Interview: Hot Chelle Rae
Interview by Grace Srinivasan
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Pop band sensation, Hot Chelle Rae and get to know them on a more personal level. Most known for their popular song, “Tonight Tonight,” Hot Chelle Rae dove into how their audience demographic has grown with them, the continuing success of “Tonight Tonight,” and their goals for the future. Hot Chelle Rae, which is made up of Ryan Follesé, Nash Overstreet, and Jamie Follesé, are based out of Nashville, TN. “Tonight Tonight,” released in 2011, is just as successful today as it was when first released. Ryan Follesé and Nash Overstreet touched on the song's popularity.
“The response is the same which is great, which is a wonderful thing about having a song that's a party song. It's a long lasting commercial success. The results are always the same, which is really cool. Our audience has changed and we’ve grown with them. We’ve watched the youngest kids go to high school and college. Some of them are our age and some are younger.” - Ryan Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
“We’ve gotten a lot of new fans this last year or two from TikTok, which is a crazy cool way for us to connect and watch people be like ‘Oh, I never knew you guys were the ones who did this song.’ But it started trending right when we started releasing new music so it’s been cool to have all the people join in, new fans, and everything in between.” - Nash Overstreet, for Tongue Tied Magazine
We discussed some of their biggest goals as a band. Nash mentioned his personal biggest goal is, “getting new music to fans the same way “Tonight Tonight” hits them; would be huge to have that moment happen again.” - Nash Overstreet, for Tongue Tied Magazine
Ryan mentioned “a goal that a lot of artists share is how to do that in 2022, getting through a pandemic, and how to break through the noise and be heard.” - Ryan Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
We talked about managing a new platform like TikTok and how they have promoted their music. Ryan explained the pros and cons with promoting music through a platform like TikTok. “I think it’s an incredible place for artists who would probably never get a record deal, to be seen and heard. But at the same time, I think it has become a qualifier and prerequisite or requirement for success, which is both incredible and creatively stifling.” - Ryan Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
Jamie Follesé said that TikTok is similar to Myspace. Back in the day, “if you didn’t have Myspace plays, you couldn’t get a record deal.” - Jamie Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
When the band reunited following their hiatus, Ryan mentioned that they got enthusiastic reactions from the fans. “We felt embraced. Our music has changed a good bit, the fun and lightheartedness is there, there's been some songs that have been more edgy, our fans have grown and we’ve felt it. The stuff we're putting out next year is very much keeping with the fun but pushing the envelope a bit.” - Ryan Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
Nash mentioned this year has been the first time in a couple of years that they’ve gotten to experience live music again with their fans because of COVID shutdowns. Their show at Hope College was one of the first of 5 shows since getting back together post COVID. They are excited to get back on the road next year as they begin touring. The band has had success playing for college audiences like Union College, Catholic University, and now Hope College. They feel that now the bulk of their audience demographic is college students.
I also asked about how college shows differ from typical venues. According to Nash, “College is different because there’s a lot more friendship going on, everyone’s going to school together, they know each other.” Nash described a moment that happened at their last show. “There was a group of at least 10 people, arms around each other jumping as one. That’s some unity, that's really cool to see and I don’t know that a bunch of people going to a concert as strangers have that much of a group feeling.” - Nash Overstreet, for Tongue Tied Magazine
I also asked that if “Stupid Song” could be in any movie or tv show ‘What would it be?’ Ryan mentioned Eurotrip. “There's a moment where Matt Damon was a guest star and he did a song called “Scotty Doesn’t Know.” I would like to see a Matt Damon type cameo cover of our song at a college (performance).” - Ryan Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
Nash added he would like the song used in a breakup movie. “It would be great to have a sarcastically used moment where somebody is getting dumped after putting their heart and soul into something, but make it ironic and not just sarcastic, cause the song is playfully touching on the subject matter.” - Nash Overstreet, for Tongue Tied Magazine
Jamie voted for a romantic comedy type of movie. “I’m going full rom com breakup moment. Tears falling down the face.” - Jamie Follesé, for Tongue Tied Magazine
Following the interview, I had the chance to see them perform live at Hope College later that night. They put on an amazing show performing some of their new music including “Stupid Song,” “Come My Way,” “I Hate LA,” and some of their old hits like “I Like It Like That,” and “Tonight Tonight.” Be on the lookout for new music and tour dates by Hot Chelle Rae in the next year. Check out Hot Chelle Rae’s latest single “Stupid Song”. Don’t forget to keep up with them on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to stay in the loop!
