Curriculum
| Curriculum | |
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Curriculum, 2012. From left to right: Dana Breckenridge, Gregory Preston Athanasiadis, Wyatt van Cleef, and Phillip Mandelbaum. Curriculum, 2012. From left to right: Dana Breckenridge, Gregory Preston Athanasiadis, Wyatt van Cleef, and Phillip Mandelbaum. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres |
Alternative Indie pop |
| Years active | 2006 to present |
| Labels | Blacklight Records (2011 to present) |
| Associated acts |
Blonde Ambition Sandi Cohen |
| Website | www.curriculumvitae.com |
| Members | |
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Gregory Preston Athanasiadis Phillip Mandelbaum Wyatt van Cleef Dana Breckenridge "Honorary" members: Stephanie Kesh Shawn Middlesbrough | |
Curriculum is an American-based alternative ("indie") pop band that formed and originated in New York City in 2006 and, as of 2011, is signed to Blacklight Records. The band consists of six members: Gregory Preston Athanasiadis, Phillip Mandelbaum, Wyatt van Cleef, Dana Breckenridge, Stephanie Kesh, and Shawn Middlesbrough, with the latter two being considered "honorary members" of the band. The band formed in 2006 when most of the band members were attending the same high school in New York City; currently most of the band is either attending college at Columbia University or New York University which are both located in New York City.
The band gained noteriety in late summer 2011 in the United States through the video sharing website YouTube when they posted a video of themselves singing "All I Need (All I Don't)". The video garnered over two million views and eventually prompted the band to independently release the song on iTunes in the autumn of 2011 where they consider it their first ever promotional/"buzz" single.
In November 2011, the band signed to Blacklight Records and released their debut single "So Mainstream". Commercially successful, the single reached the top three on the UK Singles Chart and was certified Platinum. After releasing their second promotional single "Innocent; Convicted", which reached the top twenty on the UK Downloads Chart, the band released their debut album Syllabus. The album garnered positive reviews and reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart, being certified Silver in its first week of sales alone. The band will release their second single "At A Party" in March 2012.
In February 2012, the band debuted within the top forty of the 17th Uraps Rate and were nominated with four Urapopstar Awards. In August 2012, the band reached the top twenty of the URAPS Rate 18 and were nominated for three more Urapopstar Awards.
2006-2011: Formation and early career[edit | edit source]
The band consists of six members who collectively come from three different countries/national backgrounds: Athanasiadis, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef are American, Breckenridge is Australian-born but has lived most of his life in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Canada before moving permanantly to the United States in 2004, and Kesh and Middlesbrough are British. Athanasiadis and Mandelbaum were childhood friends and eventually befriended van Cleef and Breckenridge. The band was officially formed just shortly after they first met Middlesbrough at a college party. Kesh entered the group while trying to help them with their musical skills in 2010.
During their first five years together, the band never played in public before and initially only started out by getting together for only jam sessions. Eventually they started to seriously work on their music. The band apparently almost broke up when some of the band members went to different colleges instead of attending the same college as one another. Eventually, the band decided to stick together with them not feeling that attending different colleges would not threaten the band or their time needed to work on their music.
In April 2011, the band released their first independent EP titled STUBDEPS. A month later they released their second independent EP titled Hipsterology 101. The band couldn't afford to make physical copies of the EP and only "released" the EPs online with a link to the both EPs beings shown on their official Facebook page; The EPs were given away for free and were even uploaded in their entirety on the band's official YouTube page. Some of their songs from the EPs managed to get moderate airplay on college radio stations and demand grew for the band to perform live at certain functions and parties.
Name changes[edit | edit source]
The band went through a series of name changes before settling on their current name. The band was first titled Werewolf Weekday but was then changed to The College Boys. The band, for the longest time, were known by The Weekenders and later The Lost. Eventually, they settled on the name Curriculum which was nod to the members fondness of college life and culture, academia, knowledge, and education. According to sources, the band was almost called Curriculum Vitae and Syllabus.
2011 to present: "All I Need (All I Don't)" and Syllabus[edit | edit source]
In late summer 2011, the band uploaded a video of themselves singing a song called "All I Need (All I Don't)". The video was meant to be shown only to their small fanbase of college students but the video became viral hit in the United States and garnered over five million views. The band eventually was prompted to release the song on iTunes where they considered it their first ever promotional/"buzz" single, saying that their actual debut single was coming soon. The promotional release of "All I Need (All I Don't)" reached #63 in the United States.
In 2011, the band announced that they were pursuing a professional music career and a record deal in the US and UK. After announcing that their debut single would be "So Mainstream", in November 2011, they signed with Blacklight Records. That same month, the band released "So Mainstream" in the UK and US; the single would eventually reach #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their first charting single in the UK. Soon after, they released their second promotional single titled "Innocent; Convicted", which peaked at #13 on the UK Downloads Chart.
In February 2012, the band released their debut album Syllabus. The album garnered generally positive reviews and would become commercially successful. The album debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Silver in its first week of sales, after selling over 103,000 copies. To date, the album has sold more than 500,000 copies and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album would also see some degree of commercial success in international markets as well. In the US, Syllabus has been certified Gold.
In March 2012, the band released their second single "At A Party". Originally supposed to be released in January 2012, the single's final release featured American pop singer Blonde Ambition. Blonde was added onto the song after she was only supposed to be featured on the remix of the song and had managed to befriend the band. "At A Party" debuted and peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their second top three single.
In May 2012, the band suddenly premiered what is confirmed to be their third single from Syllabus titled "Honeymoon Anthem". The single was postponed shortly after. The band has since confirmed that they will be releasing another promotional single titled "British" which will then be followed by another song which will serve as their third single from Syllabus titled "Teamwork". Originally featuring the band only, the single mix featured popular singer Kleo and was released on 23 July 2012. The single became the band's third UK single to reach the top three while also becoming their third to peak at #3 on the UK Singles Chart; it also become a top ten or top twenty hit internationally as well.
Influences[edit | edit source]
The band is heavily influenced by Ben Johnston, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Mannequin, Vixen, and British girl bands.
They have been heavily compared to the now disbanded alt-pop/rock group The Found. Despite this, the members do not cite The Found has an influence of theirs and has even claimed that they do not like any of material from them either.
Image and popularity[edit | edit source]
Though not the first band to make alternative or "indie" music popular with mainstream audiences, they have become one of the most successful alternative acts in the present day climate of the music industry aside from Sandi Cohen, FERROXYL, and Dresden & Bareilles.
In January 2012, Curriculum ranked at #5 on James Moss' Top 12 Breakouts of 2012; on the "revised" edition of the special, which aired in May 2012, the band rose to #2. In February 2012, the band ranked at #30 on the URAPS Rate 17 where they got a 75% approval rating. That same month, the band was nominated for four Urapopstar Awards for Best Group, Best Alternative, Best Newcomer, and Best Male Video for their single "So Mainstream". In August 2012, the band rose to #19 on the URAPS Rate 18 where their approval rating increased by 2.5 percent to 77.5%. That same month, the band was also nominated for three more Urapopstar Awards where they were nominated for Best Group and Best Alternative for a second time in a row; the band was also surprisingly nominated for Best Promotion.
Controversy[edit | edit source]
Similiarities with The Found[edit | edit source]
Curriculum has been heavily compared to the now disbanded multinational alternative band The Found. The Found was a briefly popular indie band who, despite a #2 debut album and two top ten singles in the UK, disbanded in September 2011 due to internal conflicts. Shortly after the band disbanded, Curriculum began to rise to prominence in the indie community and later in the mainstream public in the UK.
Bloggers, fans, and pop culture critics have noted that Curriculum and The Found do indeed have a lot of similiarities ranging from their choice of fashion and style (they both like "preppy clothing"), their choice in musical influences (they both like Ben Johnston and girl groups), and even their choice of content when it comes to their music (quirky lyrics, ethereal or "edgy" background music, etc.) Many people say that some of the members of Curriculum look like those of The Found and were also close to the same age as them as well. In their earlier careers, the band was briefly known as The Lost - a name very similar to "The Found". Both bands have very similar backgrounds and origins amongst its member and the band overall as well; they also both formed in New York City.
Band member and frontman Gregory Preston Athanasiadis has defended Curriculum's similarities with The Found by pointing out some differences. In an interview with MTV UK News, Athanasiadis stated that "well..I could see how people would think we're like a twin band to [The Found]. However, I would like to think we are way more intelligent than them. If you listened to their music all they ever did was complain about society/social norms and how their fathers did not love them or were never there with them. Truth be told, we all had our fathers in our lives and they were very good to us so you would never catch us covering 'Sins of the Father' like they possibly would. They are indie fluff at its worst. In the meantime, we actually put thought and intelligence into our music. So we are, indeed, smarter than them..in so many ways."
Due to the disbandment of The Found in September 2011, they were dropped from Blacklight Records. Two months later, in November 2011, Curriculum took their spot and was signed to label. The band has also admitted that they have recorded a song for their debut that was written by singer-songwriter Ben Johnston for The Found.
Band members[edit | edit source]
- Honorary Members
- Stephanie Kesh, 25 (born in France on 31 December 1986)
- Shawn Middlesbrough, 25 (born in Newcastle upon Tyne on January 17, 1987)
Kesh and Middlesbrough are rarely photographed with the band for promotional shoots and they rarely make promotional appearances with the band. As such many people usually consider Athanasiadis, Mandelbaum, van Cleef, and Breckenridge as the "core band". Kesh and Middlesbrough, according to sources, like to work behind the scenes and out of the spotlight. The rest of the band considered them as regular members regardless of their lack of appearance in the band's image.
Discography[edit | edit source]
Main article: Curriculum discography
Albums[edit | edit source]
- 2012: Syllabus
Singles[edit | edit source]
- 2011: "So Mainstream"
- 2012: "At A Party"
- 2012: "Teamwork"'
- 2012: "Honeymoon Anthem" (not released in the UK)
- 2012: "That's What They Always Say"
Promotional singles[edit | edit source]
- 2011: "All I Need (All I Don't)"
- 2011: "Innocent; Convicted"
- 2012: "British"
Awards and accolades[edit | edit source]
The band has been nominated for seven Urapopstar Awards and has been included on many lists praising their image and music. They also debuted at the URAPS Rate 17 in 2012.
Awards[edit | edit source]
| Year | Event | Nominated work |
Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2012 BRIT Awards | International Breakthrough Act | Nominated | |
| Urapopstar Awards 21 | Best Newcomer | Nominated | ||
| Best Group | Nominated | |||
| Best Alternative | Nominated | |||
| "So Mainstream" | Best Male Video | Nominated | ||
| NME Awards | Best New Band | Nominated | ||
| "So Mainstream" | Dancefloor Anthem | Nominated | ||
| Urapopstar Awards 22 | Best Group | Nominated | ||
| Best Alternative Act | Nominated | |||
| Best Promotion | Nominated |
Accolades[edit | edit source]
| Year | Accolade | Rank/Title | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | James Moss' Top 12 Breakout Stars of 2012 | #5 |
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| 2012 Year-End Best Selling Singles Artist | 73rd |
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| 2012 Year-End Best Selling Overall Artists | 92nd |
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| URAPS Rate 17 | #30 |
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| James Moss' Top 12 Breakout Stars of 2012 Revisited | #2 |
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| URAPS Rate 18 | #19 |
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