Fun.

To the New York trio Fun., “music” simply means using whatever tools are necessary—orchestral flourishes, glam swagger, Broadway theatrics—to express the maximum amount of emotion. The huge success of their 2012 single “We Are Young” might have suggested they were overnight sensations, but they’d spent years cutting their teeth on a collection of styles, including punk, bluegrass and showtunes. Singer Nate Ruess was one half of ’00s power-pop favourite The Format, multi-instrumentalist Jack Antonoff fronted Steel Train, who blended jam-band Americana and emo-tinged AOR, and keyboardist Andrew Dost played orchestral indie in Anathallo and wrote a musical about Christopher Columbus. Mutually acquainted from the touring circuit, they joined forces in 2008 and released their debut album, Aim and Ignite, a year later, picking up the baton from groups like Queen and ELO with soaring vocal harmonies and crisp ’70s rock production. On 2012’s Some Nights, Fun. dialled up the sing-alongs and won the 2013 Grammy for Best New Artist, as well as Song of the Year for “We Are Young”. The trio went on hiatus in 2015, but all three musicians are still active: Dost turned to film soundtracks; Ruess penned songs for pop stars and released his solo debut, 2015’s Grand Romantic; and Antonoff has become a true hitmaker, writing for Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lana Del Rey, while also making ’80s-flavoured tunes with Bleachers. Together or apart, the members of Fun. just keep spreading the joy.