Tom Odell
Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, Songs from Another Love, in 2012. It won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio album, Long Way Down, was issued on 24 June 2013. Three years later, his follow-up studio album, Wrong Crowd, was released, on 10 June 2016. This was followed by the release two years later, on 26 October 2018, of his third studio album, Jubilee Road. Monsters, his fourth album, was released on 9 July 2021, while his fifth album, Best Day Of My Life, was released the next year, on 28 October 2022.
Tom Odell | |
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Odell in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas Peter Odell |
| Born | 24 November 1990 Chichester, West Sussex, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | tomodell |
Early life Edit
Odell was born in Chichester, West Sussex, England, to an airline pilot father and a primary school teacher mother.[1] He has an older sister.[2] He spent part of his childhood living in Auckland, New Zealand after his family moved to the country. He was educated at Seaford College but also recalls attending school in New Zealand.[3][4]
Throughout his school years, Odell wrote songs in a band that had trouble maintaining a lead singer. This trouble inspired him to start singing the songs he wrote, and Odell says he "sang [the songs] how [he] wanted them to sound" rather than worrying about someone else not bringing his vision to life.[5]
At 18, Odell abandoned plans to attend the University of York[6] and attempted to gain a place at a music college in Liverpool.[7] A year later, he moved back to Chichester after being made redundant from his job as a barman.[7] Using his grandmother's car, he travelled regularly to London to play shows and to put advertisements in music schools.[8] He studied at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) in Brighton[9] playing as part of the band Tom & the Tides before moving to London where he decided to become a solo artist because he "didn't want to have to rely on people".[10]
Career Edit
2012–2013: Career beginnings and Long Way Down Edit
Odell was signed to In the Name Of, an imprint of Columbia Records. He was discovered by the label head Lily Allen, who remarked that "his energy onstage reminded me of David Bowie".[11] He released his debut extended play, Songs from Another Love, in October 2012.[12] He made his television debut in November 2012 as a performer on Later... with Jools Holland; the show's producer Alison Howe later described it as "a classic Later debut".[7][13] Odell was announced as one of 15 nominees for the BBC Sound of 2013 poll in January 2013.[14] Also that month, his single "Another Love" was used by the BBC to advertise their 2013 schedule.[15] Odell's music has been used in numerous Burberry fashion runway shows.[16] He was named the BRITs' Critics' Choice Award winner, previously won by artists such as Adele and Florence and the Machine and was the first male artist to win the award,[17] and was interviewed alongside previous winner Emeli Sandé during the television ceremony in February 2013.[11]
Odell's debut album, Long Way Down, was released on 24 June 2013[18] and reached No. 1 in the UK Official Chart. He was due to support The Rolling Stones at London's Hyde Park on 13 July 2013,[19] but was unable to perform because of illness.[20]
2014–2015: Recognition Edit
Odell performed his first new song since the release of Long Way Down, entitled "Alex", on 7 February 2014 at the Plymouth Pavilions.[21] The show kicked off the last leg of his UK Long Way Down Tour.
Odell was named 'songwriter of the year' at the 2014 Ivor Novello Awards ceremony.[22] Odell's song "Can't Pretend" was used in the TV series The 100. "Can't Pretend" and "Long Way Down" were also featured on The Blacklist and the award winning movie The Fault In Our Stars. His song "Grow Old With Me" was featured in an episode of Reign. The song was also featured in a major 60 second ad campaign for Kaiser Permanente entitled "Thrive".[23] His song "Heal" was also used in the movie If I Stay, the TV series NCIS, The Vampire Diaries and Elementary along with "Another Love".
Odell's next song, a cover of "Real Love" by The Beatles, was the audio track to the 2014 John Lewis Christmas advert and gained him great publicity. Within hours of the advert being aired for the first time, the track reached to the top of the music recognition service Shazam’s trending list. Within three days of release, it went straight to 21 in the UK top 40, peaking at 7.
Odell's music was featured in a Sony advert in 2016, with a cover of "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper.
2016–2017: Wrong Crowd Edit
Odell began working on his second studio album in 2015, and played a variety of new songs at Forest Live, a concert series in England's forests by the Forestry Commission.[24] On 4 April 2016, the first single, "Wrong Crowd", was released, and an upcoming second studio album of the same name was announced. In addition, Odell announced that he would be going on tour in the US and Europe.[25] On 15 April 2016, the second single from the album, "Magnetised", was released. The next day, Odell revealed that his sold-out shows were titled the No Bad Days Tour, which kicked off on 20 April 2016 in London.[26] The full album was released on 10 June 2016.[27] In an interview with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning, Odell revealed that in some countries outside the UK, audiences have misunderstood the title of the album to be an insult, that they are in fact a bad crowd or so to speak the 'wrong crowd'.
2017–2020: Jubilee Road Edit
On his No Bad Days tour, Odell revealed he was writing for his third album and played several new songs live. In November 2017, he toured Germany on the New Fall Festival in Düsseldorf and Stuttgart and announced that the album had been finished and a first single was to be released imminently. On 20 December 2017 Odell announced in an interview on BBC Radio 2 that the album was scheduled for release in mid-2018. On 14 June 2018, the first single from the album, "If You Wanna Love Somebody", was released worldwide. The album, Jubilee Road, was released on 26 October.
Jubilee Road was inspired by his past neighbours and community. The title "Jubilee Road" is supposed to be a reference to a terraced street in east London that Odell lived on, but when he asked his neighbours if he could use the real name, they responded that they were afraid it would become a tourist destination and would rather him create a fictional name.
2021–present: Monsters and Best Day of My Life Edit
"Numb", the first single from Odell's fourth album, was released in February 2021. In an interview with The Gentleman's Journal on 27 February 2021, it was revealed that Odell's fourth studio album is titled Monsters.[28] He stated that the album would feature darker, electro-pop tones, and the lyrics were inspired by artists such as XXXTentacion, Drake and Travis Scott. The second single from the album, "Monster v.1", was released in March 2021. The record touches on heavy subjects and rough experiences he had during a "fever pitch" in his life, particularly struggling with anxiety and panic attacks.[5] The album was released on 9 July 2021.
On 8 September 2022, Odell announced the release of his fifth studio album, Best Day of My Life, scheduled for release on 28 October 2022. The album was preceded by the singles "Best Day of My Life", "Sad Anymore", "Flying" and "Smiling All the Way Back Home".[29]
Influences Edit
Odell grew up listening to Elton John. One of the first albums he listened to was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973). He also cites David Bowie, Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Arthur Russell, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Rodríguez and Bruce Springsteen as influences.[30][31][32][33][34] He is a fan of Arcade Fire, Adele, James Blake, Cat Power, Blur, Beach House, Radiohead, Coldplay and Ben Folds.[30][33][35][36]
Odell has said his lyrics are inspired by his "inability to sustain a relationship with someone for longer than six months." He says, "I find that I write much better songs when I'm being honest, and writing about things that happen to me. It can get a little weird though, when friends or girlfriends work out that a song is about them. But it's amazing what you can get away with it. Artistic licence, I think they call it."[37]
Activism Edit
In July 2020, he signed an open letter to the UK Equalities minister Liz Truss calling for a ban on all forms of LGBT+ conversion therapy.[38]
Discography Edit
Studio albums Edit
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [39] | AUS [40] | AUT [41] | BEL [42] | GER [43] | IRE [44] | NL [45] | NZ [46] | POL [47] | SWI [48] | ||||
| Long Way Down |
| 1 | 66 | 48 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 39 | 31 | 2 | ||
| Wrong Crowd |
| 2 | 29 | 35 | 13 | 16 | 6 | 9 | —[A] | 15 | 2 |
| |
| Jubilee Road |
| 5 | — | 53 | 56 | 66 | 27 | 30 | — | 44 | 20 | ||
| Monsters |
| 4 | — | — | 195 | — | 35 | — | — | — | 43 | ||
| Best Day of My Life |
| 7 | — | — | 185 | — | — | — | — | — | 29 | ||
| "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Extended plays Edit
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Songs from Another Love |
|
| Spending All My Christmas with You |
|
Singles Edit
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album or EP | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [39] | AUS [55] | AUT [41] | BEL [42] | FRA [56] | GER [43] | IRE [44] | NL [45] | SWI [48] | WW [57] | ||||||||
| "Another Love" | 2012 | 10 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 14 | Long Way Down | |||||
| "Can't Pretend" | 2013 | 67 | — | — | 52 | 200 | — | — | — | — | — |
| |||||
| "Hold Me" | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Grow Old with Me" | 46 | — | — | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ||||||
| "I Know" | 92 | — | — | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Real Love" | 2014 | 7 | — | — | 71 | — | — | 16 | 83 | — | — |
| Spending All My Christmas With You | ||||
| "Wrong Crowd" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Wrong Crowd | |||||
| "Magnetised" | 40 | — | — | 51 | 157 | — | 62 | — | 73 | — |
| ||||||
| "Here I Am"[61] | — | — | — | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Concrete"[62] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "True Colours"[63] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||
| "Silhouette"[64] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Wrong Crowd | ||||||
| "Jealousy" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "If You Wanna Love Somebody"[65] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jubilee Road | |||||
| "Half as Good as You" (featuring Alice Merton)[66] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Go Tell Her Now"[67] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Numb"[68] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Monsters | |||||
| "Monster" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Money" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Lose You Again"[69] | —[a] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Best Day of My Life"[71] | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Best Day of My Life | |||||
| "Sad Anymore"[72] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Flying"[73] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Smiling All the Way Back to Home"[29] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Butterflies" (featuring Aurora)[74] | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | |||||
| "Streets of Heaven"[75] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Black Friday"[76] | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 [77] | 63 | 60 | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||
Promotional singles Edit
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Sirens"[citation needed] | 2013 | Long Way Down |
| "Jubilee Road"[78] | 2018 | Jubilee Road |
Other certified songs Edit
| Title | Year | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Heal" | 2013 |
| Long Way Down |
Guest appearances Edit
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Fiction"[79] | 2016 | Kygo | Cloud Nine |
| "Summer Day"[80] | 2019 | None | MOOMINVALLEY (Official Soundtrack) |
Tours and concerts Edit
- Long Way Down Tour (2013)
- No Bad Days Tour (2016-2017)
- Jubilee Road Tour (2018-2019)
Awards and nominations Edit
| Year | Organisation | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | MTV | Brand New For 2013[81] | Nominated |
| BRIT Awards | Critics' Choice Award[11] | Won | |
| BBC | Sound of 2013[14] | Nominated | |
| 2014 | BRIT Awards | British Male Solo Artist | Nominated |
| British Breakthrough Act | Nominated | ||
| Ivor Novello Awards | Songwriter of the Year | Won |
Notes Edit
- ^ Wrong Crowd did not enter the NZ Top 40 Albums Chart, but peaked at number 6 on the NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart.[53]
References Edit
- ^ Halls, Eleanor. "Tom Odell talks money, mental strife — and monsters". The Gentleman's Journal. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ "Music: Tom Odell Interview". Glamour UK. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ "Tom Odell: 'I'd love to play a show in New Zealand'". Stuff. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Interview: Tom Odell". Latest Bars Ltd. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ a b King, Danielle (6 July 2021). "Tom Odell Is Unshackled, Liberated & Absolutely Epic In Exclusive Interview". The Honey POP. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "Soundbite". Cml.sad.ukrd.com. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ a b c Tom Lamont (24 March 2013). "Tom Odell: 'Having your heart broken makes for good songs' | Music | The Observer". Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Tom Odell talks music, fame and the Brits". YouTube. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Tom Odell a former BIMM Brighton student". BIMM.
- ^ "Tom Odell: 'Having your heart broken makes for good songs' | Pop and rock". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "Brit Awards tip Tom Odell for the top". BBC. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ . iTunes. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "Later... with Jools Holland – Series 41, Episode 10". BBC. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Sound of 2013 Profile: Tom Odell". BBC. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "BBC One – Love 2013". TV Ad Music. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ "Tom Odell performs at Burberry's London Fashion Week show – video – Music News – Digital Spy". Digitalspy.ie. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Laura Mvula, Tom Odell and AlunaGeorge for BRITs Critics' Choice 2013?". Digital Spy. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "'Long Way Down' by Tom Odell". Amazon UK. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "Newsbeat – Tom Odell releases Another Love EP". BBC. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Stones turn up the head at Park gig". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Tom Odell – Alex Miller (First performance)". YouTube. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ^ "Ivor Novello Awards 2014: Tom Odell, London Grammar and Nick Cave all winners". Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ witter, vanessa (6 November 2015), Kaiser Permanente "Grow Old With Me", retrieved 14 February 2021
- ^ charlotte wisbey. "Competition Archives - Go Ape Blog | Follow all the latest news". Goape.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Tom Odell announces tour + new album, Wrong Crowd". Gigwise.com. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Tom Odell - Timeline". Retrieved 31 July 2016 – via Facebook.
- ^ "Tom Odell Announces New Album 'Wrong Crowd' | News | Clash Magazine". Clashmusic.com. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Tom Odell talks money, mental strife – and monsters". The Gentleman's Journal. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Tom Odell announces new album". Total Ntertainment. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ a b Selby, Jenn. "Tom Odell Interview Long Way Down Burberry – Celebrity & Music (Glamour.com UK)". Glamourmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to ShawConnect – Music Blog – Interview: Rising star Tom Odell". Blogs.shawconnect.ca. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Tom Odell named BRITs Critics' Choice Winner". Sky News. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ a b Tan, Emily (31 October 2012). "Introducing: Tom Odell". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Street North East | Interview with Tom Odell ahead of Jake Bugg show, in Newcastle". Streetnortheast.com. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Olivia Schaff (20 December 2012). "Tips 2013: Tom Odell | Feature | Music". Music.thedigitalfix.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Earnshaw, Helen (15 April 2013). "Tom Odell Exclusive Interview". Femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Get To Know: Tom Odell | Music". Hunger Tv. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Ban Conversion Therapy on Instagram". Instagram. 10 July 2020. from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
Our letter to government urging for a ban of conversion therapy has complete backing from some incredible #LGBTQ+ public figures and allies. It's supported by every leading UK #LGBT charity and human rights organisation. And now we need you're help. Use our resources, educate yourselves, write to your MP, chat to your families and SPREAD 👏🏻 THE 👏🏻 WORD. #BanConversionTherapy #ConversionTherapy #ShitYouShouldCareAbout
- ^ a b "Tom Odell > UK Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ Peak chart positions in Australia:
- For all except noted: "Discography Tom Odell". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- For Long Way Down: Ryan, Gavin (18 June 2016). "ARIA Albums: The Temper Trap 'Thick As Thieves' Is No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Discographie Tom Odell". Austrian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ a b "Discografie Tom Odell". Belgium Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ a b . German Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Discography Tom Odell". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ a b "Discografie Tom Odell". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Discography Tom Odell". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ Peak chart positions for studio albums in Poland:
- Long Way Down: "OLiS – sales for the period 01.01.2016 – 07.01.2016". ZPAV. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- Wrong Crowd: "OLiS – sales for the period 10.06.2016 – 16.06.2016". ZPAV. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- Jubilee Road: "OLiS – sales for the period 26.10.2018 – 01.11.2018". ZPAV. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Discographie Tom Odell". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "British certifications – Tom Odell". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 April 2023. Type Tom Odell in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ a b "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Tom Odell)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Goud/Platina – NVPI Audio" (To access, enter the search parameter "Tom Odell" and select "Search") (in Dutch). NVPI. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Albums and singles certified Platinum in 2016". ZPAV. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ ""Spending All My Christmas With You" by Tok Odell". iTunes. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Tom Odell". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ "Tom Odell Chart History: Global 200". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2013". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ "Austrian single certifications – Tom Odell – Another Love" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Tom Odell; 'Another Love')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ^ "Here I Am (Alan Brave Remix) - Single by Tom Odell". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "Concrete (HONNE Remix) - Single by Tom Odell". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "True Colours - Single by Tom Odell". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ Wilde, Alexa (6 December 2016). "Tom Odell reveals new video for "Silhouette"". It's All Indie. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "If You Wanna Love Somebody (Acoustic) - Single by Tom Odell". Apple Music. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Tom Odell and Alice Merton are music's latest unlikely duo". Evening Standard. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Go Tell Her Now (Acoustic) - Single by Tom Odell". Apple Music. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Numb - Single by Tom Odell". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "lose you again (Remixes) - Single by Tom Odell". Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 16 July 2021 - 22 July 2021". Official Charts. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
- ^ "Best Day of My Life - single". Apple Music. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Sad Anymore - single". Apple Music. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Flying - single". Apple Music. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Butterflies (feat. AURORA) - Single by Tom Odell". Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Streets of Heaven - Single by Tom Odell". Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Tom Odell Returns With New Single Black Friday". Stereo Board. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles, Week Ending 29 September 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "Tom Odell Releases Brand New Track + Video "Jubilee Road"- Title Track From New Album Out 10/12 Via RCA Records". RCA Records. 27 July 2018.
- ^ "Cloud Nine by Kygo". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "MOOMINVALLEY (Official Soundtrack) by Various Artists". Apple Music. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- ^ "MTV's Brande New For 2013 Nominees announced". MTV. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
External links Edit
- Official website