Leave It All to Me

"Leave It All to Me"
A photo of three young teenagers posing and smiling
Single by Miranda Cosgrove featuring Drake Bell
from the album iCarly
ReleasedDecember 18, 2007
Genre
Length2:42
Label
SongwriterMichael Corcoran
Miranda Cosgrove singles chronology
"Leave It All to Me"
(2007) 		"About You Now"
(2009)
Drake Bell singles chronology
"Makes Me Happy"
(2007) 		"Leave It All to Me"
(2007) 		"Terrific"
(2011)
Music video
"Leave It All to Me" on YouTube

"Leave It All to Me" is the debut single by American actress and singer Miranda Cosgrove featuring Drake Bell. The song served as the theme song for the Nickelodeon show iCarly and its 2021 revival. It was released as the lead single from the soundtrack album iCarly (2008) on December 18, 2007, by Nickelodeon Records and distributed by Columbia. A remix by Billboard was released on the soundtrack album iCarly: iSoundtrack II on January 24, 2012.

The song was written by Michael Corcoran. An upbeat pop and pop-punk song, it is about seeing the brighter side of every situation. It peaked at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 83 on the US Pop 100 chart. A music video for the song was released in 2008 and was later uploaded to Cosgrove's YouTube channel on September 28, 2010. Cosgrove performed "Leave It All to Me" during her debut solo tour the Dancing Crazy Tour in 2011.

Background and release

American actress Miranda Cosgrove, who starred as Carly Shay on the Nickelodeon television show iCarly,[1][2] was asked by the show's producers to record a theme song for the series when she was thirteen.[3][4] Cosgrove, who had not previously recorded a song, agreed to perform the track.[3] She later expressed interest in performing additional music.[5][6] The song was written by Michael Corcoran.[7][8] It was subsequently selected as the series' theme song.[9][10]

"Leave It All to Me" was released on December 18, 2007, as the lead single on the soundtrack album iCarly, through Nickelodeon Records and Columbia Records.[5][11] A remix by Canadian music producer Billboard was released on the soundtrack album iCarly: iSoundtrack II on January 24, 2012.[12][13] In June 2021, Cosgrove told Seventeen that "Leave It All to Me" would serve as the theme song for the 2021 iCarly revival.[14][15] Cosgrove said they had initially planned to rerecord the theme for the revival, but ultimately decided to keep the original version.[16][17] She explained that she had worked hard to keep the original theme song.[14][15]

Music and lyrics

"Leave It All to Me" features Cosgrove on lead vocals and Drake Bell—her co-star from Drake & Josh—on background vocals and lead guitar.[20][21] Heidi Kotansky of Common Sense Media described Bell's vocals on the track as "muted backup accompaniment that can't really be heard throughout most of the song".[18] She added that Cosgrove's vocals were "surprisingly decent and mature, perhaps a bit altered".[18]

The track is an upbeat pop and pop-punk song.[18][22] "Leave It All to Me" is driven by a steady drumbeat, with its bridge featuring an electric guitar riff and bells that transition into the chorus.[18][22][23] The track concludes with Cosgrove repeatedly singing, "Leave it all to me, just leave it all to me."[18][22] Critics described the lyrics as promoting confidence and optimism, citing lines such as: "Live life, breathe air/I know somehow we're gonna get there, and feel so wonderful."[18][22]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Common Sense MediaStarStarStar[18]
The Ringer6/10[22]

"Leave It All to Me" received generally positive reviews from critics. Kotansky classified the song as "positive" and "peppy", stating that it is "very easy to get stuck in your head", though she added that it was "not the most innovative or talented pop single".[18] Shelley Emling of Patch opined that "Leave It All to Me" is a "song everyone is familiar with".[24] Nakeisha Campbell of PureWow commended its optimistic message, opining that Corcoran "hit the nail on the head" when he wrote the track.[8]

Several publications emphasized its lasting impression. Jake Viswanath of Bustle wrote that the song "still knocks to this day", adding that Bell's background vocals served as a nostalgic reference to Drake & Josh.[25] P. Claire Dodson of Teen Vogue labeled the song as "instantly catchy", saying it has continued memorability more than a decade after its release.[15] Nick Fenley of Blavity wrote that the theme song remained resonant with Gen Z and Millennials, describing it as "full of energy-filled fun".[26]

Other publications described the song as iconic in discussions of iCarly. Both Katie Louise Smith of Capital and Fletcher Peters of Paste used the term when referencing the theme in coverage of the show,[27][28] while Tamara Fuentes of Seventeen and Samantha Olson of Cosmopolitan similarly characterized the track as a defining element of the 2021 revival.[14][29] Sophie Thompson of Indy100 likewise referred to it as an "iconic theme tune".[30]

The song has also appeared on retrospective rankings of television theme songs. Writing for The Ringer, Aric Jenkins ranked it nineteenth on his "Definitive Nickelodeon Theme Song Ranking". He described the track as "deceptively catchy" and initially said he "detested" its opening seconds, but then praised its "Beach Boys–esque harmonizing", which he felt helped balance the song.[22] Crystal Bell of MTV News ranked it twelfth on her list of the "17 Best Nickelodeon Theme Songs", mentioning that Bell's background vocals strengthened the track.[31] Jacquez Printup for Yardbarker placed it sixth on his list of "20 catchy TV show theme songs that stay in your brain forever", describing it as "catchy, motivational, and a bit encouraging".[32]

Commercial performance

"Leave It All to Me" debuted and peaked at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated January 12, 2008.[33][34][35] It gave Cosgrove and Bell their first Hot 100 hit in the United States.[33][36] The song lasted for one week on the chart.[33][36] The single also charted at number 83 on the US Pop 100 chart.[37]

Promotion and impact

The official music video for "Leave It All to Me" was released in 2008.[38][39] The video was later released to Cosgrove's YouTube channel on September 28, 2010.[40] Cosgrove would perform "Leave It All to Me" during her first headlining 2011 concert tour the Dancing Crazy Tour.[41][42] Bell joined Cosgrove to perform the song at Club Nokia, with his appearance gathering cheers from the crowd.[43] In January 2017, it had been around six years since Cosgrove released her second extended play High Maintenance, and took a break from making music to attend college at the University of Southern California. Bell wished she came back to making music and shared a throwback video of him and Cosgrove dancing to the song.[43]

The song later resurfaced in April 2017 when Noah Cyrus revealed that she was a huge fan of iCarly. Cyrus made a video of herself lip-syncing the song and would later post it on her Instagram account.[44] It regained attention in June 2021 when rapper DDG released a freestyle that samples the track. The freestyle begins with the intro of the original theme song and features a section of Cosgrove's opening verse before transitioning into DDG's verse.[23] Throughout 2022, former Victorious actor and DJ Matt Bennett performed the song live during some of his DJ concert sets.[45] By July 2023, the track had again drawn coverage during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, when Jaidyn Triplett, who was cast in the show's revival, posted a video on Twitter of herself singing the show's theme song. The video also featured Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor dancing in the background.[30][46]

Credits and personnel

Credits were adapted from Tidal.[7]

Charts

Weekly chart performance
Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard)[33] 100
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[37] 83

References

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