Who would’ve thought that just one song is all they needed to win over the hearts of millions? There’s no doubt that Fun.’s single, “We Are Young” (featuring Janelle Monae) is still sitting at the tip of their fans’ tongues. The song managed to “convert” an innumerable amount of fans and bring a lot of attention to the band.
Just how big are they now?
Well, aside from sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “We Are Young” was vastly used on TV shows such as “Glee” and “Chuck“. The song undoubtedly made Fun. the first multi-member rock band to make a Billboard debut with the #1 spot on the Hot 100 since Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” in December 2001.
Following that success, their album, “Some Nights” was released in February 2012. Almost immediately, the album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 70,000 copies in the United States alone.
It has been a crazy whirlwind for the band, we reckon. And just last week, we rang Andrew Dost (one-third of the supergroup indie pop-rock outfit) for a little chat. Let’s find out what they’ve been up to ever since!
Hi Andrew! Quick question before we get into the rest of the interview, “We Are Young” has been sitting on top of the charts now. Did you guys expect to achieve such a huge global success?
“No, we definitely didn’t! But we’re so grateful. We’ve been together in this band for almost five years but to have a hit song that reaches out to the world..we never thought this was possible, and we’ve never dreamed of this.”
Has the success from the great big mainstream breakthrough changed your lives?
“Not really. Our lives haven’t changed that much because we’ve been on tour basically the whole year. You know, we get to the venue, we make sure everything is working okay, then we grab dinner and after that..play a concert. But our day-to-day life has pretty much been the same. And no, it hasn’t been a whirlwind of drugs and money and girls like what people would expect.”
Because of “We Are Young”, Fun. has gained a huge following of fans as well as critics. So much so that they’ve been calling it an overnight success. How long did you guys take to work on the album?
“Actually, the album wrapped up only in April 2011. It’s strange because the mainstream success did happen overnight but what people don’t see is how we’ve been riding it out for five years. We always try to protect our live shows and protect the craft of songwriting. I think that it’s really fascinating to see that all it takes is just one spark to have all the work go global and to make all the hard work worthwhile.”
Did you know though that so many aspiring YouTube artistes have covered “We Are Young”? How else do you think your song and your band has impacted the music industry?
“Oh, yeah! I think that..all of this..it reminds people that sometimes, things don’t happen overnight for bands. Even if they think that it does. It’s also a reminder to work hard, to be respectful to people, and treat people with kindness. The hard work can pay off – it just takes a lot of time. Also, don’t stop believing in yourself. You have to keep believing in yourself! I mean, for us, we’ll still be playing and we’ll keep playing for anyone who is willing to listen to us. I personally like our story because it was our fans who kept us afloat for so long, you know?”
We know you guys have been touring a lot but are there any plans for Fun to come to Malaysia anytime soon?
“We don’t have any plans for the moment but you’re definitely in our radar for 2013. We’ve heard so many wonderful things about Malaysia and the fact that you guys know our songs..well..I really want to go there!”
Aww. We really want all of you to come here soon too! Meanwhile, is there anything that you’d like to say to our readers and your Malaysian fans?
“Thank you so much for listening, Malaysia! I’m so happy to be a musician and to be able to see the world. It makes me so proud that Malaysians know about us and know our songs. I can’t wait to get there and meet all of you. See you guys soon!”
Soon can’t come any sooner! Thank you, Andrew for speaking to us. We’re already looking forward to Fun.’s debut performance in Malaysia. And of course, a big thank you to the wonderful Warner Music Malaysia for making this interview happen.
For more information on Fun., visit their official website.
