Last Man Standing

"Last Man Standing"

Victoria Justice

General information

Type:

Single

Released:

February 19, 2023

Genre(s):

Pop

Length:

3:15

Writer(s):

Louis Biancaniello
Michael Biancaniello
Molly Moore
Tayler Buono
Victoria Justice

Producer(s):

Michael Biancaniello
Louis Biancaniello

Singles chronology
Previous:	Next:
"Too F*ckin' Nice"	"Only a Stranger"

"Last Man Standing" is a song by American actress and singer Victoria Justice, co-written with Molly Moore, Tayler Buono, and its producers Louis Biancaniello and Michael Biancaniello. It was released as a single on February 19, 2023.^[1]

Background and release[]

Victoria Justice's previous single, "Too F*ckin' Nice", was released in May 2021, after which she released the soundtrack extended play for the film Afterlife of the Party in September. Throughout 2022, Justice didn't release any music, but in September of that year she revealed she was going to release a new song, asking fans to choose between two options – the first one described as "vulnerable, singer-songwriter, ballad vibes" and the second one as "more up-tempo, sexy, sassy, fun vibes".^[2] Later that month, it was reported Justice revealed in an email to her fans her upcoming single would be titled "Last Man Standing", but with no confirmed release date.^[3]

On February 12, 2023, Justice posted a short video in which she said "Should I or shouldn't I?" before playing a snippet of the song. Later that day, the singer revealed "Last Man Standing" would be released a week later, on her 30th birthday.^[4] Justice also posted two videos online with the same new snippet ahead of the song's official release. The lyric video was uploaded on the singer's YouTube channel on the same day as the single's release.

Also on the same day as the song came out, Variety published Katie Reul's interview with Justice. The singer spoke about the song and the timing of its release on her 30th birthday: "I feel like this song really captures a lot of that energy, and it's fun, and it's kind of sexy, and it's got these very strong themes of female empowerment, so it just felt like a really good fit." Reul additionally wrote the song "features intoxicatingly upbeat vocals from Justice set to a breezy, four-chord riff on the acoustic guitar", also giving positive review, commenting Justice's "talent is on full display in the song's chorus, for which she sings in an ethereal high register" and "cementing her place in pop iconography, the track is a welcomed follow-up Justice's previous tracks, like 2021's 'Too F*ckin' Nice' and 2020's 'Treat Myself'".^[5]

The singer also commented on the song in an interview with Pop Culturalist: "It's a song about female empowerment and being in a place where you're not ready to settle down with one person and wanting to explore and taste them all as the song says. But what I really love about it is that it comes from this strong place of not needing anyone and having confidence and an independent spirit."

Lyrics[]

[Intro]
Uh-huh, mm-hmm
Hahah

[Verse 1]
Johnny opens doors for me
But Michael's so willing to please
And Tony lets me disagree
Whenever the hell that I want to
He wears his heart like a tattoo
You suddenly show at my door
When I don't need you anymore
But how is a girl to be sure
If she's never tested the limit
Before she goes jumpin' back in it?
Ayy

[Pre-chorus]
I'm not saying you're not great and amazing and all
You just met me when I'm not really ready to fall
I need to know I really tasted, I tasted 'em all
To know you could be, you know you would be

[Chorus]
The last, the last, the last, the last man standing (standing, standing, standing)
To crash, to crash, to crash, to crash my landing (landing, landing)
The last man standing

[Verse 2]
Standing
Begging for my hand and
I just hit ignore again
Baby, love is war, I been
Running, running
You want in the running
Well, let me tell you somethin'
Ayy

[Pre-chorus]
I'm not saying you're not great and amazing and all
You just met me when I'm not really ready to fall
I need to know I really tasted, I tasted 'em all
To know you could be, you know you would be

[Chorus]
The last, the last, the last, the last man standing (standing, standing, standing)
To crash, to crash, to crash, to crash my landing (landing, landing)
The last man standing

[Bridge]
Standing (yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah)
Begging for my hand and (ooh)
I just hit ignore again (ooh-ooh)
Baby, love is war, I been (The last man standing)
Running, running (yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah)
You want in the running (ooh)
Well, let me tell you somethin' (ooh-ooh)
The last man standing

[Pre-chorus]
I'm not saying you're not great and amazing and all
You just met me when I'm not really ready to fall
I need to know I really tasted, I tasted 'em all
To know you could be (ooh), you know you would be

[Chorus]
The last, the last, the last, the last man standing (standing, standing, standing)
(Standing)
To crash, to crash, to crash, to crash my landing, ooh
The last man standing (yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah)

[Outro]
The last man standing (ooh)
(hahahahahah)
The last man standing (yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah), yeah
The last man standing (ooh)
The last man standing

Trivia[]

As it was one of the two song options, "Last Man Standing" is probably the one described as "more up-tempo, sexy, sassy, fun vibes" prior to release. The song in the second option was described as "vulnerable, singer-songwriter, ballad vibes", which matches how Victoria Justice later described her then-upcoming follow-up single in an interview with Elite Daily, which turned out to be "Only a Stranger".^[6]
Justice posted a video on social media in which she ranked her favorite lyrics from the song.
1. "The last, the last, the last, the last man standing"
2. "I need to know I really tasted, I tasted 'em all"
3. "You just met me when I'm not really ready to fall"
4. "I'm not saying you're not great and amazing and all"
5. "To know you could be, you know you would be"
There's a slight inconsistency with how Justice wrote a certain line of the song herself, between the official lyric video and the subsequent ranking of favorite lyrics. The former says "I need to know I really tasted, I tasted 'em all" and the latter "I need to know I've really tasted, I've tasted them all".