The Fresh Beat Band (2009–2013) User Reviews (28)

Grown Ups are Sad

[jana_obrien · 8/10 · 9 December 2009]

I love how grown ups get on here and insult and trash and make fun of a show for children. Who was it designed for? How many kids out there would roll their eyes at the things grown ups sometimes watch?

Yes, as a 35 year old, I find it fairly cheesy. However... the 2, 3, and 5 year old all enjoy it. The characters all get along. They seem to enjoy each others company. They are upbeat and happy...yes, to an almost unbelievable point. But, the kids have the rest of their lives to learn about the real world, right? Afetr having the 5 year old go around trying to scratch people when pretending to be Wolverine, and the 3 year blowing nasty spitty raspberries like Spongebob (who I like) this is a nice change of pace.

There are cartoons today that have violence and name calling (Avatar, Jimmy Neutron, etc), and rude gestures in general. Nick even had something on between shows not long ago where they told young viewers that farting was alright, and perfectly normal, and ways to hide a fart when you have passed gas in public. I tried to contact Nick regarding my opinion on that, but there was no contact info available.

The Fresh beat gang are not insulting, or rude, or hateful or bitter. I say, GOOD influence! I wish I could be as positive as they are.

Hip Hop for preschoolers

[jaycee-cook · 7/10 · 2 October 2009]

This show has my attention more than my 3 year old's. I love that this show is introducing hip hop music and dancing to kids. Personally, I get a little tired of the same old music shown on other kids music shows.

The FreshBeats are a diverse music and dancing band. The band members are talented and upbeat. The problems the band members face all come with a smile and a "can-do" attitude. Marina, KiKi, Twist and Shout are a talented group with a wholesomeness unmatched. They are nice to each other and to others around town.

"The Fresh Beat Band" is a positive experience for everyone.

The Beats Rock!!

[aaw6022 · 8/10 · 19 December 2009]

My 3-year twins (boy and girl) love this show. We DVR all 18 episodes from the first season and watch it everyday. Though I love Dora and Diego as much as my kids do, it is good to get a break from the monotony of the same three-place, 30-minute plots, and get up and move around. The songs are repetitive to ensure the kids remember most of them. The actors are upbeat and engaging, and my kids respond well. Because of this show, I cannot only get a break from Dora and Diego, but my kids enjoy singing and dancing and playing instruments. My son absolutely loves Twist and when he comes on to sing his part, my son will move his hands in mock record scratching and beatbox noise making. They dance and sing along with the show's standard songs, and play mock musical instruments. I can't believe people would post negative comments about a show they don't watch. This one will grow on you, if they gave it a chance.

My Son Loves This Show

[larry_rangel · 10/10 · 29 October 2009]

I have a 2 year old son who absolutely loves this show...he watches it every weekday at noon, even though many episodes are reruns. My wife and I have learn to appreciate the show, if not like the show, because our son Landon who had down syndrome has learned so much from this show. He has learn to pay attention to the show... he dances with the characters and sings (babbles) along with them...we dvr several episodes and when he is restless and fussy we turn on the show and he instantly comes to life and laughs and just enjoy himself watching the Fresh Beat Kids (yes they are not kids, but who cares, as long as kids enjoy and relate to them, remember all the adults on those Seseme Street programs)...so in closing, I am grateful for this program and how it has give my family something we all can share with Landon.

My Girls Love It!

[javanni3 · 10/10 · 22 October 2009]

First of all i'd like to say that it is nice to see Nick take a step in a different direction for the junior viewers Nickelodeon. I have two girls, 4 and 23 months old and this has become among their favorites. While the cast are a little older than what we're used to, they provide youngsters with confidence, and the notion that it's fun to jump around with your friends for twenty minutes. Their having a great time and they have created an atmosphere that promotes fun friendship and learning from one another.My girls are reminded of these cool and catchy lyrics when they hear the words friendship or banana. I'd love to read a positive comment about Nick's new show! Anyone....?

Goes a little somethin' like this...

[TerminalMadness · 7/10 · 22 January 2010]

"The Fresh Beat Band" has been given a lot of flack since it premiered. Being basically Nickelodeon's answer to "Imagination Movers," many have outright dismissed this series as a rip off and while it is in essence kind of a rip off the show is still really very good.

This series doesn't rely on cartoon characters or puppets to reach kids. Instead it succeeds in being enjoyable mainly because it's so well written.

The plots for every episode is basically at pre-school level but the songs are truly good because they're always really fun to listen to, have great beats, and will surely stick in your head days after watching an actual episode.

Right from the start the opening theme song expresses what you're getting from the series. There's four members of the cast who are focused on and each person plays a particular instrument and in the opening theme they're essentially asking you to come along for the ride and join in on the fun.

And boy is it fun.

One thing I noticed is that the songs are so catchy that before you even realize it you'll be tapping your feet and nodding your head because unlike many other pre-school shows, the songs are just a blast to listen to. Take "Loco Legs" or "Great Day," two songs that have some really good beats and somehow seem much too hip for a kids show at times.

The show excels at creating music kids can listen to and dance along with and the series definitely inspires you to get up and dance, and it helps that the dance moves for the songs are easy to learn. But they're not all great obviously. "Friends Give Friends a Hand" is pretty clunky and the lyrics are very on the nose.

Another fine aspect is that without cartoons or puppets the writers have to turn the four cast members in to animated characters and lo and behold they do with flying colors.

The casting is pretty predictable with a diverse cast but the actors are so talented that it's impossible to dislike them. Sure they can grate on the viewer at times with their habit for giggling at every little thing, not to mention Jon Beaver's squeaky voice makes him sound like Shaggy from "Scooby-Doo." But those flaws aside the characters are very likable.

Twist is a great influence on the audience inspiring creativity with his rap lyrics. Most times Beavers isn't given much to do but when he's on screen he has a definite charm to him. Shout is downplayed with a humility that's pretty genuine. With his incredible talent it would be easy to make him smug or a braggart but the writers only use him when it's necessary and when he explodes he's quite impressive. His vocals are fantastic and he has a great physical presence. Shayna Rose as Marina is utterly adorable pulling off some great miming on the drums. Sometimes it's pretty obvious she's not playing but Rose makes up for it with her raspy vocals that play off well against the others. And then there's the very talented Yvette Gonzalez who is, not surprisingly, given the most to do.

Not only does her guitar playing completely outshine the other instruments at times but she leads most of the songs with these booming vocals that blast through the television. Basically she's the leader of the group and for good reason, too. In most of the songs you can hear her singing over everyone else and it feels like she has to hold back to prevent outshining the other cast members.

Which is understandable because they all have a lot to offer the series. While they're not perfect they definitely are charming and fun to watch and it's hard to pick a favorite.

There are some flaws to the show of course. Aside from the aforementioned, there's the supporting cast who aren't completely fun to watch. Melody is kind of annoying, and Ms. Piccolo's character is played for laughs that never deliver. There's also the extras who keep up with the choreography but never look like they belong in this environment. Every one of the four characters have their own color scheme, and even the supporting players have their own designs but the extras just look like they were pulled off the street so they stand out. And there's never an explanation why the Fresh Beats have prepubescent dopplegangers. They never appear until the final song, and they're noticeably conspicuous. Why are they always popping up in a music school comprised of adults on a campus that seems self-contained? And what relation do they bear to their adult counterparts? It makes no real sense.

As for the choreography it's often very fun to watch and the actors are very well trained but sometimes they dance out of synch and sometimes can never catch up with one another. This is made apparent by Beavers and Rose who can sometimes lag behind their co-stars. Beavers seems too slow while Rose can often look confused.

Otherwise it's a strictly simple show with simplistic plots but it holds a lot of appeal to parents and their kids. The music is great, the actors are likable, and I intend to see the show through to the end.

Fresh beat band is a good show

[lgrove-760-458944 · 8 June 2010]

Personally I like the show, I watch it and I'm 21, My niece and nephew love watching it, They like to dance and sing to it. They don't take notice to the acting skills being weak or what not. It's a good show. There is a lot of bad cartoons out there. Who's to say a kid wont go off into woods or on a boat on their on like Dora and Diego. -_- I don't think there is any reason to hate or dislike fresh beat band. They decent singers. They all get along. It's a great show. All shows have their flaws. There's not reason to hate or write a bad review just cause it has flaws. A lot of kid's show's have flaws and do things that shouldn't be on TV for kids to watch.

Who in the world would make this crazy show?

[kill-the-boxtrolls · 1/10 · 29 September 2009]

I haven't seen the real fresh beat band before, but this nick Jr. show is probably the worst show on nick Jr. It's meant for little kids, and the songs are catchy but I hate them. The "Banana" and the "Great Day" song is alright but not exactly fantastic songs. The acting is weak and pretty bad and the show itself is very very unappealing that if there's nothing on TV, they would either just get prepared for school or just go outside and play instead. Even when they were singing the song "Great Day" They danced really bad at it and this is just a tune-filled musical show, it dose't teach music education and that's a very hard lesson for little kids to understand, deal with and accomplish that they won't get taught at all but just get up in the room and dance and sing along to the songs like they say. One of the songs do have teaching skills inside, but it only lasts for about like a second and then the songs become unreasonably illogical. The actors for the show are weird even that Asian looking girl "KIKI" This is just a disaster mess that I don't want to watch it AT ALL every time it comes on, I either go to school or do something else and just leave the TV on and don't really watch it. This show needs to either stop making those stupid episodes or just get canceled to save Nick Jr.

Addicted

[rsantos1021 · 10/10 · 12 November 2009]

I have to admit that I love this show, and I love the actors. I've never liked musicals but I really admire this show and their songs. I really like how the actors are so up beat and how their positive personalities kind of rub off. My 3 year old son loves it too and sings and dances along. Their dances are fun to do that I'll join my son. My 1 year old boy gets all excited he'll be squatting and clapping at the same time. It's a good show for children since there is always new lessons and cool songs that grab their attention. The show inspires singing, dancing, musical instruments, and to try to stay positive no matter what problem. You know hopefully in the future they'll have more than one outfit to wear. I hope they continue making new episodes with new songs.

loved as a kid but question as a teen

[addisondeming · 6/10 · 28 March 2023]

I used to LOVE this show. It has a decent message and used to keep me from crying as a kid. Annoyed my parents A TON but was ok. My favorite episodes were royal wedding and wizard of song. It's funny that my favorites both had grown men hysterically sobbing/crying in front of adults. That's probably the only problem i had with the show because i think grown men crying is weird. In the royal wedding episode this guy cried because he was jumping out of a cake and the cake fell on a princess and he smashed some in his face (which is stupid) and starts crying. Then in the wizard of song he cries because the music a girl plays i very beautiful when it's like a 15 second "song". Sorry for the spoilers just think it's weird that the theme of the show is adults acting like 3-5 year olds.

The Fresh Beat Band = Tears

[TwinMama2003 · 1/10 · 1 October 2009]

My 3 year old son hates The Fresh Beat Band! He cries whenever they are on Nick Jr. We first saw them when he would watch Diego with the On Demand feature our cable company has. This morning I realized that they have their own show! Hurrah! There is nothing like having a screaming 3 year old first thing in the morning! My son loves music, but not their music. He just cries and begs for Diego. "Diego, Diego, Diego. Where is my Diego, Mommy!"

The Fresh Beat Band doesn't make me cry, but I do agree with my son. The band is just not good. Their voices are decent enough, but they don't seem to want to be doing their job. They look bored with their fake smiles and lame dance moves. I think Nick Jr. is trying to capitalize on the success that the Disney Channel has with their music acts, but they have failed miserably.

This is such a FUN show!!!

[carriegeving201 · 9/10 · 19 June 2010]

This is a great new show! The songs are catchy and my son and I love to sing along when it's on. There seem to only be a few episodes that air over and over, so it's easy to remember all of the words!! I hope that they decide to make some new episodes. My son is 5, so he doesn't mind watching them over and over, but as a parent, I get bored of hearing them after a while.

While I wish it was more educational, it is just one of those fun shows that is worth watching just for the songs and dances. I found it a little strange that they chose people of such an age to portray the 4 characters, but they have definitely grown on me. The cast is super talented and they all have amazing voices, especially Marina. The moral of the stories may be a little hard for a preschooler to grasp, but the cast has a way of making us understand that it's all about friendship and teamwork.

I'm also glad to see that they chose to dress the cast - particularly the girls,- modestly. There are so many shows these days that dress young girls like adults, and I find it very inappropriate that young characters are so often over-sexualized.

Overall, I think this is a great show, and I hope that they decide to make more episodes. Also, I'm hoping to find a CD with all of the great songs so that my son and I can enjoy them anytime. If anyone knows where to find them, please post a comment here. We really love the "Freeze Dance" song and "Friends Give Friends a Hand". They are fun to sing and easy for a preschooler to remember the lyrics.

The Fresh Beat Band rocks!!!

Trying HARD to like it....

[rlsmithcarter · 5/10 · 16 August 2010]

Every star I'm giving this series is STRICTLY for the musical numbers that are performed in between terrible dialog, poor acting by obviously-embarrassed actors, and barely existent plot lines. When the previews for the JUMP-AROUNDS began many months ago, we (my husband and I) were very excited to have another Nickelodeon show that we could enjoy along with our 2 year old. The musical numbers that were used as the previews were cute, catchy, and raised our hopes that this show would be similar (music-based) to the Backyardigans... How disappointed we were when the show finally debuted (along with a strange name change!) If not for the bright primary colors, enthusiastic four main cast members, and catchy but simple songs, this show would have NOTHING in the way of appeal to ANY audience... and I'm sure this will give away my age, but this show CONSTANTLY reminds me of a 2010 version of "The Monkees"... the same lame writing, odd secondary characters, and talented but unlucky actor/musicians who use this show as an opportunity to bigger and less lame things.

Love the Fresh Beats

[tanalynne · 10/10 · 28 April 2010]

I love the Fresh Beats. I watch them everyday with my 3 yr old step son and my 7 month old daughter. It's a great break from Spongebob and Dora and Diego which all get on my nerves from time to time but we watch them all everyday. The Fresh Beats have very catchy lyrics and they're just so fun to watch. I find myself humming them words to most of the songs they have especially It's A Great Day. My step son is always getting up and dancing when they sing and he absolutely loves music. The cast is so upbeat and teaches him to be nice to others. It's a great show and we'll watch it everyday and i hope the Fresh Beats don't get canceled. It's so sad how some adults can put down a kids show. I'm 23 and it's one of my favorite shows on TV.

This is a wonderful show

[RozVerone · 10/10 · 6 December 2010]

My sons who is almost 2 loves this show. I have never seen or heard him laugh as hard as he does during this show. Sometimes when I am driving home he will sing the closing song, which I find so amazing as we only watch one a day. He also copies some of their dance moves, and even tries doing the hip hop moves that a little boy does on the show. He has learned the word banana because of the "lets go banana" song. He just loves the music, the instruments, the dancing, and the story lines. I have started to even find the songs pretty catchy. We also love Yo Gabba and the Wiggles, but this one he seems to love more than any of the others. I hope they tour so I can go and take them to the show. Their songs are so catchy and easy for my son to dance and sing too. Love it! Keep up the good work on this show. PLEASE! It gives me a free hand.

Love the Fresh Beats!

[ValerieN-1 · 16 January 2011]

My husband and I watch this show with our 3-year old son, and all enjoy it! It's very up-beat and fun, and teaches optimism and persistence as core values. Wonderful in every way.

Can't help but analyze the performers. Twist is really amazing -- every move he makes is, I think, planned for maximum effect. Marina is simply lovely to watch. Kiki overacts but has a great voice, and Shout seems to me to be the "talent" of the show - the one that binds them together, best voice, knows how to move, etc. Twist routinely steals the show, however -- simply fantastic in his role.

I do wonder sometimes -- is all of the singing on the show performed by the 4 Beats? The songs are very catchy and usually deliver a great message. Great show:)

How old are they supposed to be?

[invisibleunicornninja · 5/10 · 9 May 2018]

The personalities of the main characters switch from being clueless 6-year-olds to semi-responsible teenagers. The dialogue is terrible, and everything is over-the-top. Some of this might be acceptable if all the actors weren't clearly adults. The musical numbers are decent but everything else is heavily-reliant of jokes that stem from characters being stupid or random or both.

The only reason this is getting even 5 stars is because of the music, and because I remember being fascinated by how incredibly bizarre this show is.

My Son HAS to Watch It!

[air-water-music · 9/10 · 7 January 2010]

Sure, it's a little corny if you're an adult. However, my 5-year-old son loves the show and LOVES the music! He looks forward to watching the Fresh Beats and gets up and dances around to all of the songs.

The Fresh Beats are a cute little foursome of friends and they deliver a message of togetherness and friendship while they learn together. They don't insult each other or hurt each other -- they inspire, help, and encourage each other, instead.

There isn't a single bad message to be taken from the Fresh Beat Band, thank goodness. My son has picked up on making farting noises, burping, and calling people "dumb" thanks to SpongeBob SquarePants, who I'll admit I find funny, but not appropriate for young kids. It seems like "The Fresh Beat Band" are undoing those lessons with good ones. That's GREAT!

It's a good show that could be better

[Brownsbros3 · 8/10 · 4 September 2011]

Now that I have a young nephew, I have had to watch a large amount of Nick Jr. While I know most adults complain about this show, you have to stop and remember that we aren't their target audience. That being said, it is a good show for little kids, because you can actually let them watch it, and not have to worry about sending them out of the room when certain things come up. The four people playing the lead roles are all very talented, especially the guy that plays Twist. He makes me laugh. Kiki and Shout have both got some tremendous pipes, and I'm surprised that neither has tried out for American Idol yet. Some of their initial episodes were a little on the dorky side, and they tend to overdo it on the verbal clichés (kickin', slamming, etc.) but some of the more recent episodes are actually pretty entertaining. One of my favorites was the car wash episode where Twist and Shout keep going nuts every time someone spills something on their car. They've also got a music video for their song "Here We Go," that is very well done, and its a catchy tune. They've also had a cast change with the original Marina, Shayna Rose, leaving to get married, and being replaced by Tara Perry. Rose very good, but I have not seen enough of Perry's work to really form an opinion yet. So bottom line, if you are looking for something to sit down with your kids and watch, this is a good choice.

The Beats Rock!!

[annechase25 · 10/10 · 16 March 2010]

I love this show! My kids (3yrs and 18 months) love them. I DVR all the shows. Its a very nice change, all of Nick Jrs shows want the kids to sit and answer questions and while my kids have really learned a lot from the other shows but The Freash Beats get them up and moving and dancing. The songs will stick with you. I know almost all of the words to most of their songs. Its just a fun 20 mins in my home. We all dance and sing together while watching this show. I would tell anyone and everyone to at least give it a try. I wouldn't call it very educational but it does teach the kids how to be happy, how to solve problems, share, and Lend a Helping hand (one of my favorite songs). If they have a CD I really want it. My daughter would listen to it all day if she could and that would be just fine with me. The songs are up beat and they can really sing!

Great show!!

[imatress · 10/10 · 19 April 2010]

Created an account just to review this. My 3 year old loves this show, he hates other kid's shows too, all little kids have different tastes, the stories are meant to be for little children so they are kind of corny, there are a lot of bright colors and catchy music, whether is an adult actor or another child, little kids love it, i think this is a great show, there are no issues or bad examples, just plain toddler fun stuff and dancing. I think the characters are funny with lessons about helping each other, playing with friends, teaching different types of music and overall accepting others for who they are and their individual abilities (ethnicity, tastes... etc.)

Hate it!

[xmegwoodx · 5 October 2009]

This show is terrible! Why do people think it's okay for children to watch a show about grown adults acting like little kids? I can't believe Nick Jr. plays this stupid show every day, especially when there are only a couple episodes so they play the same ones over and over again. My 2 year old son can't even stand this show and he will usually watch anything. But as soon as it comes on he gets mad and cries and tells me to change the channel. It's cool that they play music and dance, but the story lines are really stupid and completely unbelievable. I hate it so much, I created an account just so I could post this comment.

sweet show

[lpnarnialover09 · 10/10 · 15 April 2012]

Normally I don't care for certain kids shows on Nick Jr. finding them annoying or corny,but last summer my nieces who were 4 & 5 were staying with us and Nick Jr. was their favorite channel,so we watched this show and I liked it .This show is corny but sweet ,the music is catchy and I actually found myself looking forward to new episodes and the little music video they showed for the song "Here we go" the actors don't try to act cool it just comes naturally.I even ended up watching several episodes by myself the show is funny with good morals that aren't crammed down your throat. Most nick Jr.shows aren't worth watching unless you have to because your kid likes it ,Fresh Beat Band is a show that you could watch on your own and not feel like you are being slowly tortured

Creative

[ho-97049 · 8/10 · 27 September 2021]

The idea to make teenagers as the main focus in a show for kids is pretty awesome, I bet other teens would like that too.

Sweet and Silly

[mystery-frog · 10/10 · 9 February 2024]

My 18 month old loves this show so much. She was a little put off by the actor change for Marina in Season 3-though not by the change up with Reed in Season 2, likely because he was such a minor character.

The first two seasons have weaker storylines than Season 3 and repeat a lot of silly gimmicks for kids. Marina One has a more distinguishable singing voice in the quartet than Marina Two, but Marina Two is definitely a better dancer. It would have been better in my opinion if they introduced Marina Two as her own character, like maybe Marina's cousin Martina, or something silly like that. Opportunity lost, I guess.

Shout, Twist, and Kiki all have strong performances and characters. All characters get a pretty even amount of storyline over the course of the seasons.

It's a good show to introduce kids to music and dancing with positive messages.