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R5 (band)

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R5
R5 in 2015. Left to right: Ross Lynch, Rocky Lynch, Riker Lynch, Ellington Ratliff and Rydel Lynch.
R5 in 2015. Left to right: Ross Lynch, Rocky Lynch, Riker Lynch, Ellington Ratliff and Rydel Lynch.
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active2009–2018
LabelsHollywood
SpinoffsThe Driver Era
Past members
Websiter5rocks.com
thedriverera.com

R5 was an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2009.[5] The band consisted of Ross Lynch (vocals/rhythm guitar), Riker Lynch (bass guitar/vocals), Rocky Lynch (lead guitar/vocals), Rydel Lynch (keyboards/vocals), and Ellington Ratliff (drums/vocals). They released their first EP Ready Set Rock on March 9, 2010, but it was removed once Ross got his role on the Disney Channel show Austin and Ally. They then released the EP Loud on February 19, 2013. Since releasing their debut album, Louder, on September 24, 2013, which peaked at 24 on the Billboard 200, followed by their world tour. Their second album, Sometime Last Night, was released on July 10, 2015, and debuted at 6 on the US Billboard 200, and reached the top 20 in five other countries. They have also released five EPs, eleven singles, and a documentary. In 2018, the band ended and Ross and Rocky formed the duo The Driver Era.

History

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2009–2011: Formation and Ready Set Rock

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Rocky, Ross and Riker at R5's first East Coast show in 2012 (New Jersey)

R5 is made up of siblings Riker, Rocky, Ross and Rydel Lynch, and their family friend Ellington Ratliff, whom they met at a California dance studio called the Rage.[6] About a year after meeting, they asked Ratliff to join the band.[7] While living in Colorado, the Lynch siblings went to a performing arts school. They used to put on shows for their family and charged them at least a dollar to watch them perform in their basement.[6] At age 16, Riker decided he wanted to move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Their parents, Mark and Stormie, moved the entire family there in order to stay together. Shortly after the move, the siblings began appearing in commercials, while Rocky began teaching himself, Ross and Riker how to play guitar.[8]

In 2009, R5 officially started the band and debuted their YouTube web series, R5 TV, documenting the band's day-to-day life and career beginning.[9] On September 5, they released their first music video, "Without You", directed by Riker.[10] The band self-released a five-track EP titled Ready Set Rock on March 9, 2010, consisting of songs written primarily by Riker, Rocky, Rydel, vocal coach Mauli B, and band coach E-Vega, who produced the EP.[11] No official single was released from EP.[12] On September 4 they released a music video for "Can't Get Enough of You" and, in the next month, for "Never".[13][14] On July 26, 2011, the band released their debut promotional single, "Say You'll Stay".[15] The music video was released on August 3.[16] During these early years they played sets throughout Southern California at venues, including the Orange County Fair, the San Diego County Fair, the San Diego IndieFest, the Knitting Factory, and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

2012–2014: Loud and Louder

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Rocky, Ross and Riker in 2013

In April 2012, the band members announced via their website that they had signed a record deal with Hollywood Records, and that they were planning for their first mini-tour in May.[17][18] They collaborated on charity single "Make Some Noise" for Family Channel's Stand Up philanthropic campaign.[19] Their debut tour, West Coast Tour, started on May 3, 2012, and traveled only to west coast.[20][21] The second tour, East Coast Tour started on December 15, in Jamestown, New York, and traveled only to east coast serving to promote the band with the younger crowd.[22] They also held three special concerts, titled 3M Tour, in Madison, Wisconsin on November 18, 2012, Milwaukee on November 19 and Minneapolis on November 20.[23][24] On February 19, 2013, they released the four-song EP Loud, which charted in the top 3 of the iTunes chart within 24 hours of its release.[25] One of the songs on the EP, "Here Comes Forever", was written by Riker, Rocky and Ross. The R5's debut single, "Loud", was released on February 13 and also serves as the first single from the debut album.[26] The song peaked at number 72 in Japan and 199 in United Kingdom.[27][28] On August 16, 2013, "Pass Me By", the second single from their debut album Louder, was released.

Louder was released on September 24, 2013, and climbed its way to number 2 on the iTunes charts, being classified as a "chart-topper" on the iTunes End of the Year Album list.[29] On December 25, 2013, the third single from Louder was released, titled "(I Can't) Forget About You" and, shortly after, the official video was released on the band's website. The band had songwriting credits on 6 of the 11 songs on Louder.[30] The album includes all four songs from the Loud EP.[18] In March 2013, R5 embarked on a 50-date North American tour,[18] and later that year they toured in Australia.[31] On February 5, 2014, the band embarked on the first leg of its first world tour starting in Warsaw, Poland. They toured numerous countries in Europe including: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Israel. The band also performed at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll and at the Radio Disney Music Awards.[32][33] On April 24, 2014, the band appeared on Ryan Seacrest's popular KIIS-FM radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, where it was announced that they would be the opening act at the Wango Tango Music Festival.[34] The band released "One Last Dance" as fourth and final single from Louder on May 30, 2014.[35] On June 9, 2014, they released the music video for "Rock That Rock", a song written for Candymania's Ring Pop, featuring fan content.

2014–2016: Heart Made Up on You and Sometime Last Night

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R5 members in 2014

Their third EP, Heart Made Up on You, was released on July 22, 2014, and consists of the songs "Heart Made Up On You," "Things Are Looking Up," "Easy Love," and "Stay With Me."[36] The music video for "Heart Made Up on You" was released on August 1, 2014. R5's second full-length album, Sometime Last Night, was released on July 10, 2015.[37] Riker shared in interviews that their second album was "more mature," and that Ross was one of the key writers on the record.[38] Ross stated that, earlier in the year, the band had an entire record finished and mastered, but they had second thoughts and scrapped it, feeling it was too similar to Louder and didn't accurately reflect the direction they wanted to go in.[37] The album was originally going to include all four songs from the Heart Made Up on You EP.[37] The band rewrote the entire album, taking a bigger role in the album's composition, writing most of the songs on the album. Some of the bonus tracks from the deluxe edition of Sometime Last Night were tracks intended for the original album.[30][37][39] On November 15, 2014, the band released the album's lead single, "Smile", and performed the song at the American Music Awards pre-show.

"Let's Not Be Alone Tonight", the second single, was released on February 13, 2015.[40] On March 4, 2015, the group hosted an intimate "Hollywood Hang" at the Roxy in Los Angeles. On April 16, 2015, the band's concert movie, R5: All Day, All Night, was screened in select Regal cinemas for one night only. In the documentary, Rydel and Ellington confirmed that they are in a relationship.[41] "All Night" was released as the third single on June 2, along with the album's iTunes pre-order.[citation needed] On June 11, R5 made their late night debut, performing "All Night" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On April 6, 2015, R5 announced the first leg of their Sometime Last Night Tour.[42] Following the conclusion of their summer tour, R5 released R5 Live: Sometime Last Night At the Greek Theatre, a two-disc DVD set featuring 80-minutes of live music and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.[43] They toured around Europe, Australia, Asia, North America and South America, and wrapped up the last show of the tour on March 17, 2016, in Sioux City, Iowa. Jacob Whitesides joined the band as opener for first leg of the US tour, Jack and Jack opened for them in Australia, Max Schneider opened for the second leg of the American tour and DJ Ryland joined the band for the whole tour.[39][42][44] On June 30, 2015, "F.E.E.L. G.O.O.D." was released on iTunes as an instant grat track for pre-orders.[citation needed]

On July 8, 2015, the music video for "All Night" was released.[45] On October 17, 2015, R5 released a music video for "I Know You Got Away".[46] The video was shot during the European leg of the Sometime Last Night Tour and was directed by Ross and edited by Rydel.[47] On December 18, 2015, R5 premiered a music video for "Wild Hearts" on Live Nation TV.[48] The video was directed by the band during their trip to Las Vegas for Rocky's 21st birthday.[48] In June 2016, R5 announced that they would headline Youth Music Zone in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 9, 2016.[49] The band performed at Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan on August 20, 2016, and in Osaka on August 21, 2016. It was their third time to visit Japan. After the festival, the members except for Rocky went back to Los Angeles, but Rocky stayed in Japan for about a few weeks to be with his girlfriend, who stayed in Japan at that time. Other artists on the lineup include Underworld, Fergie and Weezer.[50]

2017–2018: New Addictions and hiatus

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R5 performing in 2017

On March 16, 2017, Riker announced that the band was recording new songs.[51] On April 5, they announced their fourth EP, New Addictions,[52] which was released on May 12, 2017.[53][54] The five-song EP includes the single "If", the original songs "Red Velvet", "Lay Your Head Down" and "Trading Time", and "Need You Tonight", a cover of the INXS single from their 1987 album Kick. Short after the release of New Addictions, the new single Hurts Good was released[55][56] The band also announced their New Addictions Tour, a US tour which begins on June 17, 2017, and toured to Mexico, Europe, South America, and other countries.

On February 1, 2018, R5 posted on their YouTube a video called The Last Show. Then on March 1, 2018, R5's Instagram and Twitter handles were changed to The Driver Era and all of R5's previous posts were deleted.[57] On March 2, 2018, they announced that the band was going on a temporary hiatus and that The Driver Era would be a band with only Ross and Rocky.[58]

On June 11, 2023, R5 reunited on stage at the Greek Theatre during The Driver Era's headlining show, to perform their song "All Night".

Musical influences

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The band has cited The Beatles, Fall Out Boy, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, INXS, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Prince and Queen as big musical influences. They have also mentioned more recent artists, including McFly, The Killers, Neon Trees, Walk the Moon, Maroon 5, Jack White, Bruno Mars and The Script.[39][59][60][61]

Band members

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Discography

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2013 Next Big Thing Awards Next Big Thing R5 Won [62]
Radio Disney Music Awards Best Music Group R5 Nominated [63]
Best Acoustic Performance "Loud" Nominated [63]
Funniest Celebrity Take Air Guitar Nominated [63]
Teen Icon Awards Iconic Band / Group R5 Nominated [64]
2014 Radio Disney Music Awards Best Music Group R5 Nominated [65]
Best Song to Rock Out to With Your BFF "Loud" Nominated [65]
Favorite Roadtrip Song "Pass Me By" Nominated [65]
Show Stopper Award R5 Won [65]
Vevo LIFT Fan Vote Awards Vevo LIFT Artist R5 Nominated [66]
Young Hollywood Awards Social Media Superstar R5 Nominated [67]
Teen Choice Award Choice Music Group R5 Nominated [68]
2015 Radio Disney Music Awards Best Song That Makes You Smile "Smile" Nominated [69]
Fiercest Fans R5Family Nominated [69]
2016 Radio Disney Music Awards Best Music Group R5 Nominated [70]

Concert tours

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Bibliography

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Year Title
2013 On the Road[71]
2014 Live on Tour[72]

References

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  1. ^ "What Makes R5 'Smile'? Find Out In This Exclusive Behind The Scenes Video". MTV. December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "R5 Gets 'Louder' As Ross Lynch's Profile Grows". MTV. October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  3. ^ "R5 All Night, New Song Off Sometime Last Night Album". June 2, 2015. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "AllMusic – R5". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  5. ^ "R5 – Biography". Billboard.
  6. ^ a b "Singers/Actors – Riker and Rydel Lynch of R5," Teen Ink, February 1, 2012.
  7. ^ Jeff Niesel, "R5 Opts for a More Mature Sound on its Latest Album, 'Sometime Last Night'," Cleveland Scene, February 29, 2016.
  8. ^ "Happy Birthday Ross Lynch A Guide To R5," sweetyhigh.com, December 29, 2013.
  9. ^ Brittany Goldfield Rodrigues, "10 Covers By R5 That Give Us A Lot Of Feelings," Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine andpop.com, June 15, 2016.
  10. ^ "R5 – Without You (Official video)". Riker Lynch Channel. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  11. ^ "About". R5Rocks.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Rachel Ho, "Ready, Set… R5," StarPulse, January 8, 2013.
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  14. ^ "R5 – Never (Official video)". Riker Lynch Channel. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  15. ^ "Say You'll Stay (Acoustic Version) – Single – R5". iTunes Store. July 26, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  16. ^ "R5 – Say You'll Stay (Official video)". Riker Lynch Channel. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  17. ^ Sheehan, Katie (April 30, 2012). "R5 Signs to Hollywood Records" Archived December 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Artistdirect. (April 30, 2012). Retrieved January 12, 2013.
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  19. ^ "R5 and Victoria Duffield Sing on Family's "Make Some Noise"". The Magazine. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
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  27. ^ "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  28. ^ "CHART: CLUK Update 15 March 2014 (wk10)". UK Charts. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
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  32. ^ Nededog, Jethro. "Fifth Harmony, Becky G and R5 to Perform on Radio Disney Music Awards (Video)". Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  33. ^ Ng, Philiana (January 23, 2014). "Radio Disney Music Awards Set 2014 Date and First Performers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  34. ^ Wango Tango 2014 – Announced Artists, archived from the original on October 25, 2014
  35. ^ Alex Abel, "Watch The Exclusive Premiere Of The Video For 'One Last Dance'," Seventeen, May 29, 2014.
  36. ^ "R5: "Heart Made Up On You" EP Out July 22nd; Second Album Out September 30th (@officialR5 #R5family)". CelebSecrets4U.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  37. ^ a b c d Gary Graff, "R5 Shows Its 'Dark Side' on Latest Single," Billboard, July 7, 2015.
  38. ^ Up, Ocean. "R5 'Second Album Will Be More Mature'". Ocean Up. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  39. ^ a b c Kiko Miyasato, "R5: Young and the Restless," Las Vegas Magazine, December 25, 2015.
  40. ^ "Let's Not Be Alone Tonight – Single". iTunes. February 13, 2015.
  41. ^ Virginia Van de Wall, "R5 Members Rydel Lynch and Ellington Ratliff Confirm That They're Dating," J-14, April 17, 2015.
  42. ^ a b "R5 Concert Tour Schedule". June 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  43. ^ "R5 Live Sometime Last Night Tour DVD". R5 Live Sometime Last Night Tour DVD | Home | Ready, 5et, ROCK!. November 25, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  44. ^ "Pop-rock band R5 announces Jan. 27 concert at Saroyan Theatre". June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  45. ^ R5 – All Night (Official Video). YouTube. July 8, 2015.
  46. ^ R5 – I Know You Got Away (Official Video), October 17, 2015, retrieved January 21, 2016
  47. ^ "Ross Lynch Directs R5′s New Video 'I Know You Got Away' – Watch Now!". Ross Lynch Directs R5′s New Video 'I Know You Got Away' – Watch Now! | Courtney Eaton, Ellington Ratliff, Music, Music Video, R5, Riker Lynch, Rocky Lynch, Ross Lynch, Rydel Lynch : Just Jared Jr. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  48. ^ a b "Premiere: R5 Take a Vegas Vacation In the Video for 'Wild Hearts' | Live Nation TV". Live Nation TV. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  49. ^ "R5 to headline YMZ at stadium," Jamaica Observer, June 20, 2016.
  50. ^ "R5 Set to Perform at Summer Sonic 2016 in Japan," ready5etrock.com, March 9, 2016.
  51. ^ "A Chat with Riker Lynch of R5". Pop Mania. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  52. ^ "New Addictions Pre-release Listening Party". R5 Rocks. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  53. ^ "R5's 'New Addictions' Officially Has a Release Date -- Fans React," Just Jared Jr., April 24, 2017.
  54. ^ New Addictions, Glitter, April 20, 2017.
  55. ^ Miruna Radu, "The Weekly Playlist (8th May – 14th May)," The Yorker, May 14, 2017.
  56. ^ Markos Papadatos, "Review: R5 delivers on new EP 'New Addictions'," Digital Journal, May 13, 2017.
  57. ^ "thedriverera". Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  58. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (March 28, 2018). "The Driver Era, Featuring Ex-Members of R5, Makes Chart Debut With 'Preacher Man'". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  59. ^ "Exclusive: Interview with the band R5 including Disney Channel's Austin & Ally star Ross Lynch". Mirror. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  60. ^ "25 Facts On Ross Lynch". Popstar Magazine. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  61. ^ Jonathon Moran, "R5 channel INXS on tour and Ross Lynch reveals how much he loves Australia," The Daily Telegraph, January 18, 2016.
  62. ^ "Pop-Rock Band R5 Named Radio Disney's Next Big Thing". The Hollywood Reporter. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  63. ^ a b c "2013 Radio Disney Music Awards: Nominees Announced! - Bop and Tigerbeat Magazine". bopandtigerbeat.com. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  64. ^ "J-14 TEEN ICON AWARDS: Meet Your 2013 Nominees & Vote Now!". J-14. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  65. ^ a b c d "2014 Radio Disney Music Awards". Disney. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014.
  66. ^ "Breaking Artists". Yahoo!. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  67. ^ "Young Hollywood Awards Nominees: Ariana Grande, One Direction & More". Hollywood Life. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  68. ^ "The 2014 Teen Choice Awards Reveals Their Very Long List Of Nominees". ET Online. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  69. ^ a b "2015 RDMA Nomination Special". Disney Life. August 23, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  70. ^ "Radio Disney Music Awards 2016 Winners: The Complete List". E! Online. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  71. ^ "R5 Tour Book". Zinepark. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  72. ^ "R5 Live Tour Book". Wanelo. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
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