AJR (band)

AJR
Background information
Origin Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Genres
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Website ajrbrothers.com
Members
  • Adam Met
  • Jack Met
  • Ryan Met

AJR is an American indie pop band composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met. The band is a DIY pop group who write, produce and mix their own material in the living room of their Chelsea apartment. Their top 3 successful songs include "Weak", "I'm Ready" and "Sober Up".[1] Their music style has been described as "electric", combining elements of pop, doo-wop, electronic, and dubstep.[2]

The band name "AJR" comes from the first initials of Adam, Jack, and Ryan.[3]

Career

The Met brothers initially began writing, producing and mixing their own material in the living room of their Chelsea apartment, focusing on DIY indie pop music. They began performing around 2005, busking in Central Park and Washington Square Park. They began by performing covers,[4] but now compose original music influenced by musicians such as The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, Vampire Weekend, Jon Bellion, Imagine Dragons, Kanye West, Macklemore, Twenty One Pilots, and Fun.[5]

In Spring 2013, AJR's Ryan Met tweeted a link to a video of their song "I'm Ready" to about 80 celebrities, including Australian singer Sia Furler.[4] Furler 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.[6] He acts as their co-manager.[4] AJR's debut single, "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.[7] The song was placed in regular rotation on Sirius XM Radio's Top 20 on 20 and Hits 1 stations,[6] and they performed the song on Good Day New York and VH1's Big Morning Buzz.[8] The official music video for "I'm Ready" premiered on VEVO on October 15, 2013.[4][9]

Debut album

AJR released their debut EP, 6foot1 (later renamed I'm Ready), on December 20, 2013. They were named Clear Channel's "Artist on the Rise" for the month of October 2013. By 2014, the band was already named IHeartRadio's Artist of the Month for Top 40 in January,[10] and a Myspace "One to Watch" in February,[11] while "I'm Ready" officially impacted pop radio in April. There are now over 23 million YouTube views for "I'm Ready," many thousands of singles sold each week, features in Billboard and the New York Post, while climbing the Top 40 chart. "I'm Ready" hit #1 on Next Big Sound's chart in May 2014. The band performed the song on The Today Show (NBC) on July 29, 2014. "I'm Ready" has been certified Platinum, Canada and Platinum in Australia.

Subsequent albums

The band's second EP, Infinity, was released September 23, 2014. It contains 5 tracks, including the lead single "Infinity".[12] They released a lyric video for the single. A majority of the work for the video was done by AJR, including directing and producing.[13] 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 that the delay in their debut album was because they wanted to add some of their newer music to the project. The brothers released their third EP, titled What Everyone's Thinking, on September 16, 2016, which features the lead single "Weak". "Weak" has been certified Platinum in the U.S., Canada, Norway, Netherlands and Belgium, and Gold in Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Australia. It has over 320 million streams on Spotify.

The band released its second studio album, The Click, on June 9, 2017, featuring the singles "Weak" and "Drama". The album also contains the track "Sober Up", which features Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, who co wrote the track. The band's 2018 tour in support of the album, The Click Tour, features Hundred Handed, Grizfolk, Ocean Park Standoff, and MAX as openers.[14]

Their newest album is a extended version of their previous album, The Click. The Click (Deluxe) includes new singles such as Role Models, Normal, Burn The House Down (which the band released in March as a single) and Pretender - Acoustic (Pretender was a collaboration song with EDM artist 'Steve Aoki' and American rapper 'Lil Yachty' but the group have released an acoustic version for their album.

Tours

AJR is currently on tour with their 'The Click Tour, Part 2'. During a podcast with Zac Zang, the group told him that while they were on tour, they were reached out to by Canadian singer, Shawn Mendes, and expressed an interest in producing for artists like him. On October 7, 2018, they performed at the SPA Concert to kick off Penn State Homecoming. They were adorned by the hundreds of concert-goers, especially the Penn State Homecoming Executive Committee.[15] The brothers said in a Facebook Live on their Facebook page that their next album will be coming out Early 2019.

AJR have opened for Hoodie Allen, Lindsey Stirling,[16] Train, Fitz & the Tantrums, Andy Grammer, We the Kings, Ingrid Michaelson, American Authors, and Melanie Martinez. AJR also produced a song for Weezer's frontman Rivers Cuomo, this song was called 'Medicine for Melancholy'.


Band members

  • Adam Brett Met – vocals, bass guitar, programming, samples, percussion (2005–present)
  • Jack Evan Met – lead vocals, guitar, melodica, ukulele, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, samples, programming, trumpet (2005–present)
  • Ryan Joshua Met – vocals, ukulele, keyboards, synthesizers, trumpet, drums, percussion, samples, programming (2005–present)

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[17]		 US
Heat
[18]		 BEL
(FL)
[19]
Living Room
  • Released: March 3, 2015
  • Label: Liberator Music, AJR Productions, Warner Bros. Records
  • Formats: Digital download
 —20—
The Click
  • Released: June 9, 2017
  • Label: AJR Productions
 61—170
The Click (Deluxe)
  • Released: September 21, 2018
  • Label: AJR Productions
 — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[17]		 US Heat
Born and Bred
  • Released: March 20, 2010
  • Label: LARJ Productions
 ——
Venture
  • Released: September 12, 2010
  • Label: LARJ Productions
 ——
I'm Ready
  • Released: December 20, 2013
  • Label: AJR Productions, Liberator Music
  • Formats: Digital download
 —32[18]
Infinity
  • Released: September 23, 2014
  • Label: AJR Productions, Warner Bros. Records
 —36[18]
What Everyone's Thinking
  • Released: September 16, 2016
 164—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[20]		 AUS
[21]		 BEL (FL)
[19]		 CAN
[22]		 ITA
[23]		 NLD
[24]		 NOR
[25]		 SWE
[26]		 SWI
[27]		 UK
[28]
"I'm Ready" 2013 655———————— Living Room
"Infinity" 2014 ——————————
"Let the Games Begin" 2015 —————————— Non-album single
"Call My Dad" —————————— The Click
"I'm Not Famous" 2016 ——————————
"Weak" 73—7786288236258
  • RIAA: Platinum[30]
  • ARIA: Gold
  • BEA: Platinum
  • MC: Platinum[31]
"The Lotto"
(with Ingrid Michaelson)		 —————————— Non-album single
"It's on Us" 2017 ——————————
"Weak (Stay Strong Mix)"
(featuring Louisa Johnson)		 ——————————
"Drama" —————————— The Click
"Sober Up"[32]
(featuring Rivers Cuomo)		 —[upper-alpha 1]—————————
  • RIAA: Gold[34]
  • MC: Gold[35]
"Burn the House Down" 2018 —[upper-alpha 2]—————————
  • MC: Gold[36]
Notes
  1. ↑ "Sober Up" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[33]
  2. ↑ "Burn the House Down" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 25 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[33]
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[20]		 AUS
[21]		 BEL (FL)
[19]		 CAN
[22]		 ITA
[23]		 NLD
[37]		 NOR
[38]		 SWE
[39]		 SWI
[27]		 UK
[28]
"Pretender"
(Steve Aoki featuring Lil Yachty & AJR)		 2018 —————————— Non-album single


Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and directors
Title Year Director(s)
"I'm Ready" 2013 Or Paz and Tom Trager
"Infinity" 2015 Jason Merrin
"Thirsty" AJR
"Woody Allen" Unknown
"Overture" Jason Merrin
"Call My Dad" AJR, Leon Wu and Nels Lindquist
"Let the Games Begin" 2016 Jason Merrin
"I'm Not Famous" AJR
"Weak" 2017 Shane Drake
"Overture" Unknown
"Sober Up" 2018 Aaron A
"Come Hang Out" Ron Peters
"Burn the House Down" The Mitchells & Spencer Hord
"Role Models"

References

  1. ↑ Hyman, Dan (September 24, 2013). "NYC Brother Trio AJR 'Ready' for Stardom". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ Miller, Gregory E. (October 15, 2013). "Could AJR be the next Jonas Brothers?". New York Post. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ "15 Things You Need to Know About AJR's Adam, Jack and Ryan Met". Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Gregory E. (15 October 2013). "Could AJR be the next Jonas Brothers?". New York Post.
  5. ↑ "TeenNick Top 10 Fresh Artist Interview: AJR". Teen Nick.
  6. 1 2 Hyman, Dan (24 September 2013). "NYC Brother Trio AJR 'Ready' for Stardom". Billboard.
  7. ↑ ""I'm Ready" on iTunes". Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  8. ↑ "AJR brothers perform 'I'm Ready'". MYFOXNY.COM. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.
  9. ↑ AJR (2013). I'm Ready (Music video). VEVO.
  10. ↑ "About iHeartRadio On The Verge Artist – Get Articles, Bio & Show Info – iHeartRadio". Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "AJR Video by ONETWOWATCH on Myspace". Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Frometa, RJ. "AJR move release of debut album "Living Room" to Feb. 2105, "Infinity" EP due 9/23". Vents. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Wass, Mike. "AJR Return With Nostalgic New Single "Infinity": Watch The DIY Lyric Video (Idolator Premiere)". Idolator. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  14. ↑ "AJR - The Click Tour, with Ocean Park Standoff, Hundred Handed," etix.com. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Student Programming Association presents AJR Oct. 7". Penn State University. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  16. ↑ www.girafficthemes.com, Giraffic Themes. "AJR on Tour with Lindsey Stirling! - AJR". Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  17. 1 2 "AJR – Chart history – Billboard". www.billboard.com.
  18. 1 2 3 "Artist Search for "ajr"". Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 "Discography AJR".
  20. 1 2 "AJR – Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  21. 1 2 "Discography AJR". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  22. 1 2 "AJR – Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Classifica settimanale WK 9" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Discography AJR".
  25. ↑ "VG-lista – AJR". Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  26. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  27. 1 2 "Discography AJR". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  28. 1 2 "AJR | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  29. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (November 1, 2014). "Ed Sheeran Tops ARIA Singles For Third Week". Noise11. Noise Network. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  30. ↑ "American single certifications – AJR – Weak". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  31. ↑ "Canadian certifications – AJR – Weak". Music Canada. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Indie Spotlight: AJR | News". BMI. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  33. 1 2 "AJR Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  34. ↑ "American single certifications – AJR – Sober Up". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  35. ↑ "Canadian certifications – AJR – Sober Up". Music Canada. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Canadian certifications – AJR – Burn the House Down". Music Canada. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Discography AJR".
  38. ↑ "VG-lista – AJR". Archived from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  39. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
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