The Fresh Beat Band

American children's television series

The Fresh Beat Band (originally known as The JumpArounds) is an American live-action musical children's television series created by Scott Kraft and Nadine van der Velde for Nickelodeon. The series stars Yvette González-Nacer, Thomas Hobson, Shayna Rose (later Tara Perry), and Jon Beavers as the "Fresh Beats" (Kiki, Shout, Marina, and Twist), described as four best friends in a band who are determined to follow their dreams. The series aired from August 24, 2009, to December 7, 2013.

In 2015, an animated television series, Fresh Beat Band of Spies, premiered on Nickelodeon. All four members of the band lend their voices to their respective characters in the spin-off.

Premise

All episodes follow the same basic structure:

• Each episode begins with a song that foreshadows a problem that the band will solve.
• The band works together to solve the problem.
• When the problem is solved they perform a song with the problem and solution incorporated into the lyrics.
• Each episode concludes with a version of The Fresh Beat Band's closing song, "Great Day".
• The main characters dance to choreography by Blush, Mandy Moore;^[2] Sean Cheesman; Jesus "Chuck" Maldonado; Scotty Nguyen; Dreya Weber; Beth Bogush; Mary Ann Kellogg; Nakul Mahajan; Mihran Kirakosian; Susan Austin; and Fred Tallaksen.

Also, they appeared in the Nickelodeon Mega Music Fest.

Episodes

During the buildup to the show's debut, the band was initially advertised as The JumpArounds. Commercials promoting the band under that name were in heavy rotation on Nickelodeon prior to the series debut. The change occurred approximately in mid July 2009. The name was revealed on the Nick Jr. website, then made its debut on television.^[3]

Characters

Main

Recurring

• Harper the Pizza Maker – owner of the Singing Pizza Café, played by Shane Blades
• Melody the Smoothie Maker – owner of the Groovy Smoothie Shop, played by Dioni Michelle Collins
• Ms. Piccolo the Teacher – music school teacher, played by Monica Lee Gradischek
• Reed the Guitar Player – occasional guitar player and supplier of the Fresh Beats' instruments, played by Hadley Fraser (season 1) and Patrick Levis (seasons 2–3)

There are also four children known as "The Junior Beats" who are essentially the child equivalent of their grown-up counterparts. They sing, dance, and dress as a corresponding character.

Music

The Fresh Beat Band: Music From the Hit TV Show was released on January 31, 2012.^[5] The album sold 189,000 copies in the US in 2012.^[6] A second collection, Vol 2.0: More Music From The Hit TV Show, was released later that year on October 9, 2012.^[7] The soundtracks contain songs from multiple episodes of the series, as well as songs that did not get performed in the episodes. Most of these songs, including the opening and closing themes, were written by the series' creators and executive producers Scott Kraft and Nadine van der Velde, as well as the trio of Ric Markmann, Dan Pinnella, and Christopher Wagner (collectively known as Matter Music). Other composers and producers included Matthew Gerrard, Elizabeth Ashley Saunig-Gerrard, Chip Whitewood, Peter Zizzo, Andrew Schlesinger, Shelley Rosenberg, Michael Smith, Matthew Tishler, and Phil Galdston.

Singles

Four singles were released to iTunes; "Great Day" was released on February 2, 2010, "Here We Go" was released on June 28, 2011, "A Friend Like You" was released on September 13, 2011, and "Just Like a Rockstar" was released on November 29, 2011.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Track listing

Home media

Retail releases

Manufacture on-demand releases

Episodes on Nick Jr. compilation DVDs

Episodes on Nick Jr. iTunes compilations

Reception

Critical response

Drew Magary of Deadspin describes the show as "pure evil, as much as an innocent and friendly show about good friends can be pure evil".^[15]

Nominations and awards

• 26th Annual Imagen Awards Nomination for Best Young Actress/Television : Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer in The Fresh Beat Band^[16]
• Parents Choice 2011 Award: The Fresh Beat Band – Fun Stuff (Ages: 2 – 5 years) ^[17]

References

1. "The Fresh Beat Band's First-Ever Concert Special Premieres in Primetime Sunday, April 21". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016.
2. "Summit County dancer turned pro returns". SummitDaily.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
3. "Nickelodeon's "The JumpArounds" Aims At Kids' Musical Sensibilities – Channel Guide Magazine". Channelguidemagblog.com. May 1, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
4. "Meet the Characters | Fresh Beat Band | Nick Jr". Nick Jr. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
5. "iTunes – Music – The Fresh Beat Band (Music from the Hit TV Show) by The Fresh Beat Band". Itunes.apple.com. January 31, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
6. Paul Grein (January 3, 2013). "Chart Watch Extra: Top Albums of 2012". Chart Watch. Yahoo Music. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
7. "The Fresh Beat Band Vol 2.0: More Music From The Hit TV Show: The Fresh Beat Band: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. October 9, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
8. "iTunes – Music – Great Day – Single by The Fresh Beat Band". Itunes.apple.com. February 2, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
9. "iTunes – Music – Here We Go – Single by The Fresh Beat Band". Itunes.apple.com. June 28, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
10. "iTunes – Music – A Friend Like You – Single by The Fresh Beat Band". Itunes.apple.com. September 13, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
11. "iTunes – Music – Just Like a Rockstar – Single by The Fresh Beat Band". Itunes.apple.com. November 29, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
12. "The Fresh Beat Band: Season 1: Movies & TV". Amazon. March 6, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
13. "The Fresh Beat Band: Season 2: Movies & TV". Amazon. March 6, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
14. "The Fresh Beat Band Season 3: Movies & TV". Amazon. April 10, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
15. "Why Your Children's Television Program Sucks: The Fresh Beat Band". Deadspin. April 12, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
16. "Nominees for 26th Annual Imagen Awards Announced | The Imagen Foundation". Imagen.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
17. "The Fresh Beat Band". Parents-choice.org. Retrieved August 22, 2014.

External links

• The Fresh Beat Band at IMDb