DNCE is just getting started rocking the world
If you haven’t heard of DNCE yet, you will soon.
The group burst into the spotlight back in 2015 with their hit single “Cake by the Ocean” and have been taking up the airwaves ever since. On Sunday, the group accepted MTV’s coveted Best New Artist award during the VMAs.
Although their name might sound new, the band includes seasoned performers Joe Jonas, Jack Lawless, Cole Whittle and Jinjoo Lee.
The band -- who is getting ready to release their first studio album later this fall -- took a break from touring with Selena Gomez to talk to CBS News at their Convention Summer party at New York City’s PlayStation Theater.
Can you first tell me how did you guys all come together to form the band?
Jonas: We met each other all at different times in our lives. Jack played drums for me and my brothers and we talked about doing a band of our own when the time was right. Jinjoo was touring with other artists and we kept in touch. Cole we met through a mutual friend last year. Meeting Cole was the final piece to our puzzle and DNCE was created.
You all have already amassed quite a following without any album officially out. What has the past year been like?
Whittle: You know we started at 100 miles an hour and we haven’t slowed down one bit. It’s been a crazy year but we have really done amazing things in the year that you would normally do in five years. We are just grateful people like our music and that we continue to grow. And that we go to a lot of countries in the world and they welcome us, which we are super excited about.
Your album debuts later this year, what can tell us about it?
Jonas: Well it’s done, which is nice, and we’ve been working on it for a year, which is rare. Most artists have a month or a few weeks to grind it out but we have had the whole year to evolve as a band and see what songs have connected to the fans. The EP that is out now has some similarities to our album, but we have changed so much since then, so it reflects that.
In what ways have you changed?
Jonas: Yeah, I think it’s our experiences and living life altogether and having people react to our music that inspires us to make even more music. We can have an idea from a city or a place or even an experience. It was a cool way to make the record.
Joe we know you of course from the Jonas Brothers. You seem to have a lot of fun and feel comfortable with this group though, how does it feel different this time around?
Jonas: I think biggest difference is as you get older and you change you mature. I’ve done all the craziest of shows you could imagine and I’ve lived that life and so this feels like a fresh start for -- all of us. We’ve all done some amazing things so far so the fact that we can be considered as new artists is refreshing.
What have been some of the more outrageous interpretations of your hit song “Cake by the Ocean?”
Jonas: The beauty of the song is it can mean whatever. There are songs that people are still trying to figure out what they mean and that’s kinda what we like. We like anthems that are somewhat transcendent through all different age groups. We have grandmothers come up to us and say that is the song they bake cakes with. There are also young kids that listen to it and they don’t know what it means but they dance to it and then their parents find out later and turn it off. We kind of love that we’ve watched it do that thing and I think it can mean whatever to you.