Magic!

Magic!
Magic! performing in 2014 Alex Tanas (back), Mark Pellizer (left), Nasri (middle), Ben Spivak (right)
Background information
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Reggae fusion pop reggae rock[1][2]
Years active	2012 (2012)–present
Labels	Latium SMI RCA[3]
Website	www.ournameismagic.com
Members	Nasri Mark Pellizzer Ben Spivak Alex Tanas

Magic! (stylized as MAGIC!) is a Canadian reggae fusion band, composed of songwriter and record producer Nasri, Mark Pellizzer, Alex Tanas and Ben Spivak. They are most well known for their debut single, "Rude", which peaked at number one in seven countries.

Career

Early years

All members of the band are originally from the Toronto area in Canada.^[4] The lead singer of MAGIC!, Nasri, had worked with and written songs for different pop acts prior to the start of the band, mainly alongside Adam Messinger, together known as The Messengers. He met Mark Pellizzer in the studio and within a week they wrote the song "Don't Judge Me" for Chris Brown. Nasri described the chemistry between himself and Pellizzer as "different than writing chemistry, it was more artistic." A few weeks later, while Mark was playing a reggae tune on the guitar, Nasri suggested starting a band like "modern-day Police."^[5][6]

Next to join the band was Alex Tanas. He and Mark Pellizzer knew each other, since they both had been members of the Justin Nozuka band for several years.

Prior to joining MAGIC!, Ben Spivak had been playing with the Toronto-based Julian Taylor Band, releasing Never Gonna Give You Up in 2012. Julian Taylor and Jeremy Elliot had enjoyed success playing in Staggered Crossing with Further Again hitting #6 in 2001 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.

2013–present: Don't Kill the Magic

Magic!'s debut single "Rude" was released on October 12, 2013. The song peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100 and also proved a great international success, topping the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom and peaking within the top ten of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

"Don't Kill the Magic" was released as the second single from the album on April 4, 2014, peaking at number twenty-two on the Canadian Hot 100 and fifty-three in Australia.

The band released their debut album Don't Kill the Magic on June 30, 2014. The album peaked to number 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart and number 6 on the Billboard 200.

On September 2, 2014 it was announced that MAGIC! would be one of the opening acts for Maroon 5 on their 2015 world tour in North America and Europe.

On October 7, 2014 "Let Your Hair Down" was issued to contemporary hit radio by RCA Records as the third single from the album (the second to be released in the US). It peaked at number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. The official music video, directed by David Rousseau, was published online on October 31, 2014.

Magic! was among the performers at the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards held on November 20, 2014. Marc Anthony joined the band on stage for a special performance of "Rude".

On November 23, 2014 Wyclef Jean and Magic! performed together at the 42nd American Music Awards.

On December 31, 2014, MAGIC! performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve at Times Square in New York City. They wore matching yellow suits and stood with Taylor Swift and Ryan Seacrest as the ball dropped.

From February until June 2015, MAGIC! opened for Maroon 5 in North America and Europe on their Maroon 5 World Tour 2015. The band also had additional solo gigs.

In March 2015, MAGIC! won two Juno Awards - for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Single of the Year, out of five nominations. Adam Messinger won the Juno Award for Producer of the Year.

In April 2015, "No Way No" was released as single. ^[7] It peaked at number 23 in Canada. The official video had been uploaded on YouTube since March 2, 2015.

On June 13, 2015 the band was part of the line-up at the Pinkpop Festival.

On July 1, 2015, MAGIC! performed at Canada Day in Ottawa, and later performed at the Coca-Cola Stage at the Calgary Stampede on July 12, 2015.

On July 17, MAGIC! released a new single "#SundayFunday," presumably as the lead single to a new album.

Collaborations

MAGIC! is featured on Shakira's "Cut Me Deep", a track from her self-titled album, released in March 2014 and on a track on One Love, One Rhythm, the official 2014 FIFA World Cup album titled "This Is Our Time (Agora é a Nossa Hora)" released in April. They are also featured on Sun Goes Down, a track on David Guetta's album Listen, which also features Sonny Wilson on the hook, as well as production from Showtek.

Band members

• Nasri – lead vocals, guitar
• Mark Pellizzer – guitar, vocals
• Ben Spivak – bass, backing vocals
• Alex Tanas – drums, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As a featured artist

Sun Goes Down (David Guetta and Showtek featuring Magic! and Sonny Wilson)

Awards

Notes

There has been at least one significant remix of "Rude". A remix by Russian-German producer/DJ Zedd was premiered in his set at Lollapalooza 2014. It was released on 2 September 2014, Zedd's 25th birthday. Zedd had said, "I'm gonna give myself a birthday present and release my remix of "Rude" on my bday, sept 2nd!"^[31] He also released official, completed full-length audio on his Soundcloud on 28 August 2014, which garnered nearly 400,000 plays within 24 hours. While the original was still in number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100, there was speculation that release of the remix on mainstream music outlets online would assist the original song in maintaining its position on the chart.^[32]

References

External links

• Official website