, originally announced for release on July 12, 2011, however the date was pushed back for unknown reasons.[9] Columbia Records and Nickelodeon later confirmed it would be the second track on the album, released under the title Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show on August 2.[10]
In the series[]
"Freak the Freak Out"[]
"Freak the Freak Out" was first performed by Tori Vega (portrayed by Victoria Justice) in the episode of the same title that premiered on November 26, 2010. Jade West (portrayed by Elizabeth Gillies) and Cat Valentine (portrayed by Ariana Grande) are banned from singing in Karaoke Dokie after they lose the contest against Hayley Ferguson (portrayed by Jillian Clare) and Tara Ganz (portrayed by Jamie Snow), who only won because Hayley's father owns the bar, despite their poor vocal skills and that the crowd enjoyed Jade and Cat's performance more. In revenge, Jade and Cat challenge them anyone in the bar will impress the audience more. Hayley and Tara choose Tori, who's dressed-up as an unatractive nerdy girl under the name Louise Nordoff. While singing, Tori reveales herself, surprising everyone, especially Hayley and Tara. After her performance, the audience applaudes Tori more.
"Tori Goes Platinum"[]
The song was performed a second time by Miranda Sings (alter-ego portrayed by Colleen Ballinger in real life) in the episode "Tori Goes Platinum" (the same episode "5 Fingaz to the Face", "Cheer Me Up", and "Make It in America" were performed), that premiered on May 19, 2012. She sings part of the chorus on the audition video for the song contest held by Mason Thornesmith (portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy). However, he doesn't appear to like her performance.
When the episode is split into two parts, a longer version of Miranda's performance is used during the closing credits of the first part. Additionally, the instrumental version of the song appears at the end of the first part when they show what will happen in the next one, and at the beginning of the second part during the recap sequence.
TheSlap[]
The song appeared in two clips on TheSlap. The first clip named Angry Freak Out was uploaded in September 2011 on Tori's profile and features her, Jade, Cat, Beck Oliver (portrayed by Avan Jogia), Robbie Shapiro (portrayed by Matt Bennett), André Harris (portrayed by Leon Thomas III), and Rex Powers (voiced by Jake Farrow) in her house, where everyone scream the song's lyrics to each other to its instrumental version heard in background, until Rex messes-up the lyrics. The second clip was uploaded in November 2011 on Rex's profile, which was the fourth video of the segment named Rex Sings, during which he covers the song and Tori appears jumping on the ball.
Composition and reception[]
AllMusic's William Ruhlmann mentioned "Freak the Freak Out", along with the album's previous track, "Make It Shine", is "typical of the teen pop genre due to its relentless beats, synthesized instrumentations, nonstop simple, repetitive choruses, and Auto-Tune vocals".[11] Tiger Beat published a favorable opinion, stating "The song has such a catchy and fun beat to it. It's definitely something we need to get on our mp3 players ASAP!".[12] In an article from 2014, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard wrote "Freak the Freak Out" "deserves to be re-discovered as a highly campy, totally transfixing single", also claiming this song, "Beggin' on Your Knees", and "Best Friend's Brother" reveal more about Victoria Justice's musical abilities than her then-latest single, "Gold".[13] Megan Gaertner of Her Campus placed the song on the fourth place of the best songs from Victorious, writing it's "another great bop. This one was and still is a great one to jam out to with you besties."[14]
Commercial performance[]
- Main article: Freak the Freak Out/Charts
In the United States, "Freak the Freak Out" was Victoria Justice's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, debuting in the week of December 18, 2010.[15] After being sold in 79,000 copies in the week ending January 15, 2011, it peaked at number 50, the highest of all songs by Justice.[16] The song spent a total of six weeks on this chart, also the longest of Justice's songs.[15] The single spent seven weeks and reached number 41 on the Digital Songs chart.[17] It also appeared on three now-discontinued charts: Heatseekers Songs, where it peaked at number one and spent four weeks; Kid Digital Song Sales, where it peaked at number six and spent 64 weeks; and Pop Digital Song Sales, where it peaked at number 21 and spent 11 weeks.[18][19][20] On June 11, "Freak the Freak Out" received a gold certification by Recording Industry Association of America, after selling 500,000 units in the country, becoming Justice's first song to be certified.[21] As of November 15, the song has been sold over 600,000 digital copies there.[22]
"Freak the Freak Out" was Justice's second song (after "Make It Shine") to appear on the chart in the Commonwealth of Independent States, reaching number 235 and spending five weeks.[23] It's her only song to chart in Australia, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. On the UK Singles Chart, "Freak the Freak Out" was at number 176 for one week.[24] In Ukraine, where the chart is based on airplay, "Freak the Freak Out" peaked at number 235 and spent a total of four weeks. In Russia, where the chart is also measured by radio play, the song spent a total of four weeks, peaking at number 726 in one of the weeks.[23] The single didn't appear on the main ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart in Australia, but appeared on the smaller ARIA Top 20 Hitseekers Singles Chart, where it spent eight weeks in total and reached seventh place.[25][26]
Music video[]
Victoria Justice tweeted she was learning choreography for the music video on October 30, 2010.[27] In the tweet from November 5, Justice mentioned she had just finished dance reherseal and the video would be filmed the next day.[28] The video was directed by Marcus Wagner and premiered two weeks later (three days before the song's official release).[29] The video features Justice recording a song in the studio, and having fun with the rest of the main cast of Victorious in a club, dancing individually in the center of the circle of partying people and at the DJ booth. In this video there's a shorter version of the song that was uploaded on the singer's SoundCloud account on July 14, 2011.[30]
The director's cut exists and is longer than the original version. There is an additional dialogue at the beginning, which is not shown in the original version of the clip, with Justice talking to someone on the phone and asking why that person is not coming, before finally entering the club alone, where she meets a cast of the series. There are scenes with Justice talking on the phone through this version, but those with her singing in the studio are removed, however.
Live performances[]
"Freak the Freak Out" was performed live by Victoria Justice for the first time on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 2010.[31] It was later performed as the second song of the setlist during the Victorious: Walmart Soundcheck concert on May 26, 2011. Justice performed "Freak the Freak Out" at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Citadel Outlets on November 19, 2011. She sang the single at Dream Halloween on October 27, 2012, raising funds for the Keep a Child Alive organization.[32] "Freak the Freak Out" was the first song in the setlist of Justice's 2013 second concert tour, Summer Break Tour.
Contest[]
Due to gaining 40,000 subscribers on YouTube, Victoria Justice announced her first contest on January 29, 2011, sponsored by Columbia Records. People entering the competition had to be at least 13 years old, resident in the United States, and subscribe Justice's YouTube channel. The competition task was to upload on YouTube a video of one to three minutes of doing anything creative or fun, such as singing or dancing, to "Freak the Freak Out" and fill out the contest form on a specially created website victoriajustice.crowdsurf.net. First place was to win a chance to meet Justice and travel with a companion on the set of the new music video, two round trip airline tickets (economy coach class) from the major airport nearest winner's hometown to an airport in Los Angeles (with a note that if the winner live within 1,000 miles of Los Angeles sponsor may substitute ground transportation in lieu of air transportation), two night's hotel accommodation, and ground transportation in Los Angeles; Second place was to win the Flip Cam autographed by Justice; Third place was to win Skype chat with her; Fourth place was to win the video shout out from Justice; Fifth place was to win an autographed photo wih Victorious cast. All winners were also to get an autographed "Freak the Freak Out" poster.[33] The contest ended on February 21 with over 700 entries.[9][34] The playlist with the contest winners' videos was available on Justice's channel, along with a cover by its winner, Drew Tabor.[35]
Credits[]
- Personnel
- CJ "The Super Chris" Abraham – Background vocals, engineer, producer, programmer, writer
- Michael "Backhouse Mike" Corcoran – Background vocals, engineer, guitar, producer, programmer, writer
- Brian Gardner – Mastering engineer
- Nick Hexum – Background vocals, writer
- Zack Hexum – Background vocals, writer
- Victoria Justice – Lead vocals
- Dan Schneider – Writer
- Niki Watkins – Background vocals
- Greg Wells – Additional producer, mixing engineer
- Recording and management
- Engineered at the Backhouse (Los Angeles, California)
- Mixed at Rocket Carousel (Los Angeles, California)
- Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
- Published by Tunes by Nickelodeon Inc., administered by Sony/ATV Harmony (ASCAP); Hydroponic Music (BMI); Mmm Assetco LP (BMI); Music by Nickelodeon Inc. (BMI)[36]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Are you listening?
Hear me talk, hear me sing
Open up the door
Is it less, is it more?
When you tell me to beware
Are you here? Are you there?
Is it something I should know?
Easy come, easy go
[Pre-chorus 1]
Nodding your head
Don't hear a word I said
I can't communicate
When you wait, don't relate
I try to talk to you
But you never even knew
So, what's it gonna be?
Tell me, can you hear me?
[Chorus]
I'm so sick of it
Your attention deficit
Never listen, you never listen
I'm so sick of it
So I'll throw another fit
Never listen, you never listen
I scream your name
It always stays the same
I scream and shout
So what I'm gonna do now
Is freak the freak out (hey)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
[Verse 2]
Patience running thin
Running thin, come again
Tell me what I get
Opposite, opposite
Show me what is real
If it breaks, does it heal?
Open up your ear
Why you think that I'm here?
[Pre-chorus 2]
Keep me in the dark
Are you even thinking of me?
Is someone else above me?
Gotta know, gotta know
What am I gonna do?
'Cause I can't get through to you
So, what's it gonna be?
Tell me, can you hear me?
(Can you hear me?)
[Chorus]
I'm so sick of it
Your attention deficit
Never listen, you never listen
I'm so sick of it
So I'll throw another fit
Never listen, you never listen
I scream your name
It always stays the same
I scream and shout
So what I'm gonna do now
Is freak the freak out (hey)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
[Bridge]
Easy come, easy go (hey)
Easy come, easy go
(Can you hear me?)
[Chorus]
I scream your name
It always stays the same
I scream and shout
So what I'm gonna do now
Is freak the freak out (hey)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
[Outro]
(Freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
I scream your name
(Freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
But you never listen
(Freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
No, you never listen
(Freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
But you never listen
[Verse]
Are you listening?
Hear me talk, hear me sing
Open up the door
Is it less, is it more?
When you tell me to beware
Are you here? Are you there?
Is it something I should know?
Easy come, easy go
[Pre-chorus]
Nodding your head
Don't hear a word I said
I can't communicate
When you wait, don't relate
I try to talk to you
But you never even knew
So, what's it gonna be?
Tell me, can you hear me?
(Can you hear me?)
[Chorus]
I'm so sick of it
Your attention deficit
Never listen, you never listen
I'm so sick of it
So I'll throw another fit
Never listen, you never listen
I scream your name
It always stays the same
I scream and shout
So what I'm gonna do now
Is freak the freak out (hey)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
[Bridge]
Easy come, easy go
(Can you hear me?)
[Chorus]
I scream your name
It always stays the same
I scream and shout
So what I'm gonna do now
Is freak the freak out (hey)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-oh
[Outro]
(Freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
I scream your name
(Freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
But you never listen
(Freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
No, you never listen
(Freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out, freak the freak out)
But you never listen
Trivia[]
- "Freak the Freak Out" is the longest track on Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show.
- During the interview with Seventeen, Victoria Justice answered her favorite song from the album is between "Freak the Freak Out" and "Best Friend's Brother".[37]
- In an MTV video about the highlights of her career, Justice stated "Freak the Freak Out" could have had the biggest impact in her life of all the music she recorded due to its popularity.
- The song appeared several times on the iTunes chart, once reaching number 14.[38] In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 77 on the platform.[39]
- It was the name of TheSlap game Freak the Freak Out: Confused Karaoke, which tested the knowledge of the lyrics.
- "Freak the Freak Out" was included on two 2012 compilation albums: Universal Music Australia's 10 Years of Total Girl – Party Playlist and Sony Music's Divinity Jukebox.[40][41]
- It appears in the Nickelodeon Essentials playlist on Apple Music, along with "Make It Shine", "Take a Hint", "Beggin' on Your Knees", and "Best Friend's Brother".[42]
- It also appears in two playlists on Spotify:
- Nickelodeon Superstars, along with "Gold", "Take a Hint", "Leave It All to Shine", "Make It in America", "Make It Shine", and "Song 2 You".[43]
- The Best of Victorious, created by TeenNick, along with other 12 songs by Justice.[44]
- Matt Bennett and Ariana Grande covered this song and "All I Want Is Everything" on Instagram Stories while at Disneyland in 2020.[45] Bennett also played "Freak the Freak Out" on his DJ concerts.[46]
- Nathan Kress and Noah Munck performed "Freak the Freak Out" in a video on the website of iCarly, as their characters Freddie Benson and Gibby Gibson, respectively. Cree Cicchino also sang it in the episode "Demolition Doll House" of Game Shakers, playing Babe Carano. Both iCarly and Game Shakers are Dan Schneider's Nickelodeon series as well.
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://music.apple.com/us/album/freak-the-freak-out-feat-victoria-justice-single/402314148
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101021003313/https://danwarp.blogspot.com/2010/10/major-new-icarly-victorious-episodes.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/VictoriaJustice/status/29028804495
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101124142743/https://danwarp.blogspot.com/2010/11/freak-freak-out-official-music-video.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Victorious/status/2528037165862912
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101201070621/https://www.theslap.com/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101204153929/https://www.nick.com/shows/victorious
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110806050505/https://www.icarly.com/m/isongs
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20110428223211/https://www.victoriajustice.net/home
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/columbia-recordsnickelodeon-reveals-tracklisting-for-victorious-soundtrack-album-125552183.html
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/victorious-music-from-the-hit-tv-show-mw0002113944
- ↑ https://tigerbeat.com/2010/11/watch-victoria-justice-feat-the-victorious-cast-sing-freak-the-freak-out/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/victoria-justice-music-ariana-grande-6221801/
- ↑ https://www.hercampus.com/school/xavier/best-songs-victorious
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 https://www.billboard.com/artist/victoria-justice/chart-history/hsi/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/katy-perrys-firework-pops-back-to-no-1-on-hot-100-473765/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/victoria-justice/chart-history/hds/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/victoria-justice/chart-history/hts/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210531063800/https://www.billboard.com/music/victoria-justice/chart-history/KDT/song/676194
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210607160703/https://www.billboard.com/music/victoria-justice/chart-history/PPD/song/676194
- ↑ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=VICTORIOUS+CAST+FEAT.+VICTORIA+JUSTICE&ti=FREAK+THE+FREAK+OUT&lab=COLUMBIA&format=Album&date_option=certification&from=2011-06-13&award=G&type=ST
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20111119223958/https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/11/15/justin-bieber-cee-lo-green-jennifer-hudson-victoria-justice-and-the-band-perry-join-lineup-for-tnt%E2%80%99s-christmas-in-washington-hosted-by-conan-o%E2%80%99brien/110819/
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 https://tophit.com/tracks/31661
- ↑ https://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110312cluk.txt
- ↑ https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120320232823/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20120316-0000/Issue1143.pdf
- ↑ https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20110530060719/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20110530-1606/Issue1107.pdf
- ↑ https://twitter.com/VictoriaJustice/status/29218792641
- ↑ https://twitter.com/VictoriaJustice/status/628284010266624
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101130214205/https://www.victoriajustice.net/home
- ↑ https://soundcloud.com/victoriajustice/freak-the-freak-out
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101129011140/https://www.teen.com/victoria-justice-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-freak-the-freak-out/
- ↑ https://www.justjaredjr.com/2012/10/29/victoria-justice-has-a-dream-halloween/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110131113640/https://victoriajustice.crowdsurf.net/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/VictoriaJustice/status/39093454277451776
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140916080938/https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6E38594452698F13
- ↑ https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Search?SearchForm.Main_Search=BMI+Work+ID&SearchForm.Main_Search_Text=12415621
- ↑ https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/interviews/a15924/victoria-justice-soundtrack-interview/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/VictoriaJustice/status/8960732183920641
- ↑ https://twitter.com/VictoriaJustice/status/42681406421352448
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/album/0RKK5d89fSIOMH2JQtI6ko
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/es/album/divinity-jukebox/529779798
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/nickelodeon-essentials/pl.7e36142599294ec783aced5a07650184
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX2Zbv3JDcc4J
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/09xYO3Tci5rmxOsdmlV9w2
- ↑ https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/celebrity-couples/a30689814/ariana-grande-and-matt-bennett-sing-victorious-songs-together/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CcwB-XSjomb/