Song 2 You

"Song 2 You" was first featured on the Nickelodeon television sitcom Victorious in an episode titled "The Diddly-Bops" which aired on January 17, 2011.^[1][2] In the episode, Tori (Victoria Justice) and her friends are asked by their teacher Sikowitz (Eric Lange) to sing at a children's birthday party as last minute replacements.^[1][2] Andre (Leon Thomas III) is close to landing a record deal, but his chances are threatened when a video of him performing at the birthday party is leaked online. Andre has to convince the producer of the record label that he can be taken seriously as an artist.^[1][2] The song was officially released as the ninth track on the show's debut soundtrack album Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show on August 2, 2011.^[3][4][5]

The track features lead vocals and guitar by Thomas,^[6][7][8] with background vocals provided by Justice.^[6] The track was written by Thomas,^[9] Brian Kierulf, and Josh Schwartz. Kierulf also contributed as a producer, programmer, engineer, and recording engineer, alongside Schwartz. Michael Corcoran served as an additional producer and recording engineer. The song was mixed by Greg Wells and mastered by Brian Gardner.^[10] In an interview with Newsday in July 2011, Thomas revealed that he wrote "Song 2 You" when he was 14 years old.^[11] He explained that it was "really a blessing" for the song to appear on Victorious.^[11]

Writing for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann expressed that "Song 2 You" has lyrical themes that "tend toward light romance, happy and sad, and assertions of self-worth".^[12] Jessica Dawson, writing for Common Sense Media, stated that the song is "about being yourself, not caring about material things, and opening up to someone you love".^[13] Bob Hoose and Steven Isaac for Plugged In said that the track "lifts up the promise of true love by offering a personalized love song", highlighting the lines: "I don't have the world, can't give it to you, girl/But all that I can do is give this song to you."^[14]

"Song 2 You" was met with mainly positive reviews from music critics. Hoose and Isaac expressed that the song has "Maroon 5-sounding stops".^[14] Robyn Ross of TV Guide opined that Justice "has shown off her singing skills" on the track, while saying that Thomas "is proving he's got talent as well".^[2] Liam Crowley of ComicBook.com declared that the track is one of the "biggest hits from the Victorious soundtrack".^[6] Kayla Chanthavisith, writing for Her Campus, described the track as "underrated".^[15] For AbsolutePunk, Joe DeAndrea commented that the track reveals "the intricacy of how fun the show really is".^[16]

Tiara B. of The Shade Room ranked the song fourth on her list titled "Victorious: The Top 10 Songs That Still Have Us Hooked", describing it as a "beautiful" track and one of the show's "most iconic duets".^[17] She also noted its lasting appeal, stating that the A cappella version "eats every single time".^[17] Writing for MovieWeb, Israel Olorunnisola put the song at number two on his "Victorious: 10 Songs You Forgot Were Awesome" list, remarking that Thomas gave a "wonderful performance" during the episode.^[18] Commercially, "Song 2 You" charted at number eight on the Billboard Kid Digital Song Sales chart in the United States.^[19]

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[10]

• Leon Thomas III – vocals, writer, guitar
• Victoria Justice – background vocals
• Brian Kierulf – writer, producer, engineer, programming, recording engineer
• Josh Schwartz  – producer, writer
• Michael Corcoran – producer, recording engineer
• Greg Wells – mixing engineer
• Brian Gardner – mastering engineer