Leon Thomas III: Nickelodeon’s Undervalued Musical Genius
By: Diamonte Giacovelli
As a kid, Nickelodeon’s sitcom series Victorious had my and my twin brother’s heart for the three years it aired. Many fellow Gen-Z members always loved the character Tori because she was the star, Jade because of how badass she was, Cat because she was Ariana Grande, and Beck because he was considered a teenage heartthrob. However, my favorite character was undoubtedly Andre. Not only was he hilarious, but his musical ability was off the charts. Yet, it seems he was very under the radar for fans following the show’s end. The media glorified Ariana Grande and her talents (don’t get me wrong, she is phenomenal), but I think it's time we shine a light on the man that has also been nominated for multiple Grammys throughout his career. My goal for this article is to open your eyes to Nickelodeon's undervalued musical genius, Leon Thomas.
When I bring up Nickelodeon, I’m not saying Thomas’ ceiling was Nickelodeon – because that’s not the case. But his talents have been overshadowed due to his being with the children’s company and his colleague’s career shooting off at an alarming rate. Thomas is a Brooklyn native who started his musical career in NYC playing Young Simba in Broadway’s Lion King at age 10. He then appeared as Jack Thibodeaux in the Broadway original Caroline, or Change and performed in Broadway’s The Color Purple. Thomas eventually debuted on Nickelodeon as the singing voice for Tyrone in The Backyardigans before appearing on ICarly and receiving his breakout role as Andre in Victorious.
After the show, Thomas recorded his first mixtape Metro Hearts in 2012 and helped co-write four songs on Ariana Grande’s album Yours Truly in 2013. At age 21, Thomas and Kristopher Riddick-Tynes, also known as The Rascals, would win a Grammy by helping produce the single “I'd Rather Be Broke” off of Toni Braxton and Babyface’s album Love, Marriage, & Divorce. The two would work with other artists such as Post Malone, Rick Ross, Tory Lanez, Drake, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign, and many more. Thomas was also nominated for another Grammy with his production on the song “Gold Roses” by Rick Ross Featuring Drake, has earned winning credits for working on albums like CLB and Positions, and recently helped with the production on Grammy Nominated Come Home The Kids Miss You by Jack Harlow.
On top of all his production talents, Thomas’ vocals are insane. Leon recently became the first artist on Ty Dolla $ign’s label EZMNY and collaborated on a summer banger, “Love Jones,”that I highly recommended. I also want to shout out Thomas’ latest single, “Breaking Point,” as it shows his vocal range, emotions, and vulnerability. Most recently, Thomas did his own rendition of SZA’s hit song “Snooze,”which didn’t disappoint. And though I’m currently waiting on a new album, I would also check out his debut project Genesis, which dropped in 2018. So after reading this, I hope you get a deeper understanding that Leon Thomas is a living, breathing legend in the music community and that his talents shouldn’t be ignored due to the child actor stigma.