New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Universal Republic Records Publicity) - Universal Republic Records' laptop-launched Owl City, AKA Adam Young, has scored the No 1 single on iTunes this week with his luminous hit, 'Fireflies.' The song is the only single from a debut album to score the top spot in 2009, with Lady Ga Ga the last to do it from her album released in 2008.
'Fireflies' has soared to the prestigious No 1 position by moving an incredible 150,000 singles a week, rapidly closing in on the breakthrough one million sales plateau. Buoyed by the acclaimed debut album Ocean Eyes, Owl City is also being lauded as the artist development story of 2009. Not bad for a self described 'shy-kid' who kicked off his career a mere two years ago writing songs on a basement laptop while his parents were away for the weekend. 'But I was able to play 'em loud,' the singer has famously quipped.
Universal Republic Records has booted Young's daydream-paneled songscapes into the mainstream realm where he's winning over audiences in as groundbreaking a style as his music: Zero hype with emphasis on Young's simple and singular authenticity. Rolling Stone has hailed the singer/songwriter as a 'Minnesota myspace sensation,' with Rhapsody.com writing 'even die-hard critics will find it hard not to open up to Mr. Young-at-heart.' Owl City has closed the deal with a dreamy mix of lively-digital rhythms and lush melodies that capture the incandescent hum of everyday life. The video for 'fireflies' has garnered an amazing 6.5 million views on youtube, percolating in X-LARGE rotation on VH-1, it's down-in-the-basement motif making it one of the most talked about clips online.
With Ocean Eyes on its way to gold status (experiencing its 8th consecutive week of sales momentum in a flat-lining album climate), Owl City is also in the midst of a sold-out tour, Hitting Los Angles on October 22nd, San Diego on October 23rd, and touching down in an impressive array of cities throughout, including Dallas on October 28th and Houston on Halloween night.
Hailing from the small Minnesota town of Owatonna, Minnesota, (population 22,000), Young's songs magically convey the ambience of his pre-'Fireflies' existence. Calling his homemade-basement studio 'the cave,' other songs on the new album include 'Cave in,' 'Umbrella Beach,' 'Dental Care,' and 'Vanilla Twilight,' among others.
