'Gold' calls upon Katy Perry's summer smash "California Gurls" while also implementing the acoustic vibe from Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack," before finally segwaying into a standard pop breakdown. Overall, the production feels somewhat generic and strategic, essentially, Nickelodeon knew that Justice isn't as big of a star as her Co-worker Ariana Grande, so they needed this move to hopefully gurantee some mainstream success. So far, it isn't working.
Her vocals are pretty solid, but she seem coarse in parts of the song, namely im the end and when she cheekily exclaims, "I'm gold!" She throws in one little run and sustained note, but Ariana and Demi won't have to be holding their breaths, they're safe from any vocal acrobatics she has to show off.
Overall, it does seem to have Victoria's own vibe like she said, but a label not tied to Nickelodeon would have greatly benefited her. The lyrics are above average (even though the random inclusion of 'Im Gold!' is mind boggling), the production is average, and her vocals are average, or maybe slightly above, but it doesn't seem like 'Gold' is going to catch on anytime soon.
Vocals: C+
Lyrics: B+
Production: C
Overall: C+