How to Rock



How To Rock is a Nickelodeon series about a girl named Kacey Simon, member of her school's social elite until her loss of eyesight and the tooth injury that results from it force her to get glasses and braces, which causes her Girl Posse to kick her out. With her former friends wanting nothing to do with her, she ends up hanging out with the members of a music group called Gravity 5, who turn out to be much better friends than the ones she knew.

Loosely based on the book How To Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston. How To Rock premiered on February 5, 2012 and lasted only one season.

Tropes used in this series:
"Stevie: I can come to your party. I couldn't come when I said I couldn't come because I had a thing, which was a real thing and not a made up thing, but now it's not a thing anymore, so I can come."
 * Adaptational Villainy: Molly was still kind of unpleasant in the book, but not to the degree that she is in the TV series. Notably, in the book, she and Kacey remain friends even after Kacey's Heel Face Turn. (They do go through a rough patch after Kacey's fall, but it gets mended by the end of the book.)
 * Alpha Bitch: Kacey, prior to her fall. After it, Molly takes her place. Molly also qualifies as a Big Bad, for she is often described as "evil".
 * Aesop Amnesia: Kacey occasionally slips back into her old Perf habits, though it's actually handled a lot more realistically than most instances of this trope. Kacey's Heel Face Turn is a work in progress, not something that just happens and is done.
 * Awesome McCoolname: Cymphonique Miller, who plays Kacey. Also happens to be Master P's daughter.
 * Batman Gambit: Kacey tries one on Molly in "How to Rock a Birthday Party".
 * Becoming the Mask: Stevie in "How To Rock a Secret Agent."
 * Berserk Button: Don't call Stevie "Loserberry." She doesn't mind so much when it's just you and her, but call her that in front of her friends and she'll introduce her bass to your face.
 * The Bet: The subject of "How To Rock A Messy Bet".
 * Be Yourself: The message of the song "Only You Can Be You".
 * Buffy-Speak: In "How To Rock A Guest List":

"Kacey: Why are you making me wear this?
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Molly even admits she is evil in "How To Rock A Messy Bet".
 * Catch Phrase:
 * "Hold it down" for Gravity Five
 * "Peace out, girl scout" for Kacey.
 * Canon Immigrant: Stevie will be appearing in Meg Haston's "How To Rock Break-Ups and Make-Ups" as Zander's ex-girlfriend, though whether or not she'll bear any resemblance to her TV self remains to be seen.
 * Cannot Convey Sarcasm: Grace, demonstrated in "How To Rock A Lunch Table."
 * Cool Loser: The members of Gravity Five, as well as Kacey once she joins them. Justified, as Molly has it out for them specifically and devotes all of her considerable social power to undermining them.
 * Cool Teacher: Mr. March tries to be one, but his students don't seem to buy it.
 * Defector From Decadence: Kacey from the Perfs.
 * Diabolical Mastermind: Molly, most definitely!
 * The Dragon: Molly to Kacey (formerly), now Grace is this to Molly.
 * Dragon Ascendant: Molly works this angle after she kicks Kacey out.
 * Dumb Blonde: Grace, but not always.
 * Easily Forgiven: Kacey
 * Enemy Mine: Between Stevie and the Perfs in "How To Rock A Messy Bet", so Stevie can win the bet. However, this goes awry for Stevie when Molly's only focus is torturing Kacey.
 * Even Mooks Have Loved Ones: Grace is more or less close to Nelson, whom she has a noticable crush on
 * Evil Laugh: Kacey attempts one in "How To Rock a Birthday Party" when she talks about how Molly coming to her party is part of the plan, but she chokes on it and starts coughing.
 * Fallen Princess: Kacey, but she doesn't seem to mind.
 * False Friend: Well-established in the first episode when she realizes that Molly only liked her because she was perfect.
 * Five-Man Band: Gravity 5 follows this trope quite well.
 * The Hero: Kacey, also The Chick
 * The Lancer: Zander, who is also The Leader of Gravity 5. Stevie could also be considered a lancer to Kacey.
 * The Smart Guy: Nelson, but despite his intellect, Stevie proves he's dumber than a hamster.
 * The Big Guy: Kevin
 * The Chick: Stevie, as well as Kacey
 * From Nobody to Nightmare: Molly. After Kacey is thrown out, Molly appears to have transformed the Perfs into a group that is meaner and more oppressive.
 * Genius Ditz: Nelson is good with technology and an awesome keyboard player, but Stevie scientifically proves that he's dumber than a hamster.
 * Girl Posse: The Perfs
 * The Good Guys Always Win: In every episode so far, Molly's attempts to subdue or humiliate Kacey and Gravity 5 always end in failure, with Gravity 5 successfully turning the tables on the Perfs, or at least getting the last laugh. However, two episodes end with neither a member of Gravity 5 nor Molly fully getting what they want. It is only a matter of time until Molly gets fed up with her previous losses...
 * Groin Attack: Kevin mentions getting one in "How To Rock A Guest List".
 * Halloween Episode: "How To Rock a Halloween Party".
 * Hypocrite:
 * In "How To Rock a Secret Agent", Kacey tells Stevie that Molly is only using her as a spy, even though she was doing the exactly same thing.
 * Stevie returns the favor in "How To Rock a Birthday Party": She called out Kacey for not knowing her birthday in Secret Agent, but she didn't know when Kacey's birthday was either.
 * I Control My Minions Through...: Molly is said to have a talent of staring at people and making them nervous.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each episode is called "How To Rock X".
 * If You Taunt Her, You Will Be Just Like Her: Zander seems to have this opinion about Kacey's feud with Molly.
 * In Name Only: The only thing that is remotely similar to Haston's novel is that it has a protagonist named Kacey Simon who falls from popularity after having to get braces and glasses. New characters have been added, others removed, and some had their last names changed.
 * In-Series Nickname: The Perfs call Stevie "Loserberry", as does Kacey during her time with them, until she falls from popularity and becomes Stevie's friend. Also, "Stevie" is one, her full name being "Stevana."
 * Insistent Terminology: Nelson repeatedly insists that people refer to his blanket as "Captain Blanket".
 * It's All About Me: Kacey dips into this on occasion, but she usually gets over it.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Kacey.
 * Laser-Guided Karma: Ever Since Kacey's eviction from the Perfs, Molly and the Perfs almost always get what they truly deserve for their actions against Gravity 5. Kacey, however, is not immune to this trope either, especially when she slips into her jerkass tendencies.
 * Meganekko: Kacey, briefly. It doesn't last beyond the end of the first episode though.
 * Minion With an F In Evil: Grace doesn't seem to have a particularly nasty attitude per se, she just loyally goes along with whatever Molly says.
 * Narcissist: Zander's obsession in "How To Rock a Messy Bet" is checking his reflection in the mirror.
 * Never Live It Down: Invoked. Kacey worries that "she'll never live down" being seen by Molly or Grace working at Danny Mangos.
 * Not So Different: Even though she hates Molly, Kacey is more or less just as ambitious and manipulative as Molly. Of course Kacey and Molly are both shown to be bossy and/or demanding. Both obsess over outdoing the other, with the goal moving their respective groups to the top. This is taken to an extreme in "How to Rock A Secret Agent" where Kacey is aware that Molly uses people, ironically does not realize she herself is doing the same to Stevie. Both attempt to get Stevie to find out what the other is wearing for a dance. After Stevie figures out both were using her, . Justified in that Kacey was one of the Perfs. The fact that Kacey isn't much different from Molly is even more evident in "How To Rock a Birthday Party", where she plots to send Molly to the wrong party and even has her own Evil Laugh. Unlike Molly, however, Kacey has a conscience and usually feels bad when she's a jerk to her friends.
 * Number Two for Brains: Grace, explained above.
 * Odd Couple: Kacey and Stevie.
 * Out-Gambitted: In "How To Rock a Birthday Party", Kacey is always one step ahead of Molly, who is plotting to overshadow Kacey during her party. Kacey (along with everyone else) does not even buy Molly's "nice" facade, leading her to change the location of her party without telling Molly.
 * Popular Is Dumb: Grace
 * The Power of Friendship: Gravity Five runs on it.
 * Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud: Grace in "How To Rock A Newscast." She also slips up a couple of times and reads Zander's prompts.
 * Serious Business: Sitting at the right lunch table for Kacey. Slightly justified by the fact that Gravity Five's current table is in a er...prime pooping location for the school's bird population, which Kacey finds very unpleasant.
 * The Snark Knight: Stevie
 * Special Guest: Big Time Rush in "How To Rock An Election"
 * Spell My Name With an "S": It's K-a-c-e-y. It's not very clear since there's not a lot of promotional material, so in articles/fansites/internet/wherever, her name gets spelled different each time. Casey, Kaci, Kacy, you get the drift.
 * Cymphonique!
 * The Starscream: Molly, who succeeds in removing Kacey from the Perfs in the first episode.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: In "How To Rock Braces and Glasses":

Molly: To show school spirit, not to hide your face."


 * Third Person Person: Danny Mango, but when he's sad, he speaks in first person.
 * Title Drop: In "How To Rock Braces and Glasses", Kacey says that if she rejoins Gravity Five, "they'll have to keep up, cause she knows how to rock."
 * Tomboyish Name: Stevie.
 * Subverted. It's a nickname. Her real name is Stevana.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Stevie and Kacey, respectively.
 * True Companions: Gravity 5, to the point where, in "How To Rock A Guest List", Kacey adamantly refuses to attend a party thrown by a popular student if the other members can't attend too. Later, they return the favor when Kacey's obsessive behavior results in her being told she has to leave. They all tell the host that they won't stay if she can't.
 * The TV Series Of The Book
 * Villainous Demotivator: Molly does (or rather, parodies) this to Grace when she fails to claim their table before Gravity 5 does. To Molly, Grace failing her duty at the hands of Gravity 5 is completely...unacceptable.
 * Villainous Friendship: Molly and Grace, but just barely.
 * Villain Song: "Rules for Being Popular" by the Perfs.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Stevie gives Kacey one in "How to Rock a Secret Agent" when Kacey doesn't know her middle name, birthday, or favorite color.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: Molly definitely and successfully employs this alot in "How to Rock a Lunch Table" to make sure Gravity 5 does not take their table at all costs,