AJR is a big buzz on TikTok! An interview with AJR, an American three-brother band on their first visit to Japan!

Last Updated on 06/06/2023 by てんしょく飯

From New York street performers to being featured in an Apple commercial… Tracing their success

The hot American pop rock band “AJR” made their first visit to Japan to perform at the popular Japanese festival “GREENROOM FESTIVAL ’23”.

AJR is a band that has been active since 2006 and consists of three brothers, Adam Mett (bass, vocals), Jack Mett (vocals, guitar), and Ryan Mett (ukulele, piano, vocals).

Writing, producing, and mixing in the living room of their Chelsea, New York apartment, the three have generated billions of streams to date, joining the ranks of hit makers and becoming one of the biggest indie bands in the world.

In 2013, the band’s use of social networking sites, including sending the leased music video for “I’m Ready” to approximately 80 celebrities, caught the attention of music industry professionals, leading to festival participation and instant fame. 2019, their third album, “Neotheater,” debuted at #8 on the U.S. album chart and became one of the top rock bands in the U.S. It debuted at #8 on the U.S. Albums Chart and #1 on the Top Rock Albums Chart.

The single “Bang!” became their highest charting single to date, reaching #8 on the U.S. Singles Chart on January 20, 2021 and winning the Top Rock Song award at the Billboard Music Awards in 2021. The band also released “World’s Smallest Violin” in 2021, which became a viral hit on TikTok.

tvgroove conducted an exclusive interview with AJR, who made his long-awaited first visit to Japan to perform at GREENROOM FESTIVAL ’23. We asked him to talk about the background of the band’s formation, the merits and demerits of working together as brothers, hits from social networking sites, and new songs.

The band’s name is the first letter of the three members’ names!

Q> First of all, please tell us the origin of the band name “AJR”.

Jack: It comes from Adam, Jack, and Ryan’s names! We decided to name the band “AJR” after the first letter of our names because it’s easy to remember.

From NY Street Performers to Full-Fledged Artists

Q> Can you tell us how the band was formed?

Jack: Seventeen or eighteen years ago, our dad was playing music at home. He was a music fan, and because he listened to it, the whole family fell in love with it, and it quickly became our passion. We wanted to do something together, but we didn’t have any connections in the music industry and we didn’t have any money. We started doing street performances with the instruments we had, and we made some money and bought some equipment. We have been writing songs for the past 10 years, and here we are.

Q> You guys in AJR are brothers, and you have been together since you were little. How do you feel about working together as brothers and spending a lot of time together in your personal lives?

Ryan: I think that spending time together as brothers and working together is a positive thing for us. For example, we started playing with toys together when we were kids, and we all took on different roles and built things together… and now we are touring and writing music on a larger scale. So the way we communicate has been the same since we were kids.

Q> On the other hand, are there any disadvantages to being together all the time?

Jack: I guess it’s the lack of rest. We tour together all the time, and our families are really close, so we spend all our time off together. So sometimes we don’t see each other and come back to do different things, and that’s refreshing.

We catch the eye of that popular artist and get noticed!

Q> AJR’s use of social networking to send the music video for “I’m Ready” to about 80 celebrities caught the attention of music industry professionals and led to participation in festivals, etc. How did you come up with the idea of sending the music video to celebrities? How did you come up with the idea of sending music videos to celebrities?

Ryan: After 10 years of activity, no one cared about us and we were not successful at all, so we were like, “Let’s just do whatever it takes! I had nothing to lose. I had nothing to lose, so I decided to send the link to the music video to celebrities. We thought we would quit the band if it didn’t work out, but we took a leap of faith and sent out a “check out our music” to Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and many others. I sent it to Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, etc., and they said, “Check out our music! Sia responded and liked us a lot and introduced us to people in the industry and we were off to a good start. We put a lot of work into it, and from that one moment, people started paying attention.

AJR – I’m Ready (Official Video)

Album & Single are Hits! AJR’s name recognition is further increased by being used in Apple’s commercial song!

Q> Your third album “Neotheater” released in 2019 was a hit in the US and your single “Bang!” reached #8 on the US singles chart. How did you feel about the success of your album and songs?

Jack: It was a really great experience and I was happy! I think it is very difficult to stand out in this day and age because there are so many artists out there. It was great to know that people were paying attention to our music. I think our music is a little quirky and not for everyone. I was very happy that people felt connected to it and enjoyed it.

Ryan: Also, albums are very important to us. We put a lot of work into each album, even in an age where people listen to singles. Neotheater” is a complete album, and we were very happy that people accepted it and that it was a success.

Q> “Bang!” was also used in the Apple Watch commercial. Must have been quite influential to be used in a big commercial?

Jack: Yes, it was. I’ve never had a friend say to me, “I heard your song” (laughs). If they wanted to listen to our music, they would have had to search for it themselves, but they responded, “I heard it! I really felt that our music was spreading like this. It was a really cool moment.

Adam: If it were on the radio, it would only be aired in that region, country, or city, but with Apple’s global reach, it was not only in the U.S., but in other countries as well, so I think it really helped us spread internationally.

AJR – BANG! (Official Video)

@ajrbrothersGood to be back

♬ Bang! – AJR

World’s Smallest Violin” has been a big hit on TikTok!

Q> “World’s Smallest Violin,” released in 2021, has gone viral on TikTok and the music video has nearly 150 million views on YouTube. How did you feel when you saw so many people covering and using the song on TikTok?

Adam: What I thought was really interesting is that the first time “World’s Smallest Violin” became popular on TikTok, people were drawing illustrations and animations looking back on themselves and using the song as background music. The way our songs have always spread has been different, sometimes from the radio, sometimes from social networking sites or commercials… I thought it was interesting that the origin of the song was different. The lyrics of this song are very complex, but I was very happy to see that even people whose first language is not English could understand them and feel a connection with them!

AJR – World’s Smallest Violin (Official Video)

Q> I think social networking has a huge influence. Recently, there are artists who make music with an eye to creating buzz.

Jack: We don’t make music with that in mind, but we have been naturally making songs like that for the past 10 years, and the songs that get a lot of buzz on social networking sites like TikTok have a very unique beginning, with a strange instrumental sound, or a very different rhythm, or some other memorable phrase. I think that the songs that get buzz on TikTok and other social networking sites are those that have a very unique start and then have a memorable phrase, such as a strange instrumental sound or a very different rhythm. That’s the kind of music we’ve been making for a long time. I think that kind of music is what we have been making for a long time. I get bored easily, so I think that kind of songwriting, where you do something for 10 seconds and then do something completely different for 10 seconds, is a good fit for social networking. When we were making the new album, we didn’t have any discussions about it, but we just thought, “This sounds like something that would be popular on TikTok,” and the music started to come together again.

Q> You are currently working on a new album.

Ryan: One thing I would say is that it is our most personal work to date. It’s our fifth album, so of course we’re going with our instincts, but a lot of the songs that come out of it sound like “we’ve done this before”. That makes it ten times harder to create a new sound. We took the time to think through the process of making this song, and I think it is the most emotional sound we’ve ever had.

Concept of the new song “The Dumb Song” and thoughts behind the music

Q> You released a new song “The Dumb Song” in April this year. Can you tell us about the concept of the song?

Jack: At first, I wanted to make something very high-energy, very happy, and very fast-paced. It took a year and a half to go from that idea to completion, but I wanted to convey a big theme in the lyrics. I came up with the idea of bringing out the positive in something sad, and I was like, “Let’s do that! And then we started writing the songs.

For example, I thought of a twist on the word “Dumb,” and then asked myself what positive elements I could find in it, such as “innocence,” “ignorance,” and “freedom” without worrying about anything. As I pulled it out, it became ironic and fun, blending with the fast speed and high-energy sound. That was the concept behind the song.

Q> The music video for “The Dumb Song” was a year and a half in the making. I thought it was very unique and beautiful that you captured the process of the song from the beginning of its creation in the style of a home video. Can you tell us about your thoughts behind this music video?

Ryan: I thought it was an interesting idea to make a music video that includes the songwriting and production process at the same time. Like in a movie, by showing the behind-the-scenes of the production, you can understand how the work was done and how much effort was put into it. This song is titled “The Dumb Song,” so you might think it’s just a joke and that it was easy to make, but by watching the music video, you can see how much time and effort went into making this song. [Video] AJR – The Theatre

Video] AJR – The Dumb Song (Official Video)

AJR will be a guest on Imagine Dragons’ European tour!

Q> You will be a special guest on the European stadium tour of the popular band Imagine Dragons this summer. What is your enthusiasm for performing on a large stage?

Jack: We were big fans of the Imagine Dragons, and we felt a connection with their musical style, so when the offer came up, we were like, “Yes! We were like, “Yes! Imagine Dragons is a very successful band, and their tours are amazing. I’ve played in Europe before, but never with that many people, 80,000 people a night, so I’m really excited to be able to perform on that scale. Also, I haven’t had an opening act in about 7 years, so it will be nice to go back to that time and experience it again.

Q> AJR has toured extensively and performed with many different artists.

Jack: “Red Rocks” in the mountains of Denver, USA. It is a very famous stage in the U.S. When we were little, our father said, “If you play at Red Rocks, you are a success! And we did. And we did, and we performed on that stage in front of 9,000 people. It was sold out. And my dad was there, and he was in the front row, and he was so moved, he was crying. It was a beautiful moment. It was an unforgettable night for him and for us. I think he thought, “You guys did a great job.

Q> That’s really filial piety. You will be performing at the Greenroom Festival this weekend. How do you feel about performing in front of your Japanese fans?

Jack: We really love performing, and for us, music and performing are connected. We hope to bring that energy to you. We have added special effects to the stage, and I think you can feel the excitement of the show, especially since it is our first show in Japan.

Video] “World’s Smallest Violin” live version

Q> Thank you very much for your answers. Finally, please give a message to your Japanese fans.

Hello, I am AJR. I would like to thank all of our fans! This is our first time in Japan, so we are looking forward to performing for you. This will be our first time in Japan and we are looking forward to playing for you and coming back to Japan to play as the headliner! We are happy that our music has made it this far. Thank you so much for your support!