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Tones and I

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Tones and I
Birth nameToni Watson
Also known as
  • Tones
  • Tonah
BornMornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
OriginMount Martha, Victoria, Australia
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
Years active2017–present
Labels
Websitetonesandi.com

Toni Watson, known professionally as Tones and I, is an Australian indie pop singer-songwriter and musician. Her second single, "Dance Monkey", was released in May 2019 and has reached number one in over 30 countries. In November of that year, she broke the record for the most weeks at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart by any artist with 16 weeks. By mid-January 2020 "Dance Monkey" had spent 24 weeks at number one. The single was accredited by ARIA with 8× platinum for shipment of 560,000 units. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019 she was the highest winning artist with four trophies from eight nominations. Tones and I released her debut extended play, The Kids Are Coming, on 30 August 2019.

Biography

Toni Watson grew up in Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula.[1][2] There is speculation about her age, with year of birth believed by some to be 2000 and others 1993.[3] As of January 2020, no reliable source has assured either. She explained choosing a musical career, "One day I was at the park with my family, all my cousins and stuff, in Frankston... We were all just singing a song and my aunty was like 'oh guys, she can actually hold a note.' I think that's the earliest memory of someone actually pointing me out as someone that has an ability to sing. I was probably like 7 years old."[4]

Tones and I learned to play keyboards and drum pads while at secondary school.[4] She started busking in Melbourne, "I actually got made redundant from my retail job and with that money I bought an RC300 (loop station) and just started to try figure it all out."[4] She performed local gigs and festivals.[citation needed] In September 2017, she travelled to Byron Bay, to try busking there.[4] At an early performance, she met Jackson Walkden-Brown who became one of her talent managers, about a month later.[4][5] The busking success led her to fully commit to her music career. The artist spent 2018 living between Walkden-Brown's home in the Gold Coast hinterland and in her van in Byron Bay; she was writing music and busking full-time.[6] Later that year she won the Battle of the Buskers at Buskers by the Creek.[7][8][9]

In February 2019, Tones and I signed with Bad Batch Records/Sony Music Australia and a co-management deal with Artists Only (owned by Walkden-Brown) and Lemon Tree Music (co-owned by Regan Lethbridge and David Morgan, both ex-Bonjah).[6][10][11] In that month, she uploaded her debut single, "Johnny Run Away", to an Australian website, Unearthed, which publishes the music of unsigned artists.[12] The track was recorded with Australian producer, Konstantin Kersting.[13] AllMusic's Fred Thomas observed, "[it] became a viral sensation, racking up streams."[14] "Johnny Run Away" was added to full rotation on Australian alternative radio station Triple J the following week and received positive reviews from staff and presenters such as Richard Kingsmill, Tommy Faith and Declan Byrne.[4][citation needed] Natalie O'Driscoll of Blank Gold Coast described the track, "a melodic slice of Nordic-inspired electro-pop that tells a very important story."[9] Two weeks later Tones and I officially released, "Johnny Run Away".[12] It peaked at number 12 on the ARIA Singles Chart and number 83 in Ireland.[15][16]

On 10 May 2019, Tones and I released her second single, "Dance Monkey".[17] Craig Mathieson of The Age felt, "It's pop writ large – catchy yet familiar, slightly ludicrous yet genuinely affecting."[18] It reached number one on the official music charts of over 30 countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[19][20][21] The music video was directed by Liam Kelly and Nick Kozakis.[22] In Australia, in November of that year, she broke the record for the most weeks atop the ARIA Singles Chart by any artist, with 16 weeks. This was previously held by Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" (15 weeks in 2017).[20] By mid-January 2020 "Dance Monkey" had spent 24 weeks at number one.[23]

In May 2019 the singer-songwriter performed at the Big Pineapple Music Festival, as well as opening Splendour in the Grass 2019 as the Triple J [24] Unearthed Splendour in the Grass competition winner,[25] where she broke the record for the biggest crowd of an opening set.[26] In July she released a third single, "Never Seen the Rain", and announced the release of her debut six track extended play, The Kids Are Coming (30 August 2019).[27] In September 2019 Tones and I performed "Dance Monkey" and "The Kids Are Coming" at the 2019 AFL Grand Final with 100,000 people in attendance.[28][29]

Discography

Extended plays

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
AUS
[30] 		CAN
[31] 		DEN
[32] 		FIN
[33] 		FRA
[34] 		IRE
[16] 		NOR
[35] 		NZ
[36] 		SWE
[37] 		US
[38]
The Kids Are Coming 3 10 8 19 31 40 3 23 15 30

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[15] 		DEN
[32] 		FIN
[43] 		GER
[44] 		IRE
[16] 		NOR
[45] 		NZ
[46] 		SWE
[47] 		SWI
[48] 		UK
[49]
"Johnny Run Away" 2019 12 — — — 83 — — — — —
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum[50]
 The Kids Are Coming
"Dance Monkey" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
"Never Seen the Rain" 7 — — — 89 — —[A] — — —
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum[50]
"The Kids Are Coming" 65 — — — — — —[B] — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

  1. ^ "Never Seen the Rain" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number nine on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[57]
  2. ^ "The Kids Are Coming" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 24 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[58]

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[15] 		NZ
Hot
[58]
"Jimmy" 2019 75 29 The Kids Are Coming

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Tones and I was nominated for eight awards and won four.[59]

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 "Dance Monkey" Best Female Artist Won [60]
Breakthrough Artist Won
Best Pop Release Won
Song of the Year Nominated
Liam Kelly & Nick Kozakis for Tones and I – "Dance Monkey" Best Video Nominated
The Kids Are Coming Best Independent Release Won
Konstantin Kersting for Tones and I – "Dance Monkey" Engineer of the Year Nominated
Producer of the Year Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Tones and I". Raw Artists. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. ^ "The story behind viral hit of the year 'Dance Monkey'". isingmag. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ Bond, Nick (23 November 2019). "Mystery over breakout music star Tones and I's real age". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Byrne, Declan (21 February 2019). "Meet Tones and I, the busker with the bop that got Unearthed buzzing". Home and Hosed. Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Dance Monkey How Australian Busker Tones and I Scored a Global Hit". Official Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  6. ^ a b Brandle, Lars. "When Jackson met Tones". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Meet Tones And I, the busker with the bop that got Unearthed buzzing". ABC. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Tones and I releases new single Johnny Run Away, and it's going gangbusters". Blank GC. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b O'Driscoll, Natalie (28 February 2019). "Tones and I releases new single 'Johnny Run Away', and it's going gangbusters". Blank Gold Coast. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. ^ staff writer (5 March 2019). "Exclusive: Tones & I Signs Management Deal with Lemon Tree Music". themusic.com.au. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  11. ^ Brandle, Lars (5 August 2019). "How Lemon Tree Music turn buskers into global superstars". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Tones and I". Triple J. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  13. ^ Cashmere, Paul (14 November 2019). "Tones and I Producer Has Dabbled with the Rubens on New Song". Noise11.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  14. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Tones and I | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2020. Note: Thomas incorrectly gives Australian chart peak of No. 1 for "Johnny Run Away".
  15. ^ a b c Peaks of songs in Australia:
  16. ^ a b c "Discography Tones and I". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  17. ^ "First Spin: Tones and I backs up her breakout single with 'Dance Monkey'". ABC. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  18. ^ Mathieson, Craig (23 November 2019). "ARIAs 2019: Who should and who will win Australia's top music prizes". The Age. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Tones and I – 'Dance Monkey'". ultratop.be. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Tones and I Breaks Singles Chart Record". Australian Recording Industry Association. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Tones and I breaks ARIA Charts Australian record". Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  22. ^ Brandle, Lars (26 September 2019). "Meet the team behind Tones and I's 'Dance Monkey' video". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  23. ^ "24th week at #1 for Tones And I". Australian Recording Industry Association. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  24. ^ Yucki, Bernadetta. "Tones And I: Mengenal Sosok di Balik Hits Dance Monkey". Cultura.ID. Cultura Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Meet your Unearthed Splendour comp winners!". Unearthed. Triple J. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Big Pineapple Music Festival". Tones and I. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  27. ^ a b Gallagher, Allison (16 July 2019). "Listen to a new song from Tones and I, 'Never Seen The Rain'". MusicFeeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  28. ^ Adams, Cameron (28 September 2019). "AFL Grand Final: Tones and I, Paul Kelly, Dean Lewis review by Cameron Adams". news.com.au. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  29. ^ Beveridge, Riley (28 September 2019). "Orange crushed: Tigers roar once more under Dimma's dynasty". afl.com.au. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Discography Tones and I". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  31. ^ "Tones and I, Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Discography Tones and I". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Tones and I". IFPI Finland. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  34. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums". SNEP. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  35. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 37, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  36. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  37. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 42". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  38. ^ "Billboard 200: Week of January 18, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  39. ^ "The Kids Are Coming – EP by Tones and I on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  40. ^ "The Kids Are Coming – EP by Tones and I". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  41. ^ "The Kids Are Coming (Vinyl) – EP by Tones and I". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  42. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  43. ^ "Tones and I – Suomen virallinen lista". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  44. ^ "Discographie von Tones and I". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  45. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 31, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  46. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  47. ^ "Discography Tones and I". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  48. ^ "Discography Tones and I". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  49. ^ "Tones and I | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  50. ^ a b c "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  51. ^ "BRIT Certified – bpi" (To access, enter the search parameter "Tones & I" and select "Search"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  52. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  53. ^ "Certificeringer | IFPI". ifpi.dk. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  54. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hitparade.ch – Swiss Charts. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  55. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Tones and I – Dance Monkey". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 18 January 2020.[dead link‍]
  56. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  57. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  58. ^ a b "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  59. ^ "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  60. ^ "2019 ARIA Award Winners Announced". ARIA. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
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