LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Capitol Records) - Varsity
Fanclub have already captured a place alongside
Miley Cyrus and the
Jonas Brothers on AOL Music's Kids
Pop channel and
Radio Disney with their debut single 'Future Love.' Now pop's hottest newcomers are gearing up to stake their claim in boy band history with their self-titled debut album, due for release from Stonehall Records/Capitol Records on January 13th, 2009.
Varsity Fanclub is an irresistible collection of urban-influenced rhythmic groove and R&B-styled pop balladry crafted by such leading songwriters and producers as Ryan Tedder (One Republic, Leona Lewis), Evan Bogart (Rihanna), and Diane Warren (Whitney Houston, Celine Dion).
Tedder and Bogart co-wrote the melodic and unabashedly romantic 'Future Love,' which, after becoming the No. 5 most-requested song on
Radio Disney within three weeks, is now making a splash at Top 40 radio.
The video for 'Future Love,' which premiered on MySpace on October 15th, has been chosen as a 'Favorite' by Miley Cyrus and her best friend Mandy Jiroux (who stars in the video) on their YouTube page. After being posted to Capitol Music Group's YouTube Channel on October 16th, 'Future Love' racked up nearly 300,000 views within 24 hours, leading the label's channel to become the No. 1 Most Viewed Musician page and the No. 12 Most Viewed page overall for the day.
Audio and video streams of the three songs posted on Varsity Fanclub's official site at MySpace.com have racked up more than 7.5 million plays since the page launched in March 2008 and are piling up daily by the thousands.
Before the album has even dropped, the five young men of Varsity Fanclub (Drew Scott, Jayk Purdy, Thomas Fiss, Bobby Edner, David Brandt) have been causing a commotion wherever they go. They were greeted by screaming fans when they opened a recent show for Jesse McCartney and Jordin Sparks, and were mobbed by more than a thousand girls during the meet and greet after their set. In addition, a promo contest Varsity Fanclub launched on Indianapolis radio station WNOU, asking fans to text to win a chance to have the group come play at their high school, resulted in nearly 1.2 million text messages.
In addition to 'Future Love,' other album highlights include another Tedder-penned song, the hard-driving 'Lost Then Found,' the churning electro-romp 'Zero,' and the club-banger 'Looking For Love.' 'Half of You,' 'When You Were Mine,' and 'Ghost' recall the mainstream ballad smashes of R. Kelly, Brandy, and Aaliyah, while 'Maybe This Is Love,' 'Complicated Girl,' and 'We Will' showcase the group's multi-part harmonies amid a range of hip-hop, electronic, and up-tempo rock settings. 'The album is a mixture of R&B and hip-hop, but also pop and rock,' says Jayk Purdy, adding: 'It's about great beats and great melodies.'
To get to this point, the group's members survived a vetting process much tougher than televised bootcamps American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. The result is five triple-threats as vocalists, dancers, and actors, each one of them groomed to dazzle in the studio, on stage, and in every TV or film endeavor. Varsity Fanclub has already guest starred on the ABC Family Channel's new series The Middleman, performing their song 'Bad Habit.' They have also made select live appearances around the country as they prepare for their album to drop.
