Emblem3

Emblem3 is an American reggae pop band from Sequim, Washington, consisting of brothers Wesley Stromberg and Keaton Stromberg, and Drew Chadwick.^[1] In 2013, they signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records and Columbia Records after finishing fourth on the second season of The X Factor USA.^[2] They have since been dropped from their record label.

Their first single, "Chloe (You're the One I Want)," was released on April 15, 2013,^[3] and their debut album, entitled Nothing to Lose, was released on July 30, 2013.^[4]

Due to Chadwick's different musical visions he left Emblem3 in June 2014. A year later, both Keaton and Wesley started separate musical projects, leaving Emblem3's future uncertain.^[5] In September 2015, Emblem3 appeared at The Janoskians movie premiere, causing speculation that the three had reunited. Their reconciliation was later confirmed by the band on Twitter. On November 3, 2015, Emblem3 made a private announcement to fans who had signed up to their website, revealing they were working on a new album to be released in 2016, with a tour to follow. On February 1, 2016, Emblem3 released their first single titled "Now" since getting back together. On February 14, 2016, the band released the name and dates for its new tour.

In September 2016 Wesley announced Emblem3 is branching out as individuals temporarily and stated it was not a break up.

In an interview with J-14 Wesley stated it was "time for a new chapter".

In 2017 they released two new songs through their app "Homerun" and "New Day" squashing any rumors of a breakup or hiatus. On February 14,2017 the put yet another new song on their app "Corona And Lime" for their fans.

On June 15, 2017 a heated exchange on Twitter between Wesley and Chadwick erupted. Chadwick revealed the band fell apart because of differences and Stromberg fired back about Chadwick only think of himself and leaving the rest behind and losing sight of that. Stromberg also fired a shot at Chadwick on how he invited Drew to his show but he never showed but didn't bother inviting Wesley to his at all. The two have since made tweets pointing to apologies but Emblem3's fate looks to be over.

Career

Early career

While attending middle school in Sequim, Washington, Drew Chadwick and Wesley Stromberg began doing sessions together as American Scholars. At the time, Keaton Stromberg was only nine^[1] and was in his own band called Lucky 13 (guitar Keaton ,bass Eli Fozio, drums Sara Mobley). While Wesley had moved to Huntington Beach, California with his girlfriend, Chadwick spent high school moving up and down the West Coast, eventually joining Wesley in Huntington Beach. Keaton enrolled in a nearby art school and moved to California to join them.^[6] They released an album, Bite Your Lip and Take It under the name The American Scholars, which they produced in their basement.^[1] After going through many names, the trio settled on "Emblem3" while in Huntington Beach. They performed locally along the Sunset Strip.

2012: The X Factor

In 2012, Emblem3 auditioned in San Francisco for the second season of The X Factor USA, singing an original song called "Sunset Blvd", written by Chadwick.^[7] During bootcamp, they sang "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls and at judges' houses, they performed "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police. They were then selected to go on to live shows.^[8]

Emblem3 performed "One Day" by Matisyahu during their first live show on October 31.^[9] In addition they were selected as the first group to enter the top twelve by Simon Cowell. On the second live show on November 7, the group performed their version of "My Girl" by the Temptations and "California Gurls" by Katy Perry with "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction as the background track. After the second live show the group was ranked sixth based on the fan votes and made it to the next week's live shows. On the third live show, they performed "No One" by Alicia Keys and were ranked fourth by the fan votes moving on to week five. On the fourth live show on November 21, 2012, they performed "Secrets" by OneRepublic and were ranked again 4th by the American public. For the fifth live show, they performed "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees and were ranked third. On the sixth live show, the group performed two songs: the first one, chosen by their mentor, was "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars; the second song, chosen by the fans in the Pepsi Challenge, was "Forever Young" by Alphaville. The group was once again ranked third overall by the fans' votes. In the semi-finals, they performed "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Peter Frampton as their own choice and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles as Cowell's choice. They were eliminated on the result show and placed fourth.^[10]

Performances on The X Factor

Emblem3 performed the following songs on The X Factor:

2013–present: Nothing to Lose and upcoming second album

The trio began to record their debut album, Nothing to Lose, in December 2012. It was released on July 30, 2013. The lead single from the album is "Chloe (You're the One I Want)". The second single off the album was "3000 Miles".^[11] They also toured to promote their music in their "Goin' Back to Cali Tour" that took place in April 2013.^[12]

Emblem3 became the opening act for Selena Gomez on her Stars Dance Tour that began in August 2013.^[6]

On December 5, 2013, Emblem3 had their homecoming performance on X Factor, singing "Just for One Day." After their performance, they announced their first national headlining tour, "#Bandlife."

Emblem3 released their first EP titled Songs from the Couch, Vol. I on June 2, 2014, independently.^[13]

On June 20, 2014, the band announced on their website that band member Drew Chadwick was leaving the band to pursue a solo career.^[14] The duo released their first EP without Chadwick called Forever Together on October 27, 2014.^[15]

In June 2015, the group announced that it was taking an indefinite hiatus.^[5]

In September 2015, Drew rejoined Emblem3 and the band began working on new projects.

On November 3, 2015, the band made a private announcement to fans signed up to their website revealing that they were working on a new album for released in 2016, with a tour to follow.

On February 1, 2016, Emblem3 released a new song titled "Now" on YouTube as a tribute to their fans and their past. Drew Chadwick rapped, Wesley Stromberg sang the chorus, and Keaton Stromberg sang background vocals as well as producing the song.

Emblem3 was set to perform at One Love Fest but has since dropped out and Drew Chadwick is the only one of Emblem3 performing. Wesley announced on September 23, 2016, he is making a solo album and Keaton his helping him make it. Wesley also stated Emblem3 is branching out as individuals but it is not a break up.

In an interview with J-14 talking about his solo music Wesley revealed the fate of EMBLEM3. He stated although they will always be a band and will always have music and write music together it is "Time for a new chapter" and said that they are 3 different artists. Drew will continue to perform music as well as Wes while Keaton as of now is producing music for Wes and others making a name as a music producer.

In January 2017 the released a new song called "Homerun" on their app and in February released a song called "New Day" also on their app. This put to rest anything of a breakup although they still continue to pursue solo careers it also shows that Emblem3 is still going strong.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended Plays

Singles

On Dec 16, 2014, Wesley and Keaton under the name Emblem3 released a song with the duet Jack & Jack called "Cheat Codes"

Over the course of 2016-2017 Emblem3 released 3 new singles exclusively on their app titled "Too Pretty (For Your Own Good)", "Homerun", and "New Day".

Awards and nominations

Tours

• West Coast Tour (2013)
• E3 Goes East (2013)^[19]
• Goin' Back to Cali (2013)^[12]
• Emblem3 Summer Tour (2013)
• Stars Dance Tour (Opening Act) (2013)^[20]
• #Bandlife Tour (2014) (opening acts included MKTO and Jackson Guthy)
• Fireside Story Sessions (2014)
• Forever Together Tour (late 2014)
• Waking Up Tour (2016)^[21][22] (opening acts include Megan Nicole, Dyllan Murray, and The Ready Set)

The group also performed at multiple festivals throughout the year such as Z-Fest (Brazil), Kiss Concert (Boston, MA), various holiday concerts, Spring Break Portugal etc.

The group is also scheduled to perform at music festivals and concert series throughout the summer such as Ramapo Summer Concert Series (NY) etc.

The group also has done shows with many other artists such as Jack and Jack (Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson)

References

External links

• Official Website
• Emblem3 on Twitter