MKTO

MKTO
Tony Oller (left) and Malcolm Kelley
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 2010–present
Labels
Members
Websitewearemkto.com

MKTO is an American pop and hip hop duo, consisting of Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller. Their self-titled album was released on January 30, 2014, by Columbia Records. In July 2015, the duo released their first extended play, titled Bad Girls EP. As of 2022, the band has sold over 1 million records worldwide.[1]

Career

2010–2012: Formation

Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller met in 2010 while filming the Nickelodeon television series Gigantic, in which their characters played best friends.[2] They later formed as a duo and came up with the name MKTO, which represents the combined initials of their names and surnames, MK for Malcolm Kelley and TO for Tony Oller. They elaborated upon the inspiration for their name, saying: "It also stands for what our album kind of is: Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts – just like the kids we were in high school".[3]

2012–2014: MKTO

The duo signed to Columbia Records and released their debut single "Thank You" on November 12, 2012. The song's genre is a crossover between pop and hip hop. The song has attained commercial success, reaching the top ten on both the Australian and New Zealand singles charts.[4][5] The song's music video was released on YouTube via Vevo on January 4, 2013, and garnered over 500,000 views within two days of being released. It now sits at over 25 million views.[3] In the music video, Harold Perrineau, who played the father of Kelley's character on Lost, appeared as a reference to the show. MKTO released their second single, "Classic" along with the music video on June 20, 2013. Classic peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the music video has since compiled over 200 million views on YouTube. The music video for their third single, "God Only Knows", was released on November 29, 2013, on YouTube and Vevo. God Only Knows peaked at number 11 in Australia and at number 19 in New Zealand. In 2013, they served as the opening for Emblem3 on their summer tour across the United States. They also served as the opening for Emblem3's #bandlife Tour and Demi Lovato's "Demi: World Tour" in 2014. Their self-titled debut album was released on January 30, 2014[6] in Australia and New Zealand and it was released on April 1 in North America.[7]

In February 2014, their debut album went to #1 in Australia and #6 in New Zealand. During the summer of 2014, MKTO went on their first headlining tour, the American Dream Tour. This featured opening acts Tiffany Houghton and Action Item. The fourth single from their debut album in the United States is "American Dream" and peaked at number 40 in Australia and at number 12 in New Zealand. Despite not being singles, "Forever Until Tomorrow" reached number 23 on iTunes in Australia and "Heartbreak Holiday" reached number 30 on iTunes in Australia and number 42 in the United States.[8]

2015–2016: Bad Girls EP

On July 22, 2015, MKTO released their first extended play Bad Girls EP, which was preceded by the June 2015 release of its lead single "Bad Girls".[9] The single peaked at number 80 in Australia and peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. The EP peaked at number 32 on the iTunes chart in Australia and number 50 on the iTunes chart in the United States.[10] A double A-side single including two brand-new tracks "Hands Off My Heart/Places You Go" was premiered exclusively on Billboard on March 9, 2016.[11] "Superstitious" is the second single that was released in 2016 by the duo.[12]

2017–present: Canceled second studio album, disbandment, return

On March 10, 2017, Oller announced on Twitter that the band had broken up.[13] However, according to their Twitter page,[14] they plan to release new music very soon. On June 12, 2018, MKTO announced on Twitter that they were back together.[15] Three days later, on June 15, the band announced they had signed a new record deal with BMG.[16] Following the announcement, the duo released a new single titled, "How Can I Forget" in September 2018. In June 2019, they released another single, "Shoulda Known Better". A third single, "Marry Those Eyes" was released on September 6, 2019. "Consider Me Yours" was released on November 22, 2019. In April 2020, MKTO released a music video for Just Imagine It. They also released 3 singles, "Simple Things", "Party With My Friends" and "How Much". "Party With My Friends" peaked at number 85 on iTunes[17] while "How Much" peaked at number 54 on iTunes.[18] On August 17, 2021, Tony Oller announced via social media that he would be moving on from the band.[19] However, months after this announcement, it appears he has returned as he frequently uploads on the MKTO YouTube channel and performed a live show in May 2022.[20][21]

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[22] 		AUS
[4] 		NZ
[5] 		SWE
[23]
MKTO 31 1 6 21

EPs

Title EP details
Bad Girls EP
  • Released: July 24, 2015
  • Formats: Digital download
  • Label: Columbia

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Certifications Album
US
[24] 		US
Pop
[25] 		AUS
[26] 		BEL
(Fl)
Tip
[27] 		CAN
[28] 		NL
[29] 		NZ
[30] 		RUS
Air
[31] 		SWE
[32] 		UK
[33]
"Thank You" 2012 —[A] 38 2 30 — 27 7 — — — MKTO
"Classic" 2013 14 8 9 9 61 45 8 217 7 24
"God Only Knows" — — 11 — — — 19 — — —
"American Dream" 2014 — 33 40 — — — 12 — — —
"Bad Girls" 2015 — 36 80 — — — — 211 — — Bad Girls EP
"Hands Off My Heart/Places You Go" 2016 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"Superstitious" — — — — — — — — — —
"How Can I Forget"[45] 2018 — — —[B] — — — — — — —
"Shoulda Known Better"[47] 2019 — — — — — — — — — —
"Marry Those Eyes"[48] — — — — — — — — — —
"Consider Me Yours"[49] — — — — — — — — — —
"Simple Things"[50] 2020 — — — — — — — — — —
"Party with My Friends"[51] — — — — — — — — — —
"How Much"[52] — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Promotional singles

Title Year Album
"Forever Until Tomorrow"[53] 2014 MKTO
"Just Imagine It" 2015 Bad Girls EP
List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Summer Paradise"
(Simple Plan featuring MKTO) 		2013 Non-album single

Awards and nominations

Teen Choice Awards

Main article: Teen Choice Awards
Year Award Category Nominated Result
2014 Teen Choice Awards[54] Choice Music: Breakout Group MKTO Nominated

Radio Disney Music Awards

Main article: Radio Disney Music Awards
Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 Radio Disney Music Awards[55] Catchiest New Song "Classic" Nominated
2015 Radio Disney Music Awards Catchiest New Song Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ "Thank You" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.[34]
  2. ^ "How Can I Forget" did not enter the ARIA Singles Chart, but peaked at number 38 on the ARIA Digital Track Chart.[46]

References

  1. ^ "MKTO to Release Debut Album". Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Uncover Discover". The Edge. MediaWorks Radio. January 29, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "MKTO Signs With Columbia Records". PR Newswire. UBM plc. January 15, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Discography MKTO". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
  5. ^ a b "Discography MKTO". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
  6. ^ "MKTO by MKTO on Apple Music". iTunes. October 10, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "MKTO confirm tracklisting for debut album | Hamada Mania Music Blog". Hamadamania.com. December 4, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  8. ^ "iTunes Charts - MKTO - International Chart Performance". Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  9. ^ Bowman, Patrick (May 12, 2015). "MKTO Preview New Single "Bad Girls": Listen To Funk-Pop Anthem". Idolator.com. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  10. ^ "MKTO - 'Bad Girls - EP' International iTunes Chart Performance". Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  11. ^ Polanco, Luis (March 9, 2016). "MKTO Returns With New Song 'Hands Off My Heart'/'Places You Go': Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "Get Into the Friday the 13th Spirit with MKTO's Brand New Song". May 12, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Teen.com (March 10, 2017). "Another One Bites the Dust — Popular Boy Band Suddenly Breaks Up". Teen.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  14. ^ "MKTO (@WeAreMKTO) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  15. ^ "Let it begin.....We're back". Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  16. ^ "Us with our new label @BMG we're a excited for this new journey and thank all of you for the support". Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  17. ^ "Top Charts - Party With My Friends MKTO". Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  18. ^ "Top Charts - How Much MKTO". Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "Tony Oller - Twitter". Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  20. ^ "MKTO Band - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "MKTO on Instagram". Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  22. ^ "MKTO – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  23. ^ "Discography MKTO". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "MKTO – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  25. ^ "MKTO Album & Song Chart History – Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  26. ^ "MKTO Australian Charts".
  27. ^ "Ultratop Belgium Charts". Ultratop.
  28. ^ "MKTO – Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  29. ^ "Discografie MKTO". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
  30. ^ "MKTO New Zealand Charts".
  31. ^ "MKTO - Russia Charts". Tophit.
  32. ^ "MKTO Swedish Charts".
  33. ^ "MKTO | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  34. ^ "Bubbling Under: MKTO's 'Thank You' Gets Welcomed". Billboard.
  35. ^ a b "ARIA Charts Singles 2014". Aria.com.au. December 31, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  36. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  37. ^ Mansfield, Brian (May 11, 2014). "On the Verge: MKTO is a 'Classic' combination". USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  38. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". RIAA.
  39. ^ "British certifications – MKTO". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 19, 2022. Type MKTO in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  40. ^ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan.se. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  41. ^ "ARIA CHarts Top 50 Singles : 8 June 2015" (PDF). Aria.com.au. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  42. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  43. ^ "ARIA Charts Singles 2014". Aria.com.au. December 31, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  44. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. July 28, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  45. ^ "How Can I Forget – Single by MKTO on Apple Music". Apple Music. September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  46. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  47. ^ "Top 40/Mainstream > Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  48. ^ "Marry Those Eyes – Single by MKTO". Apple Music. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  49. ^ "Consider Me Yours – Single by MKTO on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  50. ^ "Simple Things – Single by MKTO on Apple Music". Apple Music US. January 29, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  51. ^ "Party With My Friends – Single by MKTO on Apple Music". Apple Music US. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  52. ^ "How Much – Single by MKTO on Apple Music". Apple Music US. May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  53. ^ "wearemkto - Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  54. ^ "Teen Choice Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. August 10, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  55. ^ Rutherford, Kevin. "Nominees for 2014 Radio Disney Music Awards". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2014.