The Fresh Beat Band

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 Gonzalez-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: Also, they appeared in the Nickelodeon Mega Music Fest.
 * 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; Sean Cheesman; Jesus "Chuck" Maldonado; Scotty Nguyen; Dreya Weber; Beth Bogush; Mary Ann Kellogg; Nakul Mahajan; Mihran Kirakosian; Susan Austin; and Fred Tallaksen.

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.

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. The album sold 189,000 copies in the US in 2012. A second collection, Vol 2.0: More Music From The Hit TV Show, was released later that year on October 9, 2012. 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.

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".

Nominations and awards

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