LANY explained

LANY
Origin:Los Angeles, California, US
Years Active:2014–present
Current Members:
  • Paul Jason Klein
  • Jake Clifford Goss
Past Members:
  • Charles Leslie "Les" Priest

LANY (an acronym for "Los Angeles, New York") is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in Nashville in 2014, the band consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Paul Jason Klein and drummer Jake Clifford Goss.

Signed to Polydor and Interscope Records, the band have released three top 5 albums: LANY (2017), Malibu Nights (2018), and Mama's Boy (2020). Additionally, they have released a few of singles, their most successful being the RIAA-certified "ILYSB" (2015), the Julia Michaels collaboration "Okay" (2019), "Super Far"(2017), "Malibu Nights" (2018) and "Mean It" (2019) featured Lauv. In 2020, they released their third studio album, Mama's Boy, which was followed by their fourth album, gg bb xx, in September 2021. In 2023, the band announced their fifth studio album A Beautiful Blur. The album will be their first on Sunset Records/Virgin Records, following their departure from Interscope Records.

Music career

2014–2017: Musical beginnings and LANY

LANY were formed in March 2014 when Paul Jason Klein, who had a small solo career, flew to Nashville to meet up with friends Jake Goss and Les Priest. Previously, Goss and Priest had a separate project by the name of WRLDS, but this was discontinued after the formation of LANY.[1] Klein had been classically trained in piano and had been playing since early childhood.[2] The following month they anonymously uploaded two songs, "Hot Lights" and "Walk Away", to their SoundCloud account with zero followers in order to differentiate between their old and new projects. These two songs were recorded within the space of four days.[3] In an interview, Klein explains that after the release of these singles, they began receiving emails from record labels within six days, of which he still does not know how they found the music. Their debut EP, Acronyms, followed later that year, with the song "ILYSB" generating significant interest online, reaching more than 100,000 hits.[3] Singles "Made in Hollywood" and "Bad, Bad, Bad" soon followed, along with the reveal of their identities.

LANY is an acronym for "Los Angeles New York". Klein explained the name in an interview:

"We knew we wanted a four-letter word because of design and aesthetic purposes, but as you can imagine, all the four-letter words in the entire world are taken. We moved to acronyms and for a while we thought we would be TTYL, but then we decided we didn’t want to be 13 for the rest of our lives. I eventually thought of the span across the country from L.A. to New York, and at first I was thinking it would be L-A-N-Y, but people kept getting confused on how to pronounce it when I told them, saying things like 'L-A-and-Y?' So then we’re like forget it—let's call ourselves LANY, pronounced Lay-Nee."[1]

In 2015, LANY embarked on American tours supporting Twin Shadow, Tove Styrke, X Ambassadors, Troye Sivan and Halsey.[4] A second EP titled I Loved You. followed, as did festival appearances including Lollapalooza.

In December 2015, after signing to Polydor Records,[5] a re-release EP titled Make Out was released consisting of all songs (not including "Hot Lights" and "OMG") released prior to I Loved You. Shortly after this, a UK support tour with Ellie Goulding was announced for March 2016 and a live stripped back version of "ILYSB" was released on YouTube.[6] A US support tour with Troye Sivan ran through February, followed by the announcement of their first US headline tour, The Make Out Tour, in May.[7] On March 11, 2016, LANY released a single titled "Where the Hell Are My Friends". The track debuted on Beats 1 with Zane Lowe.[8] One month later, they released their first music video for the song.[9]

After their headline tour in May, LANY played a series of festivals in mid-2016, including Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Outside Lands.[10]

LANY began their second headline tour in the fall of 2016, called the Kinda Tour, in support of their EP by the same name. It included 14 European dates and 37 US dates.

On February 15, 2017, LANY announced they would be opening up for seven shows of John Mayer's The Search for Everything Tour. It included five U.S. dates and two dates in Canada.[11] Klein credits Mayer as a significant influence to himself and to the band.[12]

Through their official Instagram and Twitter, the band announced that they would be releasing their debut album, LANY, on June 30, 2017, to be preceded by the singles "Good Girls" on March 3, as well as "It Was Love", "The Breakup", and "13".[13]

On June 30, 2017, LANY released their debut self-titled album. The single "Super Far" debuted on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 on Apple Music preceding the release of the full-length album. The band held pop-up shops in Los Angeles and New York to promote the album. They have released music videos for "Good Girls", "ILYSB", and "Super Far". The band announced a US headline tour that occurred from September through November 2017. LANY spent the summer of 2017 playing festivals and touring Australia and Asia. They toured Europe in the winter of 2017.

2018–2019: Malibu Nights

LANY announced their second album, Malibu Nights, on March 8, 2018, via an Instagram post.[14] Klein stated that the album was written from January 4 to February 14, 2018.

On April 5, 2018, LANY had their first arena concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines. Tickets for the show were sold out in 24 hours, leading to a second show the next night.[15] [16]

The first single, "Thru These Tears", was released on July 17. The album's second single, "I Don't Wanna Love You Anymore", was released on August 22, 2018. Their highly anticipated second studio album, "Malibu Nights", was released on October 5, 2018, consisting of nine songs.[17] In 2018, LANY embarked on their Malibu Nights World Tour beginning on October and lasting until October 2019. The band released "Okay", a single with singer Julia Michaels, on April 23, 2019. This was their first song to include a featured artist.[18] On November 14, 2019, LANY collaborated with American singer-songwriter Lauv for the song “Mean It”, which ultimately was listed on Lauv's debut album, How I'm Feeling. On December 17, 2019, the music video was released, featuring both artists in the deserts of Los Angeles.

From July 23 to 25, LANY sold out three consecutive shows in Manila, at the Mall of Asia Arena.[19]

2020: Mama's Boy

On April 30, 2020, LANY announced the title of their third album, Mama's Boy, via social media. The album was released on October 2, 2020.[20] On May 13, they released the album's lead single, "Good Guys".[21] On July 1, their second single "If This Is the Last Time" was released. The album's third single, "You!", was released on August 13, 2020.[22] Two months later on October 2, 2020, they released their third studio album titled Mama's Boy.[23] To promote the album, the band has announced 5 dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for 2021. Pre-sale began on September 30 while the general sale began on October 2. The band has announced more dates to come on a later date.[24]

2021–2022: gg bb xx and Priest's departure

On February 4, 2021, LANY released the deluxe edition of Mama's Boy.[25] This included the release of three new versions of songs—"Heart Won't Let Me" (stripped), "Sad" (stripped), and "I Still Talk to Jesus" (live). "I wanted the outer to sound and feel like I was playing this song alone in a Sunday school room with the door slightly cracked, and you were listening down the hall," Klein said of the original recording. The live rendition of the track draws listeners even closer and into the room alongside LANY. On July 12, LANY announced that their fourth album, gg bb xx, would be released on September 3. The single rollout began with the release of "dancing in the kitchen" on June 25.

The deluxe version of gg bb xx was released on November 5, adding 5 additional songs to the record, along with the demo version of "dna" that was released as a single simultaneously with "up to me". Also included were previous collaborations, "I Quit Drinking" with Kelsea Ballerini, and "Stupid Feelings" with 220 Kid.[26]

On April 7, 2022, the band announced the departure of keyboardist Les Priest, who had left "to focus on life as a writer/producer in Nashville."[27] The remaining two members of the group decided not to replace him but just to continue as a duo.[28]

2023: A Beautiful Blur

On May 29, 2023, LANY announced their fifth album, titled A Beautiful Blur, will release on September 29. Its first single, "Congrats", was released on 24 Aug 2022.[29]

Band members

Current members

Current touring musicians

Former members

Former touring musicians

Touring musician timelines

Discography

Studio albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
DetailsPeak chart positions
US
[30]
AUS
[31]
CAN
[32]
UK
[33]
LANY 32 53 90
Malibu Nights
  • Released: October 5, 2018
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: CD, LP, TC, digital download, streaming
36 92 81
Mama's Boy
  • Released: October 2, 2020[34]
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: CD, LP, TC, digital download, streaming
7 67 67 22
gg bb xx
  • Released: September 3, 2021
  • Label: Interscope
  • Format: CD, LP, TC, digital download, streaming
114
A Beautiful Blur
  • Released: September 29, 2023
  • Label: Sunset Garden/Virgin
  • Format: CD, LP, TC, digital download, streaming
120 4
[35]
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Acronyms
  • Released: 2014
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
I Loved You
  • Released: June 9, 2015
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: Digital download, 12"
Make Out
  • Released: December 11, 2015
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: Digital download, 12"
Kinda
  • Released: June 24, 2016
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: Digital download, 12"

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
US
Bub.

[36]
AUS
[37]
BEL
[38]
IRE
[39]
NZ
[40]
SIN
[41]
SLK
[42]
SWI
[43]
UK
[44]
"Hot Lights" / "Walk Away"2014Make Out
"Made in Hollywood"
"Bad, Bad, Bad"
"ILYSB"2015
"Where the Hell Are My Friends"2016kinda
"Yea, Babe, No Way"[47]
"Good Girls"LANY
"It Was Love"2017
"The Breakup"
"13"
"Super Far"
  • RIAA: Gold
"Thru These Tears"2018Malibu Nights
"I Don't Wanna Love You Anymore"
"Thick and Thin"
"If You See Her"
"Malibu Nights"
  • RIAA: Gold
"Okay"
201916
"Mean It"
19 42 32 46 4 2 95 87 83
  • RIAA: Gold
  • ARIA: Gold[48]
How I'm Feeling
"Good Guys"2020Mama's Boy
"If This Is the Last Time"[49]
"You"[50]
"Cowboy in LA"[51]
"I Quit Drinking"
2021
"Dancing in the Kitchen"[52] gg bb xx
"Stupid Feelings"
"Never Mind, Let's Break Up"[53]
"Roll Over Baby"[54]
"Love at First Fight"[55] 2023A Beautiful Blur
"Alonica"[56]
"XXL"
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Promotional singles

TitleYearAlbum
"Super Far" / "Sign of the Times"2017Spotify Singles
"dna[demo]" / "up to me"2021up to me/dna[demo]
"dancing in the kitchen"2021dancing in the kitchen

Tours

Headline

Promotional

Supporting

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Heard of LANY? Well Listen Up, Because They're About to Become Your New Favorite Band. Firman. Tehrene. Teen Vogue. January 16, 2015. March 9, 2016.
  2. Web site: The overnight success story: An interview with LANY . 2023-03-08 . Blank Newspaper . May 11, 2016 . en-US.
  3. Web site: LANY Biography, Songs, & Albums . 2023-03-08 . AllMusic . en.
  4. Web site: LANY Makes Catchy Electro-Soul On 'Make Out' EP (INTERVIEW) - Glide Magazine. Glide Magazine. January 29, 2016 . March 9, 2016.
  5. Web site: LANY have signed to Polydor Records. Project U. October 4, 2015. March 9, 2016. July 21, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170721004917/https://www.projectu.tv/lany-have-signed-to-polydor-records/. dead.
  6. Web site: LANY - ILYSB (Live in Los Angeles). January 26, 2016. YouTube. March 9, 2016.
  7. Web site: LANY Official Website. thisislany.com. March 9, 2016.
  8. Web site: Listen to "World First: LANY - "WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS"" posted by Zane Lowe on Apple Music.. Apple Music. April 13, 2016.
  9. Web site: LANY - WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS. April 11, 2016. YouTube. April 13, 2016.
  10. Web site: LANY on Twitter. Twitter. April 13, 2016.
  11. Web site: 7 SHOWS WITH OUR HERO.pic.twitter.com/Tk3JJxYDRd. LANY. February 15, 2017. @thisisLANY. en. January 25, 2018.
  12. Web site: LANY Is The Modern, Thoughtful Pop Group The World Needs Right Now . 2023-03-08 . www.grammy.com.
  13. Web site: Instagram post by LANY • Feb 25, 2017 at 10:10pm UTC. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BQ82oXGDU2_ . December 24, 2021 . limited. Instagram.com. February 28, 2017.
  14. Web site: paul klein on Instagram: "album 2 is called "malibu nights" and it was written jan 4 - feb 14 and you're gonna love it x". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BgFXapDD5Uv . December 24, 2021 . limited. Instagram. August 17, 2018.
  15. News: LANY Returning To Manila in 2018. Philippine Concerts. December 17, 2017.
  16. News: Lany Manila Concert 2018. Spot.ph.
  17. Web site: LANY Talks New Album 'Malibu Nights,' Taking Chances and Staying True to Their Identity. Billboard.com. October 5, 2018.
  18. Web site: LANY And Julia Michaels Tell Us How They Turned Heartbreak Into A 'Breezy Bop' With 'Okay'. https://web.archive.org/web/20190423194112/http://www.mtv.com/news/3121658/lany-julia-michaels-okay-interview/. dead. April 23, 2019. Roth. Madeline. MTV News. en. February 28, 2020.
  19. Web site: In Photos: LANY's sold-out three-day concert in Manila 2019 . March 20, 2022 . Philstar.com.
  20. "mama's boy" the album by us out this year.... 1255859526919614464. thisisLANY. LANY (confirmed account). April 30, 2020. May 13, 2020.
  21. we're back. "good guys" out everywhere now -.... 1260419570692734978. thisisLANY. May 13, 2020. May 13, 2020.
  22. our new single and video “you!” is officially live for the entire world x. 1294124913389789184. thisisLANY. LANY (confirmed account). August 14, 2020. October 19, 2020.
  23. we poured every ounce of our time and energy and our hearts and souls into this album, and tbh i’m absolutely exhausted and it feels amazing. now it’s yours forever . 1311879039687094272. thisisLANY. LANY (confirmedaccount). October 2, 2020. October 19, 2020.
  24. here are our UK dates for 2021! pre-order “mama’s boy” from the LANY store by sept 29 at 5pm BST for pre-sale access. pre-sale begins sept 30 and general on sale oct 2. everyone else trust me there will be like a thousand more dates added x. 1309525014526521345. thisisLANY. LANY (confirmed account). September 26, 2020. October 20, 2020.
  25. Web site: Paul. Larisha. February 5, 2021. LANY Shares Deluxe Edition Of Latest Album 'Mama's Boy'. March 26, 2021. uDiscover Music. en-US.
  26. Web site: Lany Unveils Deluxe Version of Latest Album Gg Bb Xx. January 19, 2022. May 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230518124521/https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/lany-unveils-deluxe-version-of-latest-album-gg-bb-xx/. dead.
  27. News: Tunac . Hermes Joy . Leslie 'Les' Priest departs from LANY to pursue 'new chapter' in his life . April 17, 2022 . . April 7, 2022.
  28. Web site: April 7, 2022 . Leslie 'Les' Priest departs from LANY to pursue 'new chapter' in his life . 2023-03-08 . GMA News Online . en.
  29. Web site: LANY . August 24, 2022 . LANY Returns With New Song “Congrats” .
  30. LANY Chart History: Billboard 200. Billboard. October 10, 2023.
  31. Peaks in Australia:
    • LANY: Web site: ARIA Chart Watch #428. Auspop.com.au. July 8, 2017. July 8, 2017. August 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819105353/https://www.auspop.com.au/2017/07/aria-chart-watch-428/. dead.
    • Mama's Boy: The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 October 2020. The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association. 1597. 5. October 12, 2020.
  32. LANY Chart History: Canadian Albums. Billboard. October 13, 2020.
  33. Web site: Lany full Official Chart history. Official Charts Company. July 8, 2017.
  34. Web site: LANY finally announce release date for new album 'Mama's Boy' . Don't Bore Us . August 10, 2020 . August 11, 2020 . Wilson, Zanda . January 18, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210118172944/https://dontboreus.thebrag.com/lany-mamas-boy-release-date/ . dead .
  35. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 9, 2023. October 6, 2023.
  36. Lauv . . March 22, 2020.
  37. Web site: Steffen Hung . Discography Lauv . Australian-charts.com . March 22, 2020.
  38. Web site: Lauv & Lany - Mean It . Ultratop.be . March 22, 2020.
  39. Web site: Steffen Hung . Discography Lauv . Irishcharts.com . March 22, 2020.
  40. Web site: Hot Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart . Nztop40.co.nz . November 25, 2019 . March 22, 2020.
  41. Web site: RIAS Top Charts – RIAS . https://web.archive.org/web/20191202011730/https://www.rias.org.sg/rias-top-charts/ . March 22, 2020. December 2, 2019 .
  42. Web site: ds . Čns Ifpi . Hitparada.ifpicr.cz . March 22, 2020.
  43. Web site: Steffen Hung . Lauv & Lany - Mean It . Swisscharts.com . March 22, 2020.
  44. Web site: Official Singles Chart on 22/11/2019. November 29, 2019. Officialcharts.com.
  45. United States . single . LANY . February 2, 2022.
  46. Australia. 2019. December 25, 2022.
  47. Web site: LANY (2) - Yea, Babe, No Way. Discogs. 2016 .
  48. Australia. 2021. February 3, 2022.
  49. Web site: If This Is the Last Time - single. Apple Music. July 3, 2020. July 3, 2020. August 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200808045358/https://music.apple.com/au/album/if-this-is-the-last-time-single/1519255464. dead.
  50. Web site: Singles to Radio 14 August 2020. The Music Network. August 14, 2020. August 14, 2020.
  51. 20 days 'til "mama's boy" 4 days 'til "cowboy in LA". 1304872627052265474. thisisLANY. September 12, 2020. September 16, 2020.
  52. Web site: Dancing in the Kitchen - single. Apple Music. June 25, 2021. June 27, 2021.
  53. Web site: LANY Releases a Poppy Breakup Anthem "Never Mind, Let's Break Up". Yahoo. August 20, 2021. August 21, 2021. August 21, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210821000324/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lany-releases-poppy-breakup-anthem-192807824.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHc0hOmV66N64Qf0sT5m9Mbgf5PKybblYrvVl6HYcVRuhGSW7F1kVWPe60urOnYOzy1T2-e6hn0SUde2xSduTQ-0TB5mz5b0Y7EGQSFqVJCc5Hm0iqZSLgm0Awc2OQSMJcZEVDcn3JAcCY7P3txbgjb9E7LGMFROjiwxAN4fRV3I. dead.
  54. Web site: LANY Drops Earnest New Single "Roll Over, Baby" Ahead of Highly Anticipated New Album. Yahoo. August 26, 2021. August 27, 2021. August 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827103320/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lany-drops-earnest-single-roll-000347882.html. dead.
  55. Web site: LANY Embrace The Difficulties Of A Worthwhile Relationship With Their 'Love At First Fight' Single. Up Roxx. June 9, 2023. June 9, 2023.
  56. Web site: LANY Releases Out Of This World New Single, "Alonica". Idobi. June 7, 2023. June 8, 2023.