When you hear American Authors you may think of a number of things. Perhaps you think of the song “Best Day of My Life” or maybe you think of it literally and think about authors that are American.
One of those ideas did correlate to what we are talking about, and it definitely is not the second one. American Authors is a four-piece indie rock band based out of New York City. The group is made up of lead vocalist and guitarist Zac Barnett, lead guitar, banjo, mandolin, and backing vocalist James Adam Shelley, bassist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist Dave Rublin, and finally drummer and backing vocalist Matt Sanchez.
The band members all met each other and formed the band in 2006 when they all attended the Berklee College of Music. American Authors originally went by the name the Blue Pages. While under the name of the Blue Pages, the group recorded Surrounded By Wolves, Bear Fight, Night Hawke, Anthropology and Rich With Love.
In 2010, the group relocated to Brooklyn, New York and released their single “Run Back Home” independently.
The Blue Pages changed their name to American Authors in 2012 and by 2013, they were signed to Mercury Records. Their single “Believer” started gaining attention from alternative rock radios and the band grew listeners from around the world.
The single you may be more familiar with, “Best Day of My Life” was released in 2013 and took over radio stations by storm. It appeared on seven Billboard USA weekly charts as well as many others around the world. The song also went platinum in Australia, Italy, and Canada went silver in the UK and went 3x platinum in the USA with over 3,000,000 copies sold.
“Best Day of My Life” is still widely known today, being used all over in the entertainment industry. As of right now, the track has over 165,000,000 streams on Spotify.
American Authors’ debut album Oh, What a Life released March 3, 2014, peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 chart. A total of four songs were also released as singles: “Believer, “Best Day of My Life,”Trouble” and “Luck.”
The group went on the 13th Annual Honda Civic Tours in 2014 and opened up for One Republic on the Native Summer Tour.
“Go Big or Go Home” was the first single released for their upcoming second studio album What We Live For. Released in 2015, the single charted at 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rock chart and charted at number 22 on Billboard US Adult Pop chart.
Most recently, the group released “Pride” as a single and announced a new album that is set to release in May as well as a US Tour beginning later this month. They have also played numerous amounts of festivals such as Lollapalooza and the Firefly Music Festival.
Besides the fact that American Authors are extremely gifted performance wise, one quality that makes them so admirable is the lyrics to their songs. Many songs that you hear on the radio are about sex, money or something in between. Of course, not all of them are, and those that do center on those topics isn’t a bad thing!
American Authors has songs that make you feel good. They have incredible messages and can be relatable to listeners around the world of all ages. For example, look at these lyrics taken from the song “Believer.”
“I’m just a believer
That things will get better
Some can take it or leave it
But I don’t wanna let it go”
This song is about having hope in yourself, and believing in yourself. It’s about not giving up even when you feel sheltered, scared, nervous or feeling like you are going nowhere.
Many of the groups other songs are also on relatable, inspirational subjects and gives out positive messages. We recommend giving a listen to their debut album whenever you are feeling down or you just need some inspiration.
Before heading on to the five songs you need to listen to, we wanted to just give a little light on how well the band is live. We recently attended a show that they co-headlined with Charlie Puth and we can not express enough how amazing they were. Their on-stage energy and presence truly gave the audience a show to remember.
Now, on to the five songs that you need to hear by American Authors themselves!
5. Trouble
4. Hit it
3. Believer
2. Luck
1. Pride
To stay up to date with all things American Authors, you can visit their website here and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
We are looking forward to American Authors’ upcoming album What We Live For on May 13, 2016, as well as the tour throughout the next couple of months! Let us know what you think of the Brooklyn-based group by commenting below or Tweeting us at @CelebMix