AJR is an American musical trio and indie pop band composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam Brett (born: August 27, 1990), Jack Evan (born: August 16, 1997), and Ryan Joshua (born: March 3, 1994) Met (formerly Metzger). Their most popular songs include "Sober Up" (2017), "100 Bad Days" (2019), "Bang!" (2020), "World's Smallest Violin" (2021), "The Good Part" (2021), and "Yes, I'm A Mess" (2023).
Personal life[]
AJR grew up in the Bayside neighborhood in Queens, New York, United States with their parents before moving to the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan in 2002, where they attended the Professional Children's School. The brothers have described themselves as "culturally Jewish", as their last names were initially "Metzger" (which is a Jewish surname) before they changed it to simply "Met".[1] Their father Gary Metzger passed away on July 2023 after battling cancer, shortly before the initial release of The Maybe Man track "God Is Really Real" (2023).[2]
Career[]
AJR began performing music together since 2005, with Jack playing the harmonica, Ryan playing the piano, and Adam playing the bass. They started making their own covers of other songs before releasing two albums in 2010, and an extended-play (EP) in 2012.[3]
On August 22, 2013, AJR released their debut single "I'm Ready" (2013) They released their second EP, Infinity (2014), and their debut album, Living Room, on March 3, 2015. Their second studio album, The Click, was released on June 9, 2017. Their third studio album, Neotheater (2019), hit number one on the Top Rock Albums chart.[4] Their OK Orchestra (2021) single "Bang!" (2020) is currently their highest-charting song, and their only song to reach a placement in the top 10, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 22, 2021.[5]
On March 26, 2021, AJR's fourth studio album, OK Orchestra (produced by Ryan), was released, which contains their most popular songs such as "Bang!" (2020), "Way Less Sad" (2021), and "World's Smallest Violin" (2021). The band also teased a fifth studio album on June 2022 and have released two singles titled "I Won't" (2022) and "The DJ Is Crying For Help" (2022) they then followed up with "The Dumb Song" (2023). Their fifth studio album titled The Maybe Man was officially released on November 10, 2023.[6]
Members[]
Adam Met[]
Adam Brett Met was born on August 27, 1990, making him the oldest of the three brothers, and his roles in the band include backup vocals, bass guitar, programming, samples, and percussion. Adam has long hair and is usually placed in the far right in their music videos.
Jack Met[]
Jack Evan Met was born on August 16, 1997, making him the youngest of the three brothers, and his roles in the band include lead vocals, instruments (drums, melodica, cowbell, etc.), percussion, synthesizers, samples, and programming. Jack usually wears a fur-lined trapper hat (which he later revealed it belonged to his mother[7]), and is usually placed in the middle, between Ryan and Adam, in their music videos.
Ryan Met[]
Ryan Joshua Met was born on March 3, 1994, therefore making him the middle brother in the band (older than Jack and younger than Adam), and his roles in the band include backup vocals, instruments (ukulele, keyboard, etc.), programming, producing, and samples. Ryan wears glasses, and is usually placed in the far left in their music videos.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- Living Room (released on March 3, 2015, through Liberator Music, AJR Productions, and Warner Bros. Pictures)
- The Click (released on June 9, 2017, through AJR Productions)
- Neotheater (released on April 26, 2019, through AJR Productions)
- OK Orchestra (released on March 26, 2021, through AJR Productions)
- The Maybe Man (released on November 10, 2023, through AJR Productions and Mercury Records)
Extended plays[]
- 6foot1 (released on December 20, 2013, through AJR Productions and Liberator Music)
- Infinity (released on September 23, 2014, through AJR Productions and Warner Bros)
- What Everyone's Thinking (released on September 16, 2016, through S-Curve Records)
Remixes[]
- Weak Remixes (released on May 5, 2017, through S-Curve Records)
- Sober Up Remixes (released on April 27, 2018, through S-Curve Records)
- Bang! Remixes (released on October 9, 2020, through Black Butter Records)
Subscriber milestones[]
- 1 million subscribers: August 14, 2019[8]
- 2 million subscribers: June 14, 2022[9]
- 3 million subscribers: November 23, 2022
Trivia[]
- AJR writes, produces, and mixes their material in the living room of their apartment.
- On their TikTok account, they post comedy, as well as promotions, new music teasers, and tours.
- They created their YouTube channel on August 20, 2013.
References[]
- ↑ https://thetech.com/2021/03/31/ok-orchestra-review
- ↑ https://www.npr.org/2023/11/24/1215057883/members-of-ajr-release-new-music-how-are-they-coping-after-their-dad-died#:~:text=Transcript,DJ%20is%20cryin'%20for%20help.
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/ajr-ep_202212
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/pro/ajr-first-top-rock-albums-neotheater/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/pro/ajr-bang-tops-adult-pop-airplay-chart/
- ↑ https://genius.com/albums/Ajr/The-maybe-man/q/release-date
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM_fdFk93fM
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ajrbrothers/status/1161699353154560002
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/AJR/comments/vbttod/ajr_just_hit_2_mil_of_youtube/
