LOS ANGELES — When a song is streamed a half a billion times, you've got a hit on your hands. In this Zevely Zone, I went to North Hollywood to meet lovelytheband and preview their upcoming San Diego concert. Stars are born in Hollywood and not just on the big screen. Lovelytheband achieved massive success with their debut single “Broken”, spending nine weeks at number one on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. The triple-platinum-selling track remained on the chart for seventy-six weeks, the longest-running entry at the time.
Since its release, the music video has surpassed 44 million views on YouTube and 500 million global streams. The single appeared on the band’s debut album Finding It Hard To Smile which was released in 2018. I asked lead singer Mitchy Collins if that kind of success blows his mind.
"It's not a billion streams, ha, ha, I am just kidding," said Mitchy while we interviewed the band at his home.
Mitchy Collins is hopeful Broken will still reach a billion streams, but either way guitarist Jordan Greenwald says that song changed their lives forever.
"It became bigger than anything that we could have ever thought. We didn't know that a song that we, the first song, that we put out could be as colossal as what it became," said Jordan.
The drummer of this triple platinum band Sam Price estimates they've played Broken 600 times or more and it never gets old.
"It was validation you know a lot of hard work, years of working on music," said Sam,
The band's latest release Sail Away has 45 million streams and counting. The track hit #3 on the US Billboard Alternative Radio chart, #14 on Canadian Alternative radio and peaked at #22 on Spotify’s Global Rock streaming chart.
Despite its upbeat vibe, Mitchy wrote the song as a wake-up call to himself. "Get your stuff together. Pretty much," said Mitchy. Lovelytheband is releasing their third full-length album ‘If we’re being honest’ with a tour that launches in San Diego on June 6.
"I think for the first show in San Diego it seems fitting that I would be dealing with a surfing injury," said Jordan. The 26-year-old cut his foot on his surfboard fin and says the music industry is filled with wipeouts of its own. "No backup plan," said Jordan. "All three of us, this is all we have ever known is this."
Even before they made it, lovelytheband just knew you don't fix what isn't 'broken'. "Pretty much no, I don't think so, I think Mitchy is very resilient," said Jordan. "I am an avid belly dancer," said Mitchy.
On creating the album, Mitchy shared, “We found ourselves being drawn to songs that all shared a common thread of honesty. The lyrics are literal and expose more of our truth than ever before. It was an incredibly challenging and rewarding experience. We weren’t only writing music infused with moments of introspection; we put our deepest fears, doubts, and confessions into every line and every melody. The creative process of this record has set into motion a much-welcomed inertia of healing. Jordan, Sam, and myself don’t wear our struggles the same way. But they eat at us all. We encourage everyone to share more… and if we’re being honest, it feels good to feel good again.”
In conjunction with the album release, lovelytheband kicks off their nationwide tour on June 6th at the Observatory San Diego in North Park. For ticket information click here.
Watch Related: Poway High graduate about to hit the high note of her young career (May 25, 2023)