Former Nickelodeon heartthrob Drake Bell is ready for a comeback, announcing new music in a TikTok video, just months after the eye-opening revelations in the documentary series “Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV.”
Bell began his music career in the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that he released his second album, It’s Only Time, which featured the popular single “I Know” that cemented his presence in the music industry. Around the same time, he appeared on the popular Nickelodeon show, Drake & Josh.
But after leaving Nickelodeon, his career took a wild turn, with a series of controversies and legal battles making headlines – affecting his public image and career. Now, Bell is ready to make it big again.
Drake Bell has released a teaser for his new music and this little taster was on everyone’s lips.
Drake Bell releases teaser for upcoming music
In a teaser for his new song “By The Ocean” shared on Tuesday, Drake Bell is seen strolling on the beach as he sings: “Spent my last dollar on this bus to the beach / Brought my hand sanitizer and a bottle of bleach / Place to sunbathe / By the ocean / Dancing in slow motion in my swim trunks / Then I stop / And the beat just keeps going / Got sand on my toes / And my Cheerios.”
After hearing the short clip, fans said the song “has stuck in their heads even though it hasn’t even been released yet.”
“So catchy,” commented another of his followers.
“This is my new jam,” said a third.
“By The Ocean” is released on Friday.
Drake Bell comes out as a victim of sexual abuse
Drake Bell made shocking revelations in the docuseries Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV, revealing the dark side of his Nickelodeon days. He emotionally shared what really went on behind the scenes, including his harrowing experience with former Nickelodeon producer Brian Peck that left him permanently scarred.
“You know, every time I had an audition or had to work on dialogue or anything else, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house,” Bell said in the docuseries, recalling his experience with Brian Peck, who is no relation to his former co-star. Josh Peck“I was sleeping on the couch where I normally slept and I woke up next to him. I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually abusing me.”
“I was frozen and in complete shock and didn’t know what to do or how to react. I didn’t know how to get out of the situation,” he added, holding back his tears.
The abuse became “worse and worse”
The former Nickelodeon actor said the abuse “just got worse and worse and worse and worse” and he is now “trapped” with “no way out.”
“The abuse was extensive and quite brutal,” he said.
Drake Bell had previously revealed that he actually wrote his 2015 song “In The End” about the sexual abuse he suffered, long before he publicly admitted to being a victim.
Drake Bell’s 2024 hit “I Kind of Relate” was also about sexual abuse
Just days after Drake Bell opened up about being a victim of sexual abuse during his time at Nickelodeon, he released a powerful song called “I Kind of Relate,” complete with a touching music video.
The song’s lyrics – “running away / From the abuse and all the shame” – seem to reflect his past, while the video, featuring a television similar to that of “Drake & Josh,” pays homage to his Nickelodeon roots.
The video begins with a young boy rehearsing his lines in front of a television before a grown man leads him into a trailer and closes the blinds. When the boy stands up, the back of the chair – and the outside of the trailer – reveals his name: “Drake Bell.”
The music video for “I Kind Of Relate” seems to reference his “Drake & Josh” days
Things take a darker turn when Bell himself sits in a car, beaten and bloodied, as if he had just survived a brutal accident. After undergoing surgery, he attends a group therapy session of sorts, eventually picking up a guitar in a set that closely resembles the bedroom his character Drake Parker and stepbrother Josh Nichols (played by Josh Peck) shared in Drake and Josh.
“I can kind of relate / I found beauty in my pain / I’m running away / From the abuse and all the shame / ‘Cause nobody comes / To my home anymore / Nobody knocks on my door / I can kind of relate / The wrong choices I made / I wanted to stay / But I couldn’t last another day / My golden days / They seem so far away and grey / So I’m running away (running away).”
In the YouTube caption, Bell wrote: “This song was inspired by my past and now that my story is being told, I felt the time was right to share it.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit the official National Sexual Assault Hotline website to speak with a sexual assault counseling service provider.
