How to Rock

Premise

Kacey Simon (Cymphonique Miller) is a popular girl who was once mean, and whose status goes down after she must briefly wear braces and glasses. Ignored by her fellow mean girls, Kacey finds a new way to express herself through music by becoming the lead singer of the pop/hip-hop band, Gravity 4 with Stevie (Lulu Antariksa), Zander (Max Schneider), Nelson (Noah Crawford), and Kevin (Christopher O'Neal). The success of the band, now renamed Gravity 5, begins a rivalry with Kacey's former group The Perfs, a rival band featuring her former friends, and now archrivals, Molly (Samantha Boscarino) and Grace (Halston Sage).

Characters

Main

• Kacey Simon (Cymphonique Miller) is the former leader of the Perfs ("perf" is the abbreviation for "perfect") and the lead singer of Gravity 5. Kacey is the co-leader of Gravity 5 with Zander. After getting glasses and braces, her social status takes a dive. Although she originally ridiculed the Gravity 5 band members, Zander convinces her to join. Kacey is confident, bold, self-centered, and now on a campaign to take her new friends and bandmates to the top of the school social ladder. With the help of her new friends, Kacey learns to look past appearances and accept herself and others as they are. Her and Molly's last names are references to 1960s singing duo Simon & Garfunkel.
• Molly Garfunkel (Samantha Boscarino) is the new leader of the Perfs and the antagonist of the series. Molly is competitive, popular, and a talented singer/dancer. She is Kacey's former best friend and it is implied that Kacey treated Molly badly when she was the leader of the Perfs. Molly is insecure and jealous of Kacey, and often tries to humiliate her and Gravity 5. Her best friend is Grace King, whose kindness serves as a counterpoint to Molly's snarky nature. Over the course of the series, she becomes kinder towards the Gravity 5 members, partly due to her crush on Zander and her reconciliation with Kacey.
• Zander Robbins (Max Schneider) is the new kid at Brewster High School who acts as the guitarist, keyboardist, and DJ for Gravity 5 as well as its leader. Zander is cool, handsome, and sometimes vain. A running gag in the show is that he can never stop staring at himself in the mirror or combing his hair. Because he is new, he is oblivious to the Perf's bullying behavior and is more inclined to believe the best in them. In the episode "How to Rock a High School Sensation," Zander is shown to have a crush on Molly. In "How to Rock a Yearbook," it is shown that Zander constantly takes bad yearbook pictures and has a younger sister.
• Stevie Baskara (Lulu Antariksa) is Gravity 5's smart, sarcastic, tough bass player. The Perfs always call her "Loserberry," much to her annoyance. She is a tomboy and has a number of unfeminine habits, including burping on command. She has four older brothers, and the only clothes she gets offered are sweatpants and sweat socks. Throughout the series, she works in food service at Danny Mango's and the school cafeteria. In addition to playing the bass, Stevie also plays the violin and the cello. Stevie was not featured in the 2011 novel.
• Grace King (Halston Sage) is Molly's gorgeous but naïve sidekick, as well as the second-in-command of the Perfs. Although she tries to emulate Molly's cruel attitude, Grace can never find it in herself to be mean to others. In "How to Rock Cee Lo," Grace temporarily leaves the Perfs due to Molly's mean attitude but later reconciles with Molly. She has a mutual crush on Nelson.
• Nelson Baxter (Noah Crawford) is the tech-savvy, sci-fi loving keyboard player for Gravity 5. He is also Kevin's best friend. Nelson gets socially awkward and tongue-tied around girls,. Nelson is the treasurer of the science club and has a love for video games. He has a mutual crush on Grace. Along with Kevin, he was briefly addicted to the video game Furious Pigeons, a parody of Angry Birds. In "How to Rock a Lunch Table," it is shown that Nelson still sleeps with his baby blanket, which he calls Captain Blankie. In "How to Rock a Birthday Party," Kacey and Nelson are revealed to have the same birthday and to have known each other since grade school.
• Kevin Reed (Christopher O'Neal) is the drummer for Gravity 5 and Nelson's best friend. He is obsessed with food and is socially awkward with the girls. He is athletic enough to join various sports teams, but too lazy to be a good player. He is demonstrated to be a terrible liar and a bit of a nervous wreck. He shares Nelson's love of video games and also loves to make and hear bad puns; he often gives Nelson a high-five when they hear one. He has a crush on Kacey, but also finds Molly attractive. In the episode "How to Rock an Election," Kevin is shown to be somewhat of a skilled rapper. In "How to Rock a Lunch Table," it is shown that he still sleeps with an old stuffed animal named "Mikey the Manatee."

Recurring

• Andy Bartlet (Jacob Houston) is an odd but well-meaning student who goes to Brewster High School. Most of the school sees him as a geek, but despite his quirks, the Gravity 5 members see him as a dependable friend. He tries to make friends but has many disgusting habits that turn others away from him. He is shown to like "Furious Pigeons" along with Nelson and Kevin, and he is impressed by Stevie's burping skills. In "How to Rock Cee Lo," he auditioned to be the new lead singer of Gravity 5.
• Mr. March (Kirk Fox) is the history teacher at Brewster High School. His catchphrase is "What's up?!" and he often tries to talk like a young person. He serves as a mentor for the Gravity 5 members.
• Iverne (Fuschia J. Walker) is the ill-tempered school lunch lady of Brewster High School. She has an unrequited crush on Mr. March. The food she makes is often reviled by the students.
• Danny Mango (T.J. Miller) is the eccentric owner and namesake of Danny Mango's, a fruit smoothie store in the mall. He also works as a driving instructor. He is Stevie's boss, as well as Kacey's temporary boss in "How to Rock a Part-Time Job." He has a habit of referring to himself in the third person at all times.
• Dahlia (HaleyAnn Johnson) is a student who goes to Brewster High School. She has an obsessive crush on Zander. She served as a moderator of the Class President debate and works on the school newspaper.
• Mall Cop (Jason Sims-Prewitt) is the frustrated security guard at the mall where Stevie works. He is occasionally irritated by the antics of Gravity 5, especially Zander. He was also a Security Guard for Cee Lo Green at his concert.

Episodes

Note: There was an early release of this episode posted on the iTunes Store for free.

Songs featured: "Only You Can Be You", "Rules for Being Popular", and "I'll Be There"

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Note: The episode's fictional game, Furious Pigeons, is a parody of Angry Birds. Song featured: "Go With Gravity"

Song featured: "Hey Now"

Guest star: Jack Depew

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Songs featured: "Good Life" and "Rules for Being Popular"

Special guest stars: Big Time Rush as themselves

Song featured: "Music Sounds Better with U" (by Big Time Rush) Note: This is the second time that Cymphonique Miller worked with Big Time Rush, the first time was on the Big Time Rush episode, "Big Time Girl Group".

Songs featured: "You Want News, Babe" and "Today's School News"

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Song featured: "Move With the Crowd"

Song featured: "Go With Gravity"

Song featured: "Last 1 Standing"

Guest star: T.J. Miller as Danny Mango Song featured: "Last 1 Standing"

Song featured: "War on the Dance Floor"

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Song featured: "How You Do It"

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Song featured: "Lady"

Note: While this was broadcast as one episode it counts as two for the production order.

Songs featured: "Rules for Being Popular", "All About Tonight" and "Crazy"

Special guest star: Cee Lo Green

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Song featured: "Rock with Me"

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Song featured: "Just Do Me"

Song featured: "Me, Myself and I"

Guest stars: Romeo Miller, Kirk Fox Note: Romeo Miller is Cymphonique's brother.

Song featured: "Just Do Me"

Song featured: "Only You Can Be You" (Acoustic)

Guest star: Kirk Fox

Guest star: Greg Grunberg, Kirk Fox

Guest stars: Kirk Fox, T.J. Miller

Song featured: "Deck the Halls"

Music featured in each episode

• "Only You Can Be You" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock Braces and Glasses"; "How to Rock Camping")
• "Rules for Being Popular" – The Perfs ("How to Rock Braces and Glasses"; "How to Rock a Music Video"; "How to Rock a Lunch Table"; "How to Rock Cee Lo"; "How to Rock a Yearbook")
• "I'll Be There" – Kacey Simon ("How to Rock Braces and Glasses")
• "Go With Gravity" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Messy Bet"; "How to Rock a Lunch Table")
• "Hey Now" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Guest List") writer: [Livvi Franc]
• "Good Life" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Music Video")
• "Music Sounds Better with U" – Big Time Rush ("How to Rock an Election")
• "Today's School News/You Want News, Babe" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Newscast")
• "Move With the Crowd" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Secret Agent"; "How to Rock an Election"; "How to Rock a Love Song")
• "Last 1 Standing" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Birthday Party"; "How to Rock a Part-Time Job")
• "War on the Dance Floor" – Kacey Simon ("How to Rock Halloween")
• "How You Do It" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Basketball Team")
• "Lady" – Zander Robbins ("How to Rock a Love Song")
• "All About Tonight" – Kacey Simon ("How to Rock Cee Lo")
• "Crazy" – Kacey and Cee Lo ("How to Rock Cee Lo")
• "Rock with Me" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Singing Telegram")
• "Just Do Me" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock a Yearbook"; "How to Rock a Good Deed")
• "Me, Myself and I" – Gravity 5, The Perfs and Trey Grant ("How to Rock a High School Sensation")
• "Deck the Halls" – Gravity 5 ("How to Rock Christmas")

Broadcast

The series began broadcasting on the Nickelodeon channels on February 4, 2012, in U.S.; June 4, 2012, in Canada; May 20, 2013, in UK and Ireland; and August 13, 2013, in Australia; and December 3, 2023, in Middle East & North Africa.

References

References

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