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American indie pop band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AJR is an American indie pop band founded by brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, collectively a trio of vocalists, multi-instrumentalists, and songwriters.[1] The brothers grew up in New York City, primarily focused on busking and singing covers until shifting to songwriting and touring. At their home studio, AJR recorded more than 100 songs and has released five studio albums on various record labels along with their indie label.[a]
AJR | |
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AJR performing in 2023. From keyboard to bass:
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Discography | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Website | ajrbrothers |
AJR wrote "I'm Ready" and promoted the song onto Twitter in 2012, which led to Australian singer and songwriter Sia sharing her talent management network with the trio prior to the release. After the song became their breakout single on radio, AJR formed their own label AJR Productions[7] and released three EPs—6foot1 (2013), Infinity (2014), and What Everyone's Thinking (2016). Since their debut, AJR has written or co-written every song in their five-album discography: Living Room (2015); The Click (2017); the two U.S. Billboard 200 top-ten albums—Neotheater (2019), OK Orchestra (2021); and The Maybe Man (2023). The 2017 electropop platinum album contained their first Billboard Alternative number-one song "Sober Up" (featuring Rivers Cuomo), and the 2021 orchestral pop gold album spawned—their first Hot 100 top-ten single and the Billboard Music Award Top Rock Song—"Bang!". AJR is a multi-platinum band for having seven platinum singles—including the three aforementioned songs; "Weak", "Burn the House Down", "100 Bad Days", and "Way Less Sad"—all of which accounted for eleven million certified units of their digital single sales in America.[8][9]
Your early covers on YouTube were kind of what inspired me to get into making covers on my own ... your "Ho Hey" cover ... that was like one of the first covers that I saw that made me want to put out covers.
—Mendes
AJR, originally known as TB³,[b] began street performing in the parks of New York City in 2005.[11][12][13] Prior to releasing original music, they posted covers of popular songs onto YouTube, under the username of AJRbrothers. Jack revealed in 2017 that their cover of "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers later inspired pop singer Shawn Mendes to perform his own covers.[14] In 2012, AJR self-released their first and eponymous limited edition EP in CD format.[15]
In November 2012, Ryan tweeted a link to a video of their debut single, "I'm Ready", to about 80 celebrities, including Australian singer Sia.[16][17] Sia told her manager about the song, and he contacted Steve Greenberg, former president of Columbia Records and current CEO and founder of S-Curve Records, who now acts as their manager.[18][19] "I'm Ready", which features a sample of SpongeBob SquarePants repeatedly singing his catchphrase "I'm ready" from the eponymous animated series' premiere episode, was commercially released on August 22, 2013.[20][21][22] The song was placed in regular rotation on Sirius XM Radio's Top 20 on 20 and Hits 1 stations,[18] and they performed it on Good Day New York and VH1's Big Morning Buzz.[23] The official music video for "I'm Ready" premiered on VEVO on October 15, 2013.[24] It was certified Platinum in America and three times Platinum in Australia.[25][26]
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AJR released their second EP, 6foot1, on December 20, 2013,[27] later being re-released as I'm Ready – EP via Warner Music Group on March 25, 2014. They were named Clear Channel's "Artist on the Rise" for the month of October 2013. By 2014, the band was named iHeartRadio's Artist of the Month for Top 40 in January.[28]
The band's third EP, Infinity, was released on September 23, 2014. It contains 5 tracks, including the lead single "Infinity". A lyric video directed and produced primarily by AJR was released for the single.[29] The EP was released instead of their debut album, Living Room, which was pushed back to a release date of March 3, 2015. The band expressed the delay in their debut album was because they wanted to add some of their newer music to the project.[30] On October 23, 2015, they released the individual single "Let the Games Begin".[31]
On September 16, 2016, AJR released their fourth EP, titled What Everyone's Thinking.[32] It was preceded by "I'm Not Famous" as a single earlier in the year,[33] followed by "Weak" as a single upon release.[34] The latter became a hit,[35] receiving Platinum certifications in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the US, additionally generating over 250 million streams on Spotify within its first year.[36] All five tracks from What Everyone's Thinking were included on AJR's second studio album, The Click, which was released on June 9, 2017.[37]
The album, on the AJR Productions label, was released by S-Curve Records in the United States,[38] Ultra Records in Canada, and Black Butter Records in the rest of the world.[39] "Drama" was released prior as the album's third single,[40] while "Sober Up" became the fourth single upon the album's release. The latter featured Rivers Cuomo and became AJR's and Cuomo's first chart-topping song apart from his band Weezer;[41] atop Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart for two weeks in 2018.[42]
The Click primarily stayed within AJR's signature pop sound.[37][43] It was inspired by Fun, Twenty One Pilots,[35] Kanye West,[44] and Kendrick Lamar, stylistically incorporating hip-hop,[39] electronic dance music,[43] and jazz.[32] In support of the album, AJR announced the Click Tour in late 2017, which embarked through North America in 2018.[45] The album amassed over two billion streams on Spotify,[39] while the tour sold over 100,000 tickets,[46] featuring Hundred Handed, Grizfolk,[47] Ocean Park Standoff,[48] MAX,[49] and Robert DeLong as opening acts.[50]
A deluxe version of The Click was released on September 21, 2018.[51] The Click (Deluxe Edition) included three new tracks: "Burn the House Down", "Role Models", and "Normal".[52] The former was released in March 2018 as a single,[53] reaching number two on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.[54] Also included was an acoustic recording of "Pretender",[55] a collaboration from earlier in the year between AJR, EDM artist Steve Aoki and American rapper Lil Yachty.[56] Due to a resurgence in popularity after four years, AJR released a music video for the album's second track, "The Good Part", on November 24, 2021.[57]
On January 30, 2019, AJR released the song "100 Bad Days", which would later become the lead single for Neotheater.[58] A music video for the single was released on March 7.[59] The song was additionally included on Taylor Swift's Apple Music playlist, "Playlist by ME!", in May 2019, with the pre-chorus' lyrics being used for Taylor's description of the playlist of songs she loves and appreciates.[60]
On March 10, the band announced their third studio album, Neotheater, which was to be released on April 26. On March 12, the promotional single "Birthday Party" was released and "100 Bad Days" was performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[61] The second single, "Dear Winter", was released on April 5 alongside a music video.[62] After releasing on April 26, 2019, Neotheater debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 and hit number one on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart.[63][64][65] A show for the Neotheater World Tour was later sold out at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on October 5, 2019.[66]
On October 25, 2019, the group released "Dear Winter 2.0", re-imagining the song by "changing the production and upping the emotion".[67]
"Bang!" was released as the lead single for the band's fourth studio album on February 12, 2020.[68] The song charted in the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight, making it AJR's first and only Hot 100 top-ten single.[69] The album's second single, "Bummerland", released on August 31, 2020,[70] later being performed by the band at the virtual concert "We the People" on January 17, 2021 for the inauguration of the 46th United States president Joe Biden.[71]
On December 22, 2020, AJR released "My Play" as the third single,[72] followed by "Way Less Sad" as the fourth single on February 17, 2021.[73] OK Orchestra was officially released on March 26, 2021,[74] with the Blue Man Group featuring on its ninth track, "Ordinaryish People".[75] At the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, "Bang!" received an award for winning "Top Rock Song", and they performed the song alongside "Way Less Sad".[76]
Following the release of OK Orchestra, AJR collaborated with the American bands Weezer and Daisy the Great, releasing a remix of Weezer's "All My Favorite Songs" on May 12, 2021,[77] and a remix of Daisy the Great's "Record Player" on August 31, 2021.[78]
On April 22, 2022, the band announced that a new song would be released before the OK Orchestra Tour resumed. AJR signed to Mercury Records/Republic Records in May 2022,[79][80] and officially released the song "I Won't" through the label on July 29 with an accompanying music video.[81] On November 12, the band released a video teaser announcing their new album, abbreviated as TMM,[82] and released the follow-up single "The DJ Is Crying for Help" on November 18.[83] On January 27, 2023, Quinn XCII released "Too Late", featuring AJR.[84] The song appeared as track 7 on Quinn's fifth studio album, The People's Champ.[85] The single came after the cancellation of 2020's Everything Everywhere Tour, which would have seen both artists performing alongside each other.[86]
On April 21, 2023, the band released the album's third single, "The Dumb Song". The next day, a music video was released detailing the events of the one-and-a-half-year-long process of creating the song.[87] The band surprise released a lyric video for a new song titled "God Is Really Real" on July 3, detailing the brothers' relationship with their father, Gary, who was terminally ill at the time of its release.[88] The band announced later that day that Gary had died.[89] On August 28, AJR announced the album's title, The Maybe Man, with a release date of November 3. The album's tracklist and artwork was revealed on September 12, and the band released the fifth and final single "Yes I'm a Mess" on September 29 with a music video on October 25.[82][90] On October 11, 2023, AJR announced that the release date of The Maybe Man had been delayed by one week to November 10.[91] On November 8, 2023, AJR announced The Maybe Man Tour, the band's first arena tour, beginning in 2024.[92]
On May 24, 2024, the band released an acoustic version of the song "Inertia".[93] The accompanying music video, filmed at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, was released the day after. The video features AJR, Arnetta Johnson, and Ginny Luke sitting in one section of the arena, towards the front, with a spotlight on the band members.
The brothers are Jewish, describing themselves as "culturally Jewish".[94] Their father was Gary Metzger, an architect who died in July 2023; their mother is Laurie Marvald, who began her career as an architect, attending Cornell University, then moving on to entrepreneurship. Laurie created and was one of the original founding partners of AJR Productions, LLC. She held an executive and management role until 2022.[citation needed]
The three members of AJR grew up in Bayside, Queens, until moving to Chelsea, Manhattan, in 2001.[95] There, Jack attended the Professional Children's School in Manhattan.[96] Jack was a child actor, appearing in The Pink Panther 2 as well as an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.[18][97]
Adam received a BA from Columbia University, majoring in business and philosophy,[98] an MA from New York University,[99] and PhD in International Human Rights Law from the University of Birmingham, while Ryan and Jack studied film at Columbia University.[100][101][102]
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The brothers are all singer-songwriters themselves.[103] Being known for as a DIY band, they emphasize writing, producing, and mixing all of their own music collaboratively from their living room studio.[104][1] AJR describes their musical style is a mixture of many different genres such as dubstep, doo-wop, hip-pop and theatrical musical like Broadway,[105][1] whereas the band has been categorized as indie pop by the news and magazine.[74][106]
AJR
Touring/session members
Former touring member
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The X Factor | Musical guest | In Australian Season 6 | [111] |
| Live with Kelly and Michael | In Season 27 | [112] | ||
| 2016 | Live with Kelly | Episode 10 | [113] | |
| 2017 | Live with Kelly and Ryan | [114] | ||
| 2018 | [115] | |||
| 2020 | [116] | |||
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Episode 2954 | [117] | ||
| Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | Television special | [118] | ||
| 2021 | iHeartRadio Jingle Ball | [119] | ||
| NBC's New Year's Eve | [120] | |||
| The Late Late Show with James Corden | Episode 862 | [121] | ||
| The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo | Season 2 Episode 13 | [122] | ||
| The Kelly Clarkson Show | [123] | |||
| 2022 | [124] | |||
| iHeartRadio Jingle Ball | Television special | [125] | ||
| Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve | [126] | |||
| The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | [127] | |||
| 2023 | [128] | |||
| Music Universe K-909 | Korean Episode 18 | [129] | ||
| Live with Kelly and Mark | In Season 36 | [130] | ||
| The Voice | In Season 24 | [131] | ||
| iHeartRadio Jingle Ball | Television special | [132] | ||
| 2024 | NHL Stadium Series | Rangers-Islanders intermission | [133] | |
| The Kelly Clarkson Show | Episode 791 | [134] |
COVID-19 concerts
In 2020, the band postponed a second leg of the Neotheater World Tour and an upcoming Everything Everywhere Tour, later canceling them due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[141] On July 21, 2020, AJR announced their drive-in show, "A night in your car with AJR", which took place on August 19, 2020, in Philadelphia.[139] Two days later after the first show had sold out entirely, they announced a second show for Philadelphia which took place on August 20. The first show saw the debut of "Bummerland".[142]
On November 19, 2020, AJR announced their first virtual concert, AJR's One Spectacular Night, which took place on December 26, 2020. The livestream was interactive, allowing viewers to clap after songs and change the camera to both simulate a live concert and experiment with livestreaming.[140]
AJR has opened for Andy Grammer, American Authors, Demi Lovato, Fifth Harmony, Fitz and the Tantrums, Hoodie Allen, Imagine Dragons, Ingrid Michaelson, Lindsey Stirling, Melanie Martinez, Sammy Adams, the Wanted, Train, and We the Kings.[143][34][144][145][146][147][148]
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