Blacklite District
Blacklite District | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Spearfish, South Dakota, USA |
| Genres | Rock, Alternative, Electronic, Pop |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Silent Majority Group, Warner Music Group, AK19 Entertainment |
| Website | BlackliteDistrict.net |
Blacklite District (also referred to as BLD) is an electronic alternative rock act from Spearfish, South Dakota, formed in 2002 by vocalist/producer Kyle Pfeiffer and Roman James, who were ages 12 and 11 respectfully. After many years of building a local, then regional following, BLD exploded onto the national scene and sold over 50,000 units in 2014 with their debut single "With Me Now," and achieved international YouTube fame in 2017-2018 when their viral single "Cold As Ice" was released, racking up over 50 million streams itself, and receiving major radio airplay in the US. Blacklite District has combined over 100 million streams across all major platforms.
History
The roots of Blacklite District go back to 2002 when vocalists Kyle Pfeiffer (born c. 1990) and Roman James (born c. 1991) began jamming together at the ages of 12 and 11 respectively. After writing and recording many demos, and playing live in the Black Hills area for many years, they were discovered by Grammy Award-winning producer Stephen Short, in early 2011. After signing a production deal, Short took the band to Sonic Ranch Studios in May 2011 to record their seven-track debut release, This Is Where It Ends', which was released on November 11 of that year for a limited time
In September 2011, bLd released their debut single, "I'm Still Right Here", to hometown station KDDX (X-ROCK 101.1 and 103.5) in five states in the Midwest, where it received airplay during late 2011 and early 2012. The group followed the release of the single with a debut concert at the Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California on October 28.
In early 2012, bLd relocated from the Black Hills of South Dakota to Los Angeles, to start a West Coast tour, and continue promotion on the This Is Where It Ends release. On April 15, bLd was featured as a performer at the 40th Anniversary Party at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Hollywood. In May, the band finalized their video plans to shoot "Left Behind", which would serve as the band's second single. The single/video was released on August 28 to much online success.[citation needed]
In September 2012, bLd announced on their Facebook and Twitter pages that they had signed with Creed and Paramore manager Jeff Hanson (music executive), and would relocate to Orlando, Florida to release a new album for Silent Majority Group and Warner Music Group. It was also announced that the new album will be produced by Brett Hestla, producer of bands Framing Hanley, Tantric, and Dark New Day.
On 12-12-12, the band posted a new sample of music, which ended up being the single "With Me Now". The same day, it was announced that the advance single, "Take Me To The Grave", would be debuting on SiriusXM.
On December 19, "Take Me To The Grave" debuted on SiriusXM Octane. Three days later, the single hit #13 on Octane's "Big Uns" countdown, marking the first time Blacklite District has entered national radio charts. The song was released to iTunes on January 2, 2013. On January 3, it was announced that "Take Me To The Grave" hit #1 on SiriusXM Octane's Playlist. On January 19, the song peaked at #7 on the Big 'Uns Countdown. For the week ending January 25, the song shot onto the US Active Rock charts at #82, marking Blacklite District's debut on Mainstream Charts. On March 7, the band released "I Gambled and I Won" as the third track from the upcoming album.
On April 4, it was announced that Blacklite District would be joining Saving Abel and Art of Dying on a spring tour, marking bLd's first major tour.
"With Me Now", was released as a single to radio September 2013, to much commercial success. The song spent 5 weeks at #1 on SiriusXM Octane, and hit #15 on the US Rock Singles Sales chart by RadioContraband.com, and reached #32 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. The single has sold over 90,000 copies, been streamed over a million times on Spotify, and has 2.5 million views on YouTube.
In August 2014, BLD cancelled their summer headlining tour. It was later revealed that a problem with record label Silent Majority Group was the factor in which they would not pay the band royalties anymore. Kyle Pfeiffer got a lawyer and threatened to sue the company. The case was eventually settled out of court.
In May 2016, Blacklite District released "We Are The Danger" as an advanced track from their second album, To Whom It May Concern, which was released on October 7, 2016.
On August 23, "The Struggle" was released to radio and To Whom It May Concern went for pre-order at digital retailers. Revolver Magazine premiered the music video for "The Struggle" on August 25. The band also announced a 41 date tour called "The Struggle Is Real Tour", which is kicking off on September 15 in Hutchingson, KS. Blacklite District released a Nightcore remix of "The Struggle" to YouTube on September 6, which got over 2,000,000 plays and resulted in the single breaking the Top 40 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Indicator chart at #36.
One month later, on October 6, the group released a Nightcore remix of "We Are The Danger" which got over 400,000 plays on YouTube. A couple of weeks later, the band released "Broken Souls" to radio, as well as a Nightcore remix which resulted in 500,000 plays and hitting #30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Indicator. This was the second song in the month of October to break the Top 40 (along with "The Struggle.")
"The Ghost of You and Me" was released as a music video and a Nightcore remix on December 28, 2016. The song was yet again a success for Blacklite District resulting in 400,000.
On January 20, 2017, BLD released "Living In A Nightmare" as the first single from upcoming album Instant Gratification. With a coinciding Nightcore release, "Living In A Nightmare" broke the Top 25 on the BDS Indicator chart, marking the bands highest spot in chart history. The song has been streamed over 250,000 times.
On February 24, famed radio DJ Lou Brutus posted the bands video for "Cold As Ice", which was released the same day. The song scored a whopping 350,000 streams in its first week alone, and as of May 2017, has over 3.5 million combined views on YouTube. "Cold As Ice" serves as the second single from Instant Gratification. In the summer of 2017, "Cold As Ice" was added to Spotify's "Rock Hard" playlist, and was put into rotation on SiriusXM's alternative channel Faction. In October, "Cold As Ice" was added to rotation on SiriusXM Octane, and its Minecraft music video has over 15 million views on YouTube. "Cold As Ice" entered the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart at #37 on January 3, 2018.
Blacklite District released their third album Instant Gratification on September 22, going Top 10 on Amazon's Top Electronic Albums chart.
Discography
Albums
| Title | Release date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide Controversy | April 20, 2014 | Silent Majority Group |
| To Whom It May Concern | October 7, 2016 | AK19 Entertainment |
| Instant Gratification | September 22, 2017 | AK19 Entertainment |
Singles
| Year | Title | Billboard Mainstream Rock |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Take Me To The Grave" | --- |
| 2014 | "With Me Now" | 34 |
| 2016 | "We Are The Danger" | --- |
| 2016 | "The Struggle" | --- |
| 2017 | "Living In A Nightmare" | --- |
| "Cold as Ice" | 35 |
Animated Music Videos
| Title | Year | View Count (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| The Struggle | 2017 | 25 |
| Cold As Ice | 2017 | 33 |
| We Are The Danger | 2017 | 14 |
| Just So You Know | 2017 | 10 |
Members
- Kyle Pfeiffer - vocals, piano, producer, guitar, programming (2002–present)
- Roman James - vocals, guitar, bass (2002–present)
Former Members
- Chauncey Kochel - bass guitar (2011-2012)
- Graham Spillman - drums, vocals (2011-2012)
- Chris Mardini - touring drummer (2013-2014)
Awards
Stone Chrome Radio Listener's Choice Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "The Struggle" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2017 | "Cold As Ice" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
References
- MTV Artist Page[permanent dead link]
- Billboard Artist Page
- Billboard Chart Highlights, Blacklite District Debuts Top 40
External links
- Official Facebook page
- Official BLD Online
- Official Twitter
- Official SMG Facebook
- AllMusic Biography
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