Make It Shine

Last updated

"Make It Shine"
Make It Shine Victorious Theme.jpg
Single by Victorious cast featuring Victoria Justice
from the album Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show
ReleasedApril 13, 2010
Genre
Length3:07
Label
Songwriters
Producer Dr. Luke
Victorioussingles chronology
"Make It Shine"
(2010)		"Freak the Freak Out"
(2010)
Victoria Justicesingles chronology
"Make It Shine"
(2010)		"Freak the Freak Out"
(2010)

"Make It Shine" (alternatively titled "Make It Shine (Victorious Theme)") is a song performed by the Victorious cast featuring the American singer and actress Victoria Justice from the show's debut soundtrack album, Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show (2011). It was released as the album's first single on April 13, 2010, through Columbia Records and Nickelodeon. The song premiered on the pilot episode of Victorious and served as the show's theme song

Contents

"Make It Shine" is a pop, pop rock, candy pop, and teen pop song with lyrics about encouraging a person to follow after their dreams. Music critics thought it was successful as a theme song and praised Justice's vocals. The song peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and entered secondary charts in the United States. Justice performed the song live in 2012, while Matt Bennett sang it with the crowd during Ariana Grande's Sweetener World Tour in November 2019.

Release

"Make It Shine" was first featured on the pilot for the Nickelodeon American television sitcom Victorious on March 27, 2010. [1] [2] [3] [4] Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) performs the song after standing in for her sister, which leads to her acceptance into Hollywood Arts High School. [5] [6] [7] The song was later released as a single on April 13, 2010. [8] [9] [10] The song was used as the theme song for Victorious. [11] [12] [13] "Make It Shine" was then released as the first track on the show's debut soundtrack album, Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show , on August 2, 2011. [14] [15] A remix of the song was featured in a Victorious episode titled "Helen Back Again", which aired on September 10, 2011. [16] In the episode, Tori performs the remix for Hollywood Arts' new principal after they require that all the students have to re-audition to be able to attend the school. [16]

Composition

Justice provides the lead vocals on the track, with Niki Watkins contributing background vocals. The song was written by the show's producer Dan Schneider, Michael Corcoran, and Dr. Luke. Corcoran handled drums, keyboards, and programming. Dr. Luke served as producer, adding guitar, drums, keyboards, and programming the song. The track was mastered by Brian Gardner and mixed by Serban Ghenea, while Emily Wright served as the recording engineer and editor, supported by additional engineering from John Hanes and assistance from Tim Roberts. [17]

Music critics have described "Make It Shine" as a pop, pop rock, candy pop, and teen pop track. [14] [18] [19] [20] Lyrically, the song is about telling people to work hard and to not give up on following their dreams: "You don't have to be afraid to put your dream in action/You're never gonna fade/You'll be the main attraction/'Cause you know that if you're livin' your imagination/Tomorrow you'll be everybody's fascination." [21] [22] [23] Bob Hoose and Steven Isaac for Plugged In stated it is about teenagers "who worry about being invisible but hope and dream of soon making their stardom-earning mark". [21] William Ruhlmann for AllMusic wrote that the track has "relentless beats, synthesized instrumentations, nonstop simple, repetitive choruses, and Auto-Tune vocals". [14]

Critical reception

Brenton Blanchet of Billboard described "Make It Shine" as an "ever-catchy theme performance". [24] Writing for The Post-Standard , Mark Bialczak described the theme song as Justice's "first hit single". [25] The staff of HelloGiggles said it is a "bop of a theme song". [26] The joint website of Bop and Tiger Beat labeled it as a "great song" and stated it "instantly puts us in a great mood". [9] Cassandra R Lopez of Girls' Life mentioned "you had to reach for a makeshift microphone as soon as you heard Tori's voice start belting". [27] In a negative review, Hoose and Isaac stated that while the track is not "crass or violent or sexual", they opined the lyrics in "Make It Shine" were "not the best message for kids when everything in their world is tugging them toward their 15 minutes of fame". [21]

Kendra Beltran, writing for Yardbarker, placed the song at number 22 on her list of the 27 best television theme songs of the 21st century, calling it a "great theme song". [28] Writing for MTV News, Crystal Bell ranked the track at number 16 on her list of "The 17 Best Nickelodeon Theme Songs, Ranked", noting that she considered both "Make It Shine" and Unfabulous ' theme song before ultimately selecting the Victorious theme song. [29] Writing for Her Campus , Megan Gaertner and Allison Kane placed the song at number six on their "Best Songs from Victorious" list, describing the track as "uplifting and catchy". [30] Tiara B for The Shade Room put the song at number one on her "Victorious: The Top 10 Songs That Still Have Us Hooked" list, labeling it as a "bop" and "iconic theme song". [31]

Commercial performance

In May 2010, "Make It Shine" peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, lasting five weeks on the chart. [32] The song also peaked at number six on the US Kid Digital Song Sales chart, [33] number 17 on the US Heatseekers Songs chart, [34] and number 39 on the US Pop Digital Song Sales chart. [35]

Promotion

To promote the song, Justice performed it live in 2011 and 2012. [36] [37] "Make It Shine" was included on the track listing for the 2013 video game Just Dance Kids 2014 . [38] [39] [40] On November 19, 2019, during fellow Victorious actress Ariana Grande's Sweetener World Tour, fellow cast member Matt Bennett appeared on stage at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and sang "Make It Shine" with the crowd. [41] [42] [43] From 2022 to 2023, Bennett performed the song live during some of his DJ concert sets. [44] [45]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [17]

Charts

References

  1. ↑ Eracleous, Leonidas (October 3, 2022). "10 Best Nickelodeon Series Pilots, Ranked". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  2. ↑ Ahlgrim, Callie (June 26, 2019). "52 photos that show Ariana Grande's dramatic style evolution, from Nickelodeon teen to global phenomenon". Business Insider . Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  3. ↑ Stasi, Linda (March 27, 2010). "'Victorious' has 'tween spirit". New York Post . Archived from the original on July 6, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Victoria Justice Flashback!". Bop and Tiger Beat . July 26, 2011. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ Singh, Olivia (March 26, 2021). "Then And Now: The cast of 'Victorious' 11 years later". Business Insider . Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  6. ↑ Neviska, Cassady; Hettinger, Paige (November 18, 2019). "I Rewatched the First Episode of Victorious So You Don't Have To". Her Campus . Archived from the original on April 24, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  7. ↑ Villamor, Sophia; Patchell-Evans, Tygre (December 6, 2019). "The 10 Best Episodes of Victorious". Her Campus . Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Green Day Rocks Broadway". Billboard . April 24, 2010. p. 28. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Do You Rock Out to Victorious' 'Make It Shine'?!". Bop and Tiger Beat . April 14, 2010. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Make It Shine (feat. Victoria Justice) on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  11. ↑ Gray, Suzannah (November 16, 2019). "Victorious is Back and Better Than Ever". Her Campus . Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  12. ↑ Richards, Bailey (December 18, 2024). "Victoria Justice Reunites with Victorious Costar Liz Gillies at Holiday Party: 'Saw Some Old Friends'". People . Archived from the original on December 31, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  13. ↑ Dawidziak, Mark (December 18, 2024). "Victoria Justice to sign copies of 'Victorious' CD in Mayfield Heights". The Plain Dealer . Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 Ruhlmann, William (August 2, 2011). "Victoria Justice/Victorious Cast Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Columbia Records Reveals Tracklisting For Victorious Soundtrack Album; Available Everywhere On August 2, 2011". Top40-Charts. July 11, 2011. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Cheung, Nadine (September 9, 2011). "'Victoria Justice Sings Remix of 'Make It Shine' on 'Victorious' (Exclusive Video)". Cambio. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Credits / Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show / Various artists". Tidal. August 2, 2011. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  18. ↑ Olorunnisola, Israel (March 19, 2023). "Victorious: 10 Songs You Forgot Were Awesome". MovieWeb . Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  19. ↑ Bergado, Gabe (December 11, 2019). "I Watch Nostalgia TV Because I'm Baby and Can Hardly Handle the Real World". Teen Vogue . Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  20. ↑ Printup, Jacquez (May 19, 2025). "20 catchy TV show theme songs that stay in your brain forever". Yardbarker. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  21. 1 2 3 Hoose, Bob; Issac, Steven. "Victorious: Music From the Hit TV Show". Plugged In. Archived from the original on February 13, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  22. ↑ Lakshmin, Deepa (October 8, 2016). "21 TV Stars Who Sang Their Show's Theme Song". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Victoria Justice brings fun, message of girl power to Great Allentown Fair". The Express-Times . September 3, 2012. Archived from the original on February 11, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  24. ↑ Blanchet, Brenton (March 5, 2021). "Victoria Justice Is Independent and Treating Herself Better". Billboard . Archived from the original on December 30, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  25. ↑ Bialczak, Mark (April 19, 2012). "Victoria Justice, Matt Nathanson, Mike Posner to play at New York State Fair's Chevy Court". The Post-Standard . Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice had the full Victorious reunion that we need right now". HelloGiggles. March 30, 2020. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  27. ↑ R Lopez, Cassandra (April 20, 2020). "The top 15 TV theme songs we still know by heart". Girls' Life . Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  28. ↑ Beltran, Kendra (December 21, 2024). "27 of the best TV theme songs of the 21st century". Yardbarker. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  29. ↑ Beltran, Kendra (February 18, 2015). "The 17 Best Nickelodeon Theme Songs, Ranked". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  30. ↑ Gaertner, Megan; Kane, Allison (November 8, 2019). "The Best Songs from Victorious". Her Campus . Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  31. ↑ B, Tiara (March 28, 2025). "Celebrating 15 Years of 'Victorious': The Top 10 Songs That Still Have Us Hooked". The Shade Room. Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  32. 1 2 "Victoria Justice Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  33. 1 2 "Victoria Justice Chart History (US Kid Digital Song Sales)". Billboard . January 3, 2025. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  34. 1 2 "Victoria Justice Chart History (Heatseekers Songs)". Billboard . Archived from the original on February 18, 2022.
  35. 1 2 "Victoria Justice Chart History (US Pop Digital Song Sales)". Billboard . January 3, 2025. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  36. ↑ Orozco, Diana (May 27, 2011). "Details on Victoria Justice's First 'Victorious' Show!". Celebuzz. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  37. ↑ McAlpin, Autumn (August 3, 2012). "Victoria Justice thrills kids of all ages at Pacific". The Orange County Register . Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  38. ↑ Fahmy, Albaraa (August 27, 2013). "Ubisoft announces 'Just Dance Kids 2014' for Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 5, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  39. ↑ Hillier, Brenna (August 28, 2013). "Just Dance Kids 2014 headed to Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360". VG247 . Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  40. ↑ Green, Andy (October 22, 2013). "Just Dance Kids 2014 Features Over 30 Tracks And A Dance Director Mode On Wii U". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on September 4, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  41. ↑ Singh, Olivia (November 20, 2019). "Watch Ariana Grande reunite with her 'Victorious' costars 6 years after the show ended to perform songs from the series". Business Insider . Archived from the original on July 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  42. ↑ Grant, Stacey (January 28, 2020). "Ariana Grande and Matt Bennett Rocked Out to Victorious Songs Together". Seventeen . Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Ariana Grande's Victorious Reunion With Liz Gillies & Matt Bennett On Stage Sends Fans Into Meltdown". Capital. November 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  44. ↑ Melnick, Annie (April 28, 2023). "A Night of Nostalgia: Party 101 with Showbox Presents". Her Campus . Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  45. ↑ Zachian, Skylar (July 9, 2022). "Event of the Summer: iParty with Matt Bennett!". Young Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Kid Digital Song Sales - Year-End". Billboard . 2011. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
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