Where Are They Now?: Artists of the 2010’s

As an avid fun. fan (like on my Spotify wrapped fan) it ruins me that they haven’t released new music. Wrecks me even. Sure I could listen to Some Nights on repeat and pick out some good songs from their less popular predecessor album but it leaves me to wonder, what happened to them? What happened to like… everyone? Like after having such huge successes, where did these other artists go? Why didn’t they continue to make music with such momentum? Well some of them did and others kinda just… stopped. So, without further ado here’s what happened to some of our (debatably) favorite songs of the 2010s:

What happened to fun.?:

After their claim to fame from their wildly successful album Some Nights (2012) gaining over 6.8 million digital downloads, they released Before Shane Went to Bangkok: Live in the USA over a year later in late 2013. A live EP that was their last release before they made a statement Feb. 5, 2015. Claiming that the band was not breaking up and was going on a hiatus, they then went radio silent. It’s unknown whether they’re still in contact or if they’ll ever return. 

But what did they really do? 

Jack Antonoff, the guitarist and drummer of fun., went onto his own solo career under Bleachers. He continues to make music, with his latest release in 2022 featuring Taylor Swift. His most popular song on Spotify amassed 136,906,942 streams. Antonoff continues to be active on social media and makes mini tour appearances in different states. 

The catch all of fun., Andrew Dost, has kept mostly out of the spotlight. He continued making music with his friends and hosting different mini talent events all while staying active on social media. He composed the soundtrack for the movie The D Train with bandmate Antonoff shortly after fun.s hiatus announcement. 

Last but not least Nate Ruess, the lead singer, has also continued a solo music career. He was a guest advisor for The Voice (season 8). He released his own solo album Grand Romantic later in 2015, which was mildly successful. He continues to make TV appearances, as well as hosting a podcast. 

Gotye. (Wouter De Backer)

“Somebody That I Used To Know” (2011) has well surpassed a billion streams on Spotify. Continuing into 2012 different remixes of the songs have been uploaded onto his Spotify page. After his success he returned to his previous band The Basics, for their 2015 album, The Age of Entitlement. Surprisingly, he continues to be active on social media and promotes his own record label, Forgotten Futures.

 

Foster The People 

The most catchy song about school shootings, “Pumped Up Kicks” (2011) has also surpassed a billion streams on Spotify. Since then they have released music in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2021. None of their newly released songs have surpassed Pumped Up Kicks. They were able to perform in California for a few nights in 2021 with their album Torches, which the song was featured in. 

Sheppard 

“Geronimo” (2014), being their biggest hit, exceeded 470 million streams on Spotify. And while the rest of their music, including the album they released in 2021, has only done a fraction of those streams, their most popular songs listed on Spotify are well over 10 million streams. They’re currently writing their 4th studio album and have been able to tour. They outwardly support their members solo careers, while still being involved in the band. 

Magic!

Whether you love it or hate it, “Rude” gained over a billion streams on Spotify and sometimes continues to get stuck in our heads. As for the band itself they continue to make music with their newest release being late 2022. They’ve released two new albums (still under the Canadian reggae fusion genre) every two years since 2014 none of which have exceeded their original claim to fame. 

Ylvis 

Last but certainly not least, the earworm of earworms, mimicking a wild animal… “What Does The Fox Say” passed 158 million streams on Spotify. They still continue to release music… providing their interesting discography. Their latest release is happening in 2022. His instagram bio is self described as “Influencer, model, rad board-shredder, saxophone player, contemporary dancer, and children’s book author”. I would tell you what else he’s doing but considering all of his captions are in Swedish, it’s a lost cause.