"Take a Hint" is a song performed by American actresses and singers Victoria Justice and Elizabeth Gillies, written by Meghan Kabir, Kevin Kadish, and its producer James Michael, for the Nickelodeon television series Victorious. It was originally released on the AOL website on February 28, 2012, as the second and final promotional single, and later commercially re-released on March 3, as the lead single from the series' first extended play, Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show, on which it was included as the second track.
Background and release[]
On January 26, 2012, Nickelodeon uploaded a video with Victoria Justice, Leon Thomas III, and Elizabeth Gillies about the then-upcoming third season of Victorious. They mentioned they had recorded two duets for the season, "Countdown" and "Take a Hint", pieces of which could be heard in the background. Thomas said what is great about their voices is they "marry well" in the track, which Gillies agreed with because they are so different.
On February 24, Celebuzz published the lyrics to "Take a Hint" and revealed it would be released on iTunes on March 3, the same day as the premiere of the episode in which the song was used.[1] Three days later, Teen.com revealed the single cover art.[2] On February 28, four days before the planned commercial release, the track was released exclusively on the AOL website.[3] "Take a Hint" was also available to listen to on the series' website TheSlap and Nickelodeon's website.[4][5] TheSlap version was shorter, and had a different mix and minor changes in the lyrics. Columbia Records later confirmed it would be the second track on the soundtrack extended play, released under the title Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show.[6]
According to the official credits, James Michael produced the song, and co-wrote it with Meghan Kabir and Kevin Kadish. On August 16, Kabir posted an audio video of her demo version on her YouTube channel. Her version contains several different lyrics, including explicit words, that apparently were changed in the final version of the song for use in the series on a children's television station. On February 4, 2022, less than 10 years later, Kabir officially released her version on digital music platforms.
Appearance in Victorious[]
"Take a Hint" was performed by Tori Vega (portrayed by Victoria Justice) and Jade West (portrayed by Elizabeth Gillies) in the episode "Tori & Jade's Play Date", that premiered on March 3, 2012. Tori and Jade, who are enemies, are forced to "date" at Nozu so that they can better play the married couple in the school play. While spending time together, two unknown guys, Alan (portrayed by Michael Adrian) and Chad (portrayed by Steven Crowley), try to flirt with them, which only annoys Tori and Jade. After they find out the girls go to Hollywood Arts High School, the guys ask if Tori and Jade can do a karaoke performance for them, to which the girls agree. They want to perform a song known under the karaoke number "T-305", which turns out to be "Take a Hint", a song whose lyrics are about how they are not interested in guys who flirt with them.
A performance of this episode is later used during the closing credits of the episode "The Bad Roommate" (in which "Faster Than Boyz" was performed) that aired on January 5, 2013.
Journalistic commentary[]
Jessica Dawson gave a professional review of "Take a Hint" for Common Sense Media, rating the song three stars out of five. She praised Victoria Justice and Elizabeth Gillies' vocal performance, and the song's theme of "standing up for themselves", stating the track is "fun and meant to be lighthearted". However, she wrote the song "might be a little mature for young tween fans", and noted it contains innuendo and implied profanity.[7] The joint website of the magazines Bop and Tiger Beat gave a brief positive opinion, writing "It's a totally cute and catchy song that you’ll absolutely love!".[8] The staff of M Magazine similarly expressed their delight with the song by simply calling it "so catchy".[9] Autumn Mcalpin, writing for The Orange County Register, described "Take a Hint" as an "anti-creepy-boy tune" in which the singer returns "to girl power".[10] Mark Wedel of the Kalamazoo Gazette stated "Take a Hint" is one of Justice's several tracks that have "dance-club electro-pop heaviness", quoting the singer who herself called the song as having "lots of attitude".[11]
Retrospectively, the song continued to receive positive reviews. In 2019, Megan Gaertner of Her Campus created a list of the best songs from Victorious, where she included "Take a Hint" and called it "a complete bop". According to Gaertner, the lyrical content "make[s] important points about consent and respecting one's decision to say no", to the point the song "introduced [her] to feminism".[12] Exactly one month later, Sam Margolis, another writer for the magazine, included the track in her list of the five most iconic songs from the series; writing about Justice and Gillies as their Victorious characters—Tori Vega and Jade West, respectively—she stated Tori "snapped with this one, but Jade snapped even harder", particularly praising the countdown part.[13] The same year, Taylor Mascetta of Fordham University's newspaper The Fordham Ram, who complimented the music in Victorious in general, called "Take a Hint" one of the series' "empowering anthems", along with "Beggin' on Your Knees" and "Freak the Freak Out".[14]
Miranda from radio station WKNC-FM added "Take a Hint" to her article with her list of the best songs from the series in 2020, stating immediately "This is the best song hands down", and calling the singers' vocals "amazing and memorable". She ended her short review of the song by writing: "This song pops into my mind constantly and it's definitely worth a listen if you want to reminisce about the show."[15] In his list of "10 Songs You Forgot Were Awesome" from Victorious for MovieWeb in 2022, Israel Olorunnisola wrote about the song: "In addition to its catchy melody, 'Take a Hint' has witty and empowering lyrics. The song encourages anyone receiving unwanted advances not to hesitate to speak up and say 'no'."[16] Merritt Hughes, writing for The Berkeley Beacon in 2024, named Tori and Jade's performance of "Take a Hint" in the series "iconic".[17] Later that year, Callie Ahlgrim from Business Insider briefly mentioned "Take a Hint", claiming it "really slaps", while People magazine's Jack Irvin singled out this track as one of the "memorable pop songs" Gillies performed in the show, along with "Give It Up" and "You Don't Know Me".[18][19] In 2025, Tiara B of the Shade Room published a list of "The Top 10 Songs That Still Have Us Hooked" from Victorious, in which she included "Take a Hint" and called it a "powerful duet".[20]
Commercial performance[]
- Main article: Take a Hint/Charts
"Take a Hint" is the most commercially successful song from Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show. It reached number 29 on the iTunes music platform for the United States.[21] The song appeared on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number eight and spent two weeks.[22] It is one of Victoria Justice's four songs (along with "Freak the Freak Out", "Beggin' on Your Knees", and "Best Friend's Brother") and her only non-single to appear on the Digital Song Sales chart where it spent a week at number 60.[23] It spent 111 weeks in general on the now-discontinued Kid Digital Song Sales chart, the most of Justice's all songs.[24] By spending the first two weeks at number one, it became her fifth song to hit the top of this chart, following "Beggin' on Your Knees", "Best Friend's Brother", "I Want You Back", and "You're the Reason".[25][26] It reached the 27th position and spent four eight weeks in total on also discontinued Pop Digital Song Sales chart.[27]
"Take a Hint" peaked at number three on the 2012 Kid Digital Song Sales year-end chart.[28] On January 5, 2022, "Take a Hint" received a platinum certification by Recording Industry Association of America, after receiving 1,000,000 units based on sales and streaming in the United States, becoming Justice's second song to be certified after "Freak the Freak Out".[29]
The song did not chart outside the United States. On January 6, 2023, it received a silver certification in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry for 200,000 units, also based on sales and streaming.[30] It is Justice's first song to be certified in that country and the second time she received certification there after the album Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show.
Promotion[]
The lyric video premiered on the Victorious Vevo channel on YouTube on March 6, 2012, before being removed and re-uploaded later.[31] The same month, a short music video was posted on the Nickelodeon website, which consists of scenes from the series' episodes "The Breakfast Bunch", "André's Horrible Girl", and "Tori & Jade's Play Date", and their production.[32] Victoria Justice performed "Take a Hint" on her 2013 second concert tour, Summer Break Tour. In 2025, Elizabeth Gillies performed a stripped-down version of the song.[33]
Credits[]
- Personnel
- Eric Bisgyer – Assistant engineer
- Michael Corcoran – Engineer
- Brian Gardner – Mastering engineer
- Elizabeth Gillies – Lead vocals
- Victoria Justice – Lead vocals
- Meghan Shannaz Kabir – Background vocals, writer
- Kevin Kadish – Writer
- James Michael – All instruments, producer, recording engineer, writer
- Miles Walker – Mixing engineer
- Recording and management
- Produced at the Backhouse (Los Angeles, California)
- Recorded at Red Level Three Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) and the Backhouse (Los Angeles, California)
- Mixed for 45th and 3rd Music at Parhelion Studios (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Mastered at Marcussen Mastering (Los Angeles, California)
- Published by Endurance Alpha (ASCAP); Over-Thought Under Appreciated Songs (ASCAP); Shannaz Publishing, on behalf of Ram Island Songs, care of Songs Music Publishing LLC (ASCAP); Atlantic Music Corp. (BMI); Red Level Three Music (BMI)[34][35]
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Verse 1]
Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like?
I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right
I don't want to be a priss, I'm just tryna be polite
But it always seems to bite me in the—
Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot
You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not
You had me at "hello", then you opened up your mouth
And that is when it started going south (oh)
[Chorus]
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
No, you can't buy me a drink
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
T-take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Verse 2]
I guess you still don't get it, so let's take it from the top
You asked me what my sign is, and I told you it was "stop"
And if I had a dime for every name that you just dropped
You'd be here and I'd be on a yacht (oh)
[Chorus]
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
No, you can't buy me a drink
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
T-take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Bridge]
What about "no" don't you get?
So go and tell your friends
I'm not really interested
It's about time that you're leavin'
I'm gonna count to three and
Open my eyes and you'll be gone
[Chorus]
(One) Get your hands off my—
(Two) Or I'll punch you in the—
(Three) Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
I am not your missing link
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
Take a hint, take a hint (whoa)
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
T-take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Verse 1]
Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like?
I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right
I don't want to be a priss, I'm just tryna be polite
But it always seems to bite me in the—
Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot
You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not
You had me at "hello", then you opened up your mouth
And that is when it started going south (oh)
[Chorus]
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my—
Take a hint, take a hint
No, you can't buy me a drink
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
T-take a hint, take a hint
[Verse 2]
I guess you still don't get it, so let's take it from the top
You asked me what my sign is, and I told you it was "stop"
And if I had a dime for every name that you just dropped
You'd be here and I'd be on a yacht (oh)
[Chorus]
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my—
Take a hint, take a hint
No, you can't buy me a drink
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
T-take a hint, take a hint
[Bridge]
What about "no" don't you get?
So go and tell your friends
I'm not really interested
It's about time that you're leavin'
I'm gonna count to three and
Open my eyes and you'll be gone
[Chorus]
(One) Get your hands off my—
(Two) Or I'll punch you in the—
(Three) Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
I am not your missing link
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
[Intro]
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Verse 1]
Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like?
I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right
I don't want to be a bitch, I'm just tryna be polite
But it always seems to bite me in the—
Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot
You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not
You had me at "hello", then you opened up your mouth
And that is when it started going south (oh)
[Chorus]
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
No, you can't buy me a drink
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
T-take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Verse 2]
I guess you still don't get it, so let's take it from the top
You asked me what my sign is, and I told you it was "stop"
And if I had a dime for every name that you just dropped
I'd be buying everyone a shot (oh)
[Chorus]
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
No, you can't buy me a drink
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
T-take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
[Bridge]
What about "no" don't you get?
So go and tell your friends
I'm not really interested
It's about time that you're leavin'
I'm gonna count to three and
Open my eyes and you'll be gone
[Chorus]
(One) Get your hands off my—
(Two) Or I'll punch you in the—
(Three) Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
I am not your missing link
Let me tell you what I think
I think you could use a mint
Take a hint, take a hint
Take a hint, take a hint (oh)
Get your hands off my hips
Or I'll punch you in the lips
Stop your staring at my— (hey)
Take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
T-take a hint, take a hint
(La, la-la-la-la)
(La, la-la-la-la)
Trivia[]
- "Take a Hint" is Victoria Justice's only duet with Elizabeth Gillies. Though Gillies provided background vocals in many other songs by Justice, she is not credited as the artist on any but this one.
- It is Justice's most streamed song on Spotify, with over 142 million streams.
- Matt Bennett, who also starred in Victorious, considers "Take a Hint" his favorite song from the series.[36] He also played it at his DJ concerts, with Gillies appearing at some to perform the song.[37]
- It appears in the Kevin Kadish: The Songwriters playlist on Apple Music.[38] It also appears in the Nickelodeon Essentials playlist, along with "Make It Shine", "Freak the Freak Out", "Beggin' on Your Knees", and "Best Friend's Brother".[39]
- It appears in TeenNick's the Best of Victorious playlist on Spotify, along with other 12 songs by Justice.[40]
- In 2014, internet personality Nightcore Reality created a nightcore version of "Take a Hint" and posted its audio video on her YouTube channel. It remains her most-watched video on the channel, with over 241 million views, more than the original version of the song has online. Her version was officially released on digital music platforms four years later, albeit in a different version than the one on YouTube.
Spotify audio[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120226004239/https://www.celebuzz.com/2012-02-24/check-out-the-lyrics-to-victoria-justices-new-song-take-a-hint-exclusive/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120228211425/https://www.teen.com/victorious-take-a-hint-victoria-justice-elizabeth-gillies-duet/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120229080553/https://blog.music.aol.com/2012/02/28/victorious-take-a-hint/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120304141044/https://www.theslap.com/tunes
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120304023041/https://www.nick.com/music/album/take-a-hint-single.html
- ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/columbia-records-and-nickelodeon-announce-the-release-of-victorious-20-more-music-from-the-hit-tv-show-available-june-5-150739605.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121017220806/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/music-reviews/take-a-hint-cd-single
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120315094942/https://www.bopandtigerbeat.com/2012/03/the-victorious-cast-makes-a-hit-by-taking-a-hint/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120525111748/https://www.mmm-mag.com/2012/03/new-single-from-victorious-vic.html
- ↑ https://www.ocregister.com/2012/08/03/victoria-justice-thrills-kids-of-all-ages-at-pacific/
- ↑ https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/2012/09/victoria_justice_allegan_count.html
- ↑ https://www.hercampus.com/school/xavier/best-songs-victorious/
- ↑ https://www.hercampus.com/school/temple/5-most-iconic-victorious-songs/
- ↑ https://thefordhamram.com/culture/a-victorious-return-of-a-nickelodeon-classic/
- ↑ https://wknc.org/2020/09/13/the-victorious-soundtrack-a-hidden-gem/
- ↑ https://movieweb.com/victorious-songs/
- ↑ https://berkeleybeacon.com/a-southern-lesbians-search-for-representation/
- ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/best-worst-ariana-grande-songs-all-time
- ↑ https://people.com/elizabeth-liz-gillies-music-career-victorious-interview-exclusive-8738391
- ↑ https://theshaderoom.com/listicle/victorious-top-10-songs-were-still-singing-15-years-later-anniverary-debut/
- ↑ https://x.com/VictoriaJustice/status/176438411656310784
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/victoria-justice/chart-history/hbu/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/victoria-justice/chart-history/hds/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210531063800/https://www.billboard.com/music/victoria-justice/chart-history/KDT/song/733922
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161224153318/https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2012-03-17/kid-digital-songs
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161119202508/https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2012-03-24/kid-digital-songs
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210607160703/https://www.billboard.com/music/victoria-justice/chart-history/PPD/song/733922
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130609055843/https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/year-end/2012/kid-digital-songs
- ↑ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=VICTORIOUS+CAST&ti=TAKE+A+HINT+%28FEAT.+VICTORIA+JUSTICE+%26+ELIZABETH+GILLIES%29&lab=NICKELODEON%2FCOLUMBIA&genre=POP&format=Single&date_option=release&from=2012-03-03&to=2012-03-03&award=P&type=DI
- ↑ https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/18630-6198-1
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120319012612/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8isU7_nhtY
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120307010749/https://www.nick.com/videos/clip/victorious-take-a-hint-music-video.html
- ↑ https://x.com/PopCrave/status/1956527479650161146
- ↑ https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/883952341
- ↑ https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Search?SearchForm.Main_Search=BMI+Work+ID&SearchForm.Main_Search_Text=14375736
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/mattbennett/reel/C5HfeL4r7Q2/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/lizgillz/p/CewAII_u_Rl/
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/kevin-kadish-the-songwriters/pl.4e36cb17077542cf9f8565e68c8f0448
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/nickelodeon-essentials/pl.7e36142599294ec783aced5a07650184
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/09xYO3Tci5rmxOsdmlV9w2