Black Kids

Black Kids

Black Kids performing in Bristol in February 2008
Background information
Origin Jacksonville, Florida
Genres Indie pop, indie rock, synthpop, alternative dance
Years active 2006–present
Labels Columbia Records (US)
Almost Gold Recordings (UK)
Associated acts Mates of State, DJ Marc, Lugnut (band), Honeylocust
Website http://www.blackkidsmusic.com
Members
Owen Holmes
Kevin Snow
Dawn Watley
Ali Youngblood
Reggie Youngblood

Black Kids is an American indie pop band from Jacksonville, Florida. The band's debut EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, received favorable critical response in 2007,[1] and was followed by the Partie Traumatic album, which debuted at #5 on the UK Albums Chart in July 2008.

Contents

History

Black Kids formed in Jacksonville in 2006. The lineup consists of siblings Reggie Youngblood (lead vocals and guitar) and Ali Youngblood (keyboards and backing vocals), Owen Holmes (bass guitar), Kevin Snow (drums), and Dawn Watley (keyboards and backing vocals). Although they initially performed only in Jacksonville, they received national attention after a breakout performance at the Athens Popfest in Athens, Georgia on August 11, 2007, which led to a sudden flurry of coverage in the music press, including NME,[2] Vice,[3] The Guardian,[4] and The Village Voice.[5] The same month, Black Kids' demo EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, was released via free download on their MySpace page. Soon after, Black Kids began working with Quest Management,[6] the company that manages Björk and Arcade Fire.[7] In October, the EP received a favorable review of 8.4 out of 10 from Pitchfork Media, including a "Best New Music" commendation.[8]

Black Kids participated in the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City in October,[9] earning the band exposure in The New York Times[10] and USA Today.[11] In December the band traveled to London for a brief tour.[12] Rolling Stone called them one of ten "Artists to Watch" for 2008[13] and the band was also included in the BBC Sound of 2008 poll.[14]

Black Kids toured the United Kingdom in early 2008, including the Vice Live Tour with Friendly Fires and Ipso Facto, a Sons and Daughters tour, and a Kate Nash tour.[15] In April and May, Black Kids toured the United States as an opening act for Cut Copy. The band played the summer festival circuit in the U.S. and the UK, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April,[16] Radio 1's Big Weekend in May [1], Glastonbury Festival in June, and T in the Park [17] and Camp Bestival in July.[18] Black Kids then headlined an international tour in the U.S. and Europe from June to November.

While in the UK in early 2008 the band recorded their debut album, Partie Traumatic, with producer Bernard Butler, former guitarist of Suede. Their first single, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You", was released in the UK on April 7 and debuted at #11 on the UK Singles Chart. "Hurricane Jane", the followup single, was released in the UK on June 23, where it charted at #36. The album Partie Traumatic was released on July 7 in the UK on Almost Gold Recordings, debuting at #5, and was released two weeks later in the US on Columbia Records, debuting at #127.

In 2009 Black Kids performed at the Big Day Out festivals in New Zealand and Australia. They have also toured with Kaiser Chiefs in the U.K. and Mates of State in the U.S. Their song "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You," was used in a trailer for the movie "Fame", and is featured on the soundtrack of the 2009 film Jennifer's Body. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" was also offered as an iTunes Free Download in July 2008. It is also featured in FIFA 09, and was performed on Glee on May 10, 2011.[19] Hurricane Jane was also on the playlist of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010.

They are currently writing songs for their second album. The band played new songs on their Mini-Tour along Florida as seen on their setlist. The new songs are possible related or at least contain the words 'Trippin', 'Smokes', 'Castles', 'Rude Boys' and 'Weird Hearts'.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[20]		 US Heat
[21]		 US Indie
[22]		 FRA
[23]		 IRE
[24]		 UK
[25]
Partie Traumatic 127 1 17 120 63 5

Extended plays

Title Details
Wizard of Ahhhs
  • Release date: August 2007
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: Music download
Cemetery Lips
  • Release date: April 7, 2009
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Formats: Music download

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[26]
2008 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" 11 Partie Traumatic
"Hurricane Jane" 36
"Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)" 175

Compilation appearances

Television appearances

Honors

Albums

Wizard of Ahhhs

Partie Traumatic

Songs

"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"

References

  1. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10743-wizard-of-ahhhs-ep/
  2. ^ Miller, Alex (2007-09-02). "Black Kids Are Amazing". NME. http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=15&title=the_new_love_is_all&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
  3. ^ Vice (2007-09-19). "Interview: Black Kids". Vice Magazine. http://vice.typepad.com/vice_magazine/2007/09/interview---bla.html. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
  4. ^ Lester, Paul (2007-09-26). "New band of the day No. 191: Black Kids". The Guardian. http://music.guardian.co.uk/newbands/story/0,,2177564,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
  5. ^ Bowers, William (2007-10-09). "Provincializm: Siblings Gonna Work It Out". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/music/archives/2007/10/provincializm_1.php. Retrieved 2007-10-10. 
  6. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2007-10-19). "Update: Buzz Band Black Kids Inks Management Deal". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003659185. Retrieved 2007-10-22. 
  7. ^ Maher, Dave (2007-10-17). "Black Kids Have a Manager, Gigs, No Label Yet". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46439-black-kids-have-a-manager-gigs-no-label-yet. Retrieved 2007-11-13. 
  8. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (2007-10-05). "Black Kids: Wizard of Ahhs EP: Pitchfork Record Review". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/46095-wizard-of-ahhhs-ep. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
  9. ^ Hogan, Marc (2007-10-19). "CMJ: Thursday (Marc Hogan)". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46498-cmj-thursday-marc-hogan. Retrieved 2007-10-22. 
  10. ^ Parales, Jon (2007-10-22). "Play Well, and May the Blog Buzz Be With You". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/arts/music/22cmj.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-10-22. 
  11. ^ Matheson, Whitney (2007-10-22). "CMJ lessons: Ten bands to hear today". USA Today. http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2007/10/cmj-lessons-ten.html. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
  12. ^ Solarski, Matthew (2007-11-09). "Black Kids Add Dates". Pitchfork. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/47012-black-kids-add-dates. Retrieved 2007-11-09. 
  13. ^ a b Hoard, Christian (2007-11-14). "Artist to Watch: Black Kids". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17323882/artist_to_watch_black_kids. Retrieved 2007-11-19. 
  14. ^ a b BBC (2008-01-04). "Sound of 2008: The Top 10". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7163404.stm. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
  15. ^ Black Kids (2008-01-08). "**SONS & DAUGHTERS TOUR + KATE NASH TOUR**". Black Kids Myspace. http://www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock. Retrieved 2008-01-08. 
  16. ^ Press Release (2008-01-21). "Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Announces Lineup". Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. http://coachella.com/updates/news. Retrieved 2008-02-02. 
  17. ^ Press Release (2008-02-15). "T Lineup Announced". T in the Park. http://www.tinthepark.com. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  18. ^ NME (2008-02-05). "Camp Bestival add more acts to lineup". NME. http://www.nme.com/news/nme/34104. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 
  19. ^ "The Black Kids song on Glee May 10th". The Florida Times-Union. 2011-05-06. http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/470203/buzzjax/2011-05-06/black-kids-song-glee-may-10th. Retrieved 2011-05-10. 
  20. ^ "Black Kids Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/black-kids/chart-history/996486. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  21. ^ "Black Kids Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/black-kids/chart-history/996486?f=324&g=Albums. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  22. ^ "Black Kids Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/black-kids/chart-history/996486?f=326&g=Albums. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  23. ^ "lescharts.com - French charts portal". Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Black+Kids. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  24. ^ "irishcharts.com - Discography Black Kids". Hung Medien. http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Black%20Kids. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  25. ^ "Chart Stats - Black Kids". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=11704. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  26. ^ "Chart Log UK: Darren B - David Byrne". The Official Charts Company. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_B.HTM. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
  27. ^ MTV (2008-02). "Black Kids - MTV UK". MTV. http://www.mtv.co.uk/music/sessions/black_kids. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  28. ^ a b BBC (2008-04-01). "Later with Jools Holland - Black Kids". BBC. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20080408124016/http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/shows/series32/episode01/blackkids/. Retrieved 2008-04-01. 
  29. ^ "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross". TV.com. 2008-05-30. http://www.tv.com/friday-night-with-jonathan-ross/john-barrowman-kirsty-young-mark-wahlberg-lord-andrew-lloyd-webber-black-kids./episode/1201584/summary.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  30. ^ a b c "Black Kids News". Black Kids. http://www.blackkidsmusic.com/news.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  31. ^ Aquilante, Dan (2008-12-07). "Best of 2008". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/12072008/entertainment/music/best_of_2008_142978.htm?page=0. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  32. ^ "2008 Review: 50 albums of the year". The Observer. 2008-12-07. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/dec/07/bon-iver-coldplay-best-albums. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  33. ^ Walters, Barry (2008-12-11). "The 40 Best Albums of 2008". Spin Magazine Online. http://www.spin.com/articles/40-best-albums-2008?page=0%2C1. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  34. ^ "NME's Top 50 of 2008". Stereogum. 2008-12-11. http://stereogum.com/archives/yearend-list/nmes-top-50-of-2008_041012.html. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  35. ^ Richardson, Mark (2007-12-17). "Top 100 Tracks of 2007". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47681-top-100-tracks-of-2007?page=4. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
  36. ^ "Another Free iTunes Single of the Week: Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You"". The Village Voice. 2008-08-26. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/08/another_free_it_1.php. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  37. ^ Brockington, Ryan (2008-12-17). "PopTracks' Top 10 Singles of 2008". New York Post. http://blogs.nypost.com/poptracks/archives/2008/12/poptracks_top_10_singles_of_2008.html. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
  38. ^ "Best Songs of 2008: No. 22". Spinner. 2008-12-18. http://www.spinner.com/2008/12/12/best-songs-of-2008-no-22/. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
  39. ^ McMonagle, Mickey (2008-12-21). "Review of the 2008: Mickey McMonagle's best bits of the year". The Sunday Mail. http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/tv-showbiz-news/music-news/2008/12/21/review-of-the-2008-mickey-mcmonagle-s-best-bits-of-the-year-78057-20985724/. Retrieved 2008-12-22. 
  40. ^ "Pazz + Jop Singles 2008". Village Voice. 2009-01-21. http://www.villagevoice.com/pazznjop/singles/2008/. Retrieved 2009-01-21. 

External links

Black Kids
Owen Holmes • Kevin Snow • Dawn Watley • Ali Youngblood • Reggie Youngblood
Albums
Singles
EPs