Nickelodeon Artists That Outperformed Expectations: Grammys, Fan Favorites and More! (Part 2)
- Monica Soriano
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
Article Contributed by Monica Soriano
Nickelodeon made many people laugh through its quirky series, cartoons and movies. There are various familiar faces in mainstream media within music that were able to reach unexpected (or expected) success after their time with the network. Some cultivated strong fan bases and have established their names among the biggest artists. While most of the cast in Victorious have gone on to gain a large amount of popularity and varying success within music and acting, there are two names that are currently making big waves. Also, who would have thought that a kids band would still to this day have a die hard fan base?
The Naked Brothers Band: A Successful Band & TV Show Before The Age of 13
The Naked Brothers Band might have been an eccentric name for a band and a TV series but that quirkiness is what drew kids to the show. A fun series about kids living the rockstar life, of course it grabbed the attention of children and teens. The Naked Brothers Band series lasted 3 seasons and 1 film. Aside from the show's beloved characters and storylines, the real attention grabber was the music. The band released 3 albums and 2 were able to break into the Billboard 200 chart.
After the success of The Naked Brothers Band and being nominated for various awards, for both the series and the music, brothers Nat & Alex Wolff continued to release music as a duo. Nat & Alex Wolff were only 12 and 9 while on Nickelodeon and fans still support them years later in their adulthood. Their youthful pop rock sound evolved to be more mature and softer. The Naked Brothers Band Spotify page still has over 49k monthly listeners while Nat & Alex Wolff have almost 200k monthly listeners. Fans grew alongside Nat & Alex Wolff which could be the reason for the genuine amount of support they receive to this day, it doesn’t seem overbearing but rather appreciative.
Ariana Grande: From Nickelodeon Comedy Star to International Pop Star
Ariana Grande is an internationally known pop star and actress. She has reinvented herself over and over again and has maintained a steady career since her exit from Nickelodeon. During her time with the network, Ariana was the beloved character Cat Valentine in ‘Victorious’ and ‘Sam & Cat’. Her comedic timing and bright red hair became her introduction to many.
While starting her music career she released “Put Your Hearts Up” in 2011 and “The Way” featuring the late Mac Miller in 2013. She only kept rising in popularity, moving her sound to new directions, sometimes with a heavy focus on R&B and others geared more towards powerful pop ballads. She has achieved stardom at a level that not many can transition to after starring in a teen series. Her efforts have earned her many awards including 3 Grammys. While she made a shift in the past few years to focus more on her acting career, she remains a beloved pop icon. Even though she is focused on her on screen work, she managed to squeeze in a tour for later this year!
Leon Thomas: Quietly Worked Behind The Scenes After Victorious, Now He Multiple Grammy Awards
Lately, Leon Thomas has been making noise within the music industry. Many know him from playing Andre in ‘Victorious’ or from his behind the scenes work writing and producing for artists such as Ariana Grande, Giveon, SZA, Kehlani and many more. Leon is at the height of his success as an artist himself right now. With the release of his album ‘Mutt’, he earned a Grammy for Best R&B Album during the 2026 Grammy awards.
It’s been almost 13 years since ‘Victorious’ ended and even though Leon Thomas is now a 3x Grammy Award winner, to some he is still Andre Harris. ‘Victorious’ was extremely popular from 2010 to 2013 and to this day the cast is well loved and supported by fans. It isn’t just fans of the show that support Leon though, it is the new listeners and the music industry itself. He has become a well known name through the insane amount of projects he’s written and/or produced for and now dominating the R&B space as an artist.
Nickelodeon produced series that will stay with fans forever, some so big that are known internationally. Many of the young actors were given a foundation to launch themselves into a career in music, acting or anything entertainment. While there were a lot of issues with the network that should be taken into account, there were many shows that inspired kids to be Andre, Cat or join a band like Nat & Alex. Witnessing the transition from teen actors to musicians is fulfilling and they should all be applauded for their dedication!
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