There has been numerous boyband members who have gone from successful group hits to branching out as solo artists later on, but this newly former boyband that goes by the name Why Don’t We did this process the other way around. Daniel Seavey, Zach Herron, Corbyn Besson, Jack Avery and Jonah Marais were all doing there own thing as singers on social media, until they were approached with the idea of teaming up. That’s when Why Don’t We were born, and in a recent interview with teen.com Jack, Jonah and Daniel explained just how this group was formed;
“I started as a solo artist and met these guys later down the line on some social media tours and other events. At one point, this idea was brought about to maybe become a group because we have the same musical influences and aspirations,” Jack, the 17-year old Pennsylvanian, explained. “Basically, we all started on the Internet doing music and we saw each other doing the same things that we were doing and were like…” Jonah continued. “Why don’t we form a band,” Daniel cheekily finished. And that’s how the name came about. There musical influences are all so similar so it was another reason this group was going to work. When it comes to inspiration these boys look up to the likes of Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake and The Chainsmokers to develop there sound, so there is no doubt these guys are destined for something big.
“We all kind of grew up with Justin Bieber in a way. When we were young, we saw him doing his thing and that was cool. Now as he’s growing up as a human being and we all are kind of inspired by his new album. It’s so good and it’s so himself. It’s good to see that,” Jonah said. In October of 2016 the boys released there debut single entitled “Taking You” which soon became a world wide hit, getting a tremendous 4.2 million views on YouTube and channeling that Justin Bieber sound.
*Image Source: whydontwemusic.com
As solo artists these five boys weren’t strangers from the spotlight Daniel was on American Idol in 2015 as a 15 year old where he made it to the live shows but was eliminated a few weeks later. Jonah was also doing his own music, and he was one of the featured acts on the DigiTour in 2015 along with the likes of Hayes Grier and Aaron Carpenter. Corbyn, Jack and Zach had just a huge following on Facebook and Instagram as solo artists which was enough to get them noticed.
In November 2016, Why Don’t We released there debut EP entitled “Only The Beginning” which spawned two massive hit singles “Taking You” and “Nobody Gotta Know”. There album was heavily publicized through YouTube from vlogger and friend Logan Paul who has directed three of there music videos and featured them on his daily vlogs. So what does members Jonah and Jack think about being apart of this new sensation; “It’s very different! Now I have 4 of my best friends backing me up with everything that I do! It’s a very nice change” Jonah said. “My favorite part of being in a band is having 4 brothers that I know are always going to be by my side throughout this amazing journey” Jack went on to say.
With the first single “Taking You” creating fast traction there was a lot of positive buzz surrounding the single. But as Corbyn explains this first single was almost career defining for them “The release of “Taking You” was a huge moment for us because it was our first piece of music that we released as a band. It was amazing to see the reaction to it online because we didn’t really know what to expect. We have huge plans ahead of us for the fans and much much more music to come! “Taking You” was a way for us to really connect to our fans, especially since the idea of us being in a band was so new to everyone. We just really wanted to let our fans know how special they are and take them on this journey with us”.
In 2017 the group released two back to back EP’s entitled “Something Different” and “Why Don’t We Just”. Both EP’s hit the number 6 and the number 2 spot on the US heat seekers chart which are charts released weekly by Billboard Magazine. They released two singles off the EP’s which were the titled singles and managed to reach number 24 on the US heat seekers charts. After establishing themselves in just under a year, Why Don’t We are letting fans know just how passionate they are about being the next One Direction and had their first shows as a band one in Pennsylvania on Friday, December 2nd 2016 and the other at Webster Hall in NYC on Sunday, December 4th 2016 much to the excitement of fans. “We had a fan who flew in from Argentina for the show in New York. She figured out where we were staying and while we were broadcasting she comments, ‘I can hear you guys in real life right now.’ I mean, that’s cool, but… it’s crazy that someone would actually do that for us,” Jonah said.
The group currently has created a legion of fans just seven months after there formation gathering more then 5 million Spotify streams across there three EP’s. The boys will be taking the hits from these EP’s on the road with them this year and The Something Different tour will hit 19 cities from July through August, kicking off in Atlanta on July 11 and stopping through cities like New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles before closing in Nashville on Aug. 12. And considering the guys have more than 700,000 followers on social media, this will likely be one hot ticket to get your hands on.
If you are yet to check these guys out do yourself a favor and look them up on YouTube and keep your ears peeled for there hits that will no doubt be blowing up radio airwaves near you. Why Don’t We are going to be the next big thing, you heard it here first. All three of there EP’s are available on Spotify and ITunes now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loqeABQFTH0
