On February 12, Victoria Justice uploaded a short video on Instagram teasing the opening of a new track. Since then, she has continued to release snippets of the chorus in other videos before finally announcing a release date for ‘Last Man Standing’; February 19, her birthday!
Ever since the release of ‘Treat Myself’ in 2020, Justice has done her best to revitalise her music career. Most of her songs explore themes of self-love, putting her needs before others, and recognizing parts of herself that may be detrimental to achieving her goals. This is in part due to the memes and rumors surrounding her outing from the hit show Victorious. ‘Last Man Standing’ follows this same trend of asserting her confidence, but with a bit of a romantic twist.
The opening verse is very true to her recognizable sound. Her soft and husky delivery, the strong presence of the acoustic guitar, and the sultry undertones of Latin music. The lyrics go through a series of men in Justice’s life, each with their own list of pros and cons. She insists that while all these great men are appreciated, she’s still unsure of making any commitments. Justice states through the lyric “I need to know I really tasted…them all” that she’s happily exploring for now so that she can finally find “the last man standing”.
The production is simple, much like her previous releases of the 2020s so far. It’s minimal and her style of singing here leaves not a lot of room for her vocal range. She stays almost consistently in her head voice, adding texture to the track through fast pacing and breathy runs. The layers of harmonies also add a little bit of spice to the pop single, giving it a mainstream edge.
Despite the two-year gap since her last release, Justice provides a smooth continuity and transitions nicely to what may be a new era for her music. The only thing missing now is a solid video. This may well be the spark she needs to move forward with a full-length album.
Words by Mae Trumata