Fun | |
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 Fun performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2008–2015[a] |
| Labels | |
| Spinoff of | |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | ournameisfun |
Fun (stylized asfun.) is an Americanpop rock[3] band based inNew York City. The band consists ofAndrew Dost (ofAnathallo) andNate Ruess (ofthe Format),[5] and formerlyJack Antonoff (ofBleachers).
Fun formed in 2008, and their debut studio album,Aim and Ignite, was released in 2009 to moderate commercial success. The band rose to prominence with the release of their second album,Some Nights, in 2012. The album peaked at number three on the U.S.Billboard 200 chart, and toppedBillboard'sTop Alternative Albums andTop Rock Albums charts. It spawned their biggest hit singles to date: "We Are Young" featuringJanelle Monáe, "Some Nights" and "Carry On", all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100 with "We Are Young" peaking at number one. At the55th Annual Grammy Awards, they won the award forSong of the Year for their song "We Are Young"; they also won the award forBest New Artist.[6]
In February 2008,Nate Ruess's former bandthe Format split up. Immediately afterwards, Nate Ruess asked Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff to join his new project. Dost had toured with the Format and provided various instrumentation, and Ruess met Antonoff after the Format toured with Steel Train.[7] The three began working together inNew Jersey within a week. Ruess sang melodies while the other two provided music for them.[8] The first demo song the band recorded was "Benson Hedges", which was made available free inSpin's August 20, 2008 article on the band.[9] In November 2008, fun embarked on their first tour opening forJack's Mannequin. Their first show was played in Denver, Colorado on November 5, 2008.[10] A couple of early demos and covers from other bands were performed. Fun then approached Steven McDonald, who producedthe Format's albumDog Problems with Ruess, to produce their debut album. McDonald was enthusiastic about the project and stated, "I can't believe what we're working on here. This crushes anything I've ever done."[8]
Recording took place in the fall of 2008. The band's first single, "At Least I'm Not as Sad As I Used to Be" was made available as a free download on the band'sMyspace page on April 6, 2009.[11]Aim and Ignite was released on August 25, 2009, and received positive reviews.AbsolutePunk.net's Drew Beringer praised the album, stating it was "what a pop album 'should' sound like" and "the most essential pop album of 2009".[12]AllMusic called the album "progressive, but in the best possible way" and admired Ruess's lyrics for "investigating the larger truths of life...with a witty approach that keeps the songs bubbling merrily along on a positive note".[13] Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic wrote, "Aim and Ignite isn't the most consistent pop album around," but he ultimately commended the album as "a superbly mixed and arranged album made by musicians who clearly understand the limits and potential of pop music".[14] Estella Hung ofPopMatters was less impressed with the album. She praised songs "Be Calm" and "The Gambler", but criticized the lyrics and production of the album's early tracks. Hung concluded that whileAim and Ignite is "pretty original to say the least", it "fails to live up to the Format's last outing."[15] Popdose's Ken Shane called the album "an interesting and unusual listen". Shane applauded the album's songwriting and said "many of the songs are really good," but he objected to the "cute" production, desiring to hear the band "in a more stripped-down form." He ended his review with: "I have a similar problem with Dr. Dog, a band that was recommended to me by a number of people. I think much of their recorded work is too fussed over, but when I saw them live and their sound was more stripped down out of necessity, emphasizing their powerful songwriting, I thought they were wonderful. Perhaps the same fate awaits me with Fun."[16] In reviewing the album,The Washington Post called some of the arrangements "theatrical, much like those onPanic! at the Disco's2005 debut".[17] The album reached number 26 on Sputnikmusic's top 50 albums of 2009. The album peaked at 71 on the U.S. album charts.
Fun began its first North American tour on November 8, 2008, opening forJack's Mannequin[18] as well as opening for them again in February 2010, followed by their first U.K. appearances in March. In April 2010, Fun supportedParamore's headline tour.[19] The band then embarked on a full U.K. tour in May. On August 4, 2010, Fun announced that they had signed with labelFueled by Ramen.[20] In 2010, Fun's single "Walking the Dog" was used in a commercial for the travel siteExpedia.com.[21]Will Noon (formerly ofStraylight Run) played drums with Fun on tour, according to Noon's Twitter page.[22] To celebrate the Paramore U.K. tour and the band's new single "Walking the Dog", Hassle Records gave away a free download of an acoustic version of the track.[23]
On May 17, 2011, the band released "C'mon" as a joint single withPanic! at the Disco, for whom they opened on their 2011Vices & Virtues Tour. On November 7, 2011, the band announced that their next album would be titledSome Nights. Its first single, called "We Are Young" featuring Janelle Monáe, has since been used in several other media, including television seriesGossip Girl,[24]90210,[25]Glee, andChuck;[26] commercials forChevrolet[27] andApple;[28] and in the trailer forJudd Apatow's filmThis Is 40.[29] On December 12, 2011, the band's song "One Foot" was available for instant streaming and free download onNylon's website.[30]
On February 13, 2012, the band released an album stream ofSome Nights on their website along with a note from Ruess thanking fans for their ongoing support.[31] It was released on February 21, 2012, throughFueled by Ramen.[32] The band kicked off the start of their North American tour in support ofSome Nights on February 29.[33]
On March 7, 2012, Fun's single "We Are Young" reached the No. 1 spot on theBillboard Hot 100 chart. This makes Fun the first multi-member rock band to have a No. 1Billboard debut on the Hot 100 sinceNickelback's "How You Remind Me".[34] On April 11, 2012, Billboard.com announced that Fun's "We Are Young" also made Digital Sales history. As the song was at the No. 1 spot on theBillboard Hot 100 for a sixth consecutive week, it has become the first, and at this time only, song that has ever gained 300,000+ downloads for seven weeks straight.[35] The music video for the album's third single, "Carry On", was released in October 2012.[36] The group performed "Some Nights" and "Carry On" onSaturday Night Live on November 3,[37] and then performed "We Are Young" on the2012 MTV Europe Music Awards on November 11.[38]
The group performed at the55th Grammy Awards, held February 10, 2013.Entertainment Weekly predicted that "We Are Young" would bring home the Grammy in the categoriesRecord of the Year andSong of the Year (writing, of the latter, "'We Are Young' is the kind of anthem this category is made for"), and thatSome Nights would win forBest Pop Vocal Album. "We Are Young" won the Grammy for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year. Fun also won the Grammy forBest New Artist.[39] Ruess, after winning for "We Are Young", jokingly said, "I don't know what I was thinking, writing the chorus for this song. If this is in HD, everybody can see our faces, and we are not very young."[40] On February 26, 2013, Fun released the music video for "Why Am I the One".
In September 2013, the band joinedQueen for a special version of Queen's hit "Somebody to Love" then as a duet with the more modern version of the band in the form ofQueen + Adam Lambert for "Fat Bottomed Girls" at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas.[41] In December 2013, Fun digitally releasedBefore Shane Went To Bangkok: Live in The USA, a live EP with songs from bothAim and Ignite andSome Nights, as well as a recording of "What the Fuck", previously unreleased by the band. A vinyl release of the EP was released in March 2014.[42] On June 18, 2014, Fun performed the song "Harsh Light" onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
On February 4, 2015, the band announced on its Facebook page and their official website that they were not splitting up, but were taking some time off to pursue other projects. Dost became the lead singer of the band Metal Bubble Trio.[43] Antonoff later became the lead singer of the indie rock bandBleachers, further stating in a 2024 interview withUs Weekly, "I know when something will age well, and that's why I stay with the things that I want to do. There was something very accidental about Fun., which is also what stressed me out about it. It wasn't my band."[44]
Fun is the winner of twoGrammy Awards, twoTeen Choice Awards, and oneBillboard Music Award.
In 2010, they won Best Pop/Rock Song at the Independent Music Awards for "All the Pretty Girls".[45]
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