NEW YORK, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Records/Nickelodeon will release Victorious, the first-ever soundtrack album from Nickelodeon's hit comedy starring Victoria Justice, on Tuesday, July 12.  Featuring music performed by Victoria and the series' ensemble cast, the album will include the singles "Beggin' On Your Knees" and "Freak the Freak Out," along with the show's theme song "Make It Shine."  The combined sales of these tracks have accounted for well over 800,000 digital downloads to-date.  Victorious will also feature music by Elizabeth Gillies, Ariana Grande and Leon Thomas, plus all-new songs that have never appeared on the show.

Victoria Justice recently performed the latest single, "Beggin' On Your Knees," at Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday, April 2.  The song was also featured in a brand-new episode of Victorious, airing immediately following the KCA broadcast, which set a new series ratings record with all key demos and ranked as the week's number-two telecast with all kids and tweens on all TV (behind only Kids' Choice Awards).  The half-hour episode drew 6.1 million total viewers.  Victoria's video for the track premiered on Nickelodeon on Saturday, March 12.  "Beggin' On Your Knees" is available now on all DSPs.

Victoria performed the party anthem "Freak the Freak Out" at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last November and a special hour-long self-titled episode of Victorious featuring the track became the first in the series to reach #1 on the overall iTunes charts.  The show's theme song, "Make It Shine," is performed by Victoria and co-written by songwriter/producer Dr. Luke (Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson) and Michael Corcoran (Drake Bell, Miranda Cosgrove).  

The success of Victorious has led to a number of accolades for the show and its young star.  In addition to her 2011 KCA Favorite TV Actress nomination, Victoria Justice was nominated for a 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program (Series or Special).  At the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, Victorious was nominated in the Choice TV: Breakout Show category while Victoria was nominated for Choice Smile.

"I can't wait for the Victorious soundtrack to be released," said Victoria.  "We have a few really cool songs on the soundtrack that haven't been featured on the show yet.  I hope the fans love it!"  

"The Victorious album captures the spirit and energy of this great new show whilst providing an important showcase for the exciting talent of Victoria Justice," said Rob Stringer, Chairman, Columbia/ Epic Label Group.  

Since its premiere on March 27, 2010, Victorious has been the number-one program in its timeslot on all TV with tweens 9-14 and teens 12-17, reaching 15.1 million tweens and 11.4 million teens each quarter.  A co-production with Sony Music as part of the ongoing global partnership between Nickelodeon and Sony Music, Victorious is created and executive produced by Dan Schneider, who also created the other Nickelodeon hits iCarly, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, The Amanda Show and Kenan and Kel, as well as What I Like About You (WB) and Big Fat Liar (feature film).

Victorious follows teenager Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) who attends the prestigious performing arts high school, Hollywood Arts.  From her first day at the school, however, Tori feels out of place among the amazingly talented students, especially mean diva Jade (Elizabeth Gillies, Broadway's 13).  But with the help of her older sister Trina (Daniella Monet, A Fairly Odd Movie, Nancy Drew) and new friends including the musically-gifted Andre (Leon Thomas III, August Rush, Broadway's The Lion King, iCarly), brooding bad boy Beck (Avan Jogia, Spectacular!), eccentric Cat (Ariana Grande, Broadway's 13) and lovable but psychologically scrambled ventriloquist Robbie (Matthew Bennett) – Tori realizes that she was born to perform and that entertaining people not only makes her happy but may change her life.  The series features original music performed by Victoria Justice and the ensemble cast.

An international breakout smash, Victorious was the #1 rated show on Nickelodeon UK in 2010, and continues to rank as one of Nickelodeon's top series in key international markets including Australia, Mexico, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, and Brazil. 

TheSlap.com, the show's companion website, is a social networking and community site featured and used by the characters in the series.  The site allows the audience to interact with and be a part of the Hollywood Arts High School community.

Victoria Justice began her acting career at age 8 and went on to appear on Nickelodeon series Zoey 101, iCarly, True Jackson, VP and The Troop, as well as original television movies Spectacular! and The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, which finally led to her very own Nick series, Victorious.   As Tori Vega, Victoria puts a full range of talents on display, including acting, singing and dancing.

Justice appeared on the front page of Variety (March 28, 2011) with the news that the star had been offered the lead role in Josh Schwartz's feature film directorial debut, the Halloween comedy Fun Size.

SOURCE Columbia Records/Nickelodeon