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Walk the Moon: Beyond "Shut Up and Dance"

Sure, you've heard their hit single. But there's a lot more to this Ohio four-piece.

By Erin GouldingPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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At this point, everyone recognizes the guitar riff preceding the familiar lyrics, "Oh, don't you dare look back..." Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance" was released in late 2014 and became a smash hit for the group in the summer of 2015. The tune continues to get heavy play at parties, on the radio, and in people's personal lives. Little do people know, the band has a lot more music listed on its discography, and has been around for a lot longer than one summer. As the band prepares to release its third full studio album, here's what you need to know.

The band was officially formed in 2006 by lead singer Nicholas Petricca while he was attending Kenyon College. The group initially had different members than it presently does, but by 2010, most of the current lineup had joined the band when it released its first EP. This self-released album i Want! i Want! hosted many songs that would later become cult favorites among long-term fans, as well as "Anna Sun," which became a surprise hit of summer 2011, and continues to be one of the band's most-played pieces.

In 2012, after being signed to the label RCA, it released its first official studio album, self-titled Walk the Moon. This included several songs from the band's initial independently-released album, but with the power of a real label and the help of a few music videos, the band was able to grow its popularity fairly steadily. Several of its songs found play on video game soundtracks, commercials, and the official FIFA playlist of the year.

After spending some time on tour supporting bands like Fun. and others, the group released "Shut up and Dance" in late 2014 as the single preceding its album Talking is Hard. The album came out in December, and the band was on a rocket straight up. "Shut Up and Dance" was a surprisingly huge hit for the band, who was still hardly even headlining its own tours. After months of it being in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, the band joined pop star Taylor Swift on one night of her world tour, where she was frequently hosting surprise guest musicians. The album, band, and song were nominated for several awards, including AMAs, and they actually won two Billboard Music Awards in 2016 for "Top Radio Song" and "Top Rock Song."

Walk the Moon has gained such a following in recent years, yet it still maintains an almost cult-like fanbase from their fans that have been there since the i Want! days. So, when, in September, the group released a new original single for the first time in three years, fans were stoked. The song "One Foot" precedes their next studio album, which will be released in November of 2017, and was released along with a music video filmed during the solar eclipse that took place earlier this year. The new album, What If Nothing, is rumored to host songs from the band's early discography that was lost when it was signed to a label.

This band has had a steady climb, but it seems it's reaching the top. Hopefully this new album will bring more success for the group and push it to its full potential. The band is also planning to begin touring for the album in early 2018, so I think that Walk the Moon is going to be on the upswing for a while.

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About the Creator

Erin Goulding

current marketing writer, aspiring entertainment writer

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