Artist:Hot Chelle Rae
Song:Tonight Tonight
Album:Whatever
The 2011 single Tonight Tonight was a top ten hit. It was the only big hit for the band Hot Chelle Rae. One of their other songs charted so they are not technically a one hit wonder. But Tonight Tonight is the only song that anyone will remember. The band was called Miracle Drug when it was formed in Nashville in 2005 by lead singer Ryan Folisee and guitarist Nash Overstreet. After releasing an EP, bassist Ian Keaggy joined followed by drummer Jamie Folisee who is Ryan's brother. They had to change the band name for copyright reasons. Hot Chelle Rae was a MySpace stalker who disappeared when the band discovered she was a fake. But they liked the name. Soon after they signed with Jive Records and they released the 2009 album Lovesick Electric. They toured to support it but the album didn't sell. After recording the 2011 album Whatever, the single Tonight Tonight reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album did particularly well in Australia and New Zealand. So they spent a lot time touring there opening for Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato and headlining their own shows. Ryan Folisee and Overstreet wrote most of the songs with co-writers and producers. The album was produced by Emanuel Kiriakou who has worked with acts like Jason Derulo and Selena Gomez. He brought with him songwriters Evan Kidd Bogart and Lindy Robbins and they helped write Tonight Tonight. The other producer was Andrew Goldstein and he has worked with Maroon 5 and Katy Perry. By this time, Jive parent company Zomba was sold to RCA. So Hot Chelle Rae was moved to RCA. This album is available as a budget CD. After the 2013 EP Recklessly was released, Ian Keaggy announced that he was leaving Hot Chelle Rae. They continued to tour. But after Ryan Folisee left and released a 2017 country album, that seemed to end Hot Chelle Rae. I thought they weren't distinctive enough. I'm sure many listeners thought that Tonight Tonight was by a different band. Overstreet and Jamie Folisee reformed Hot Chelle Rae in 2018. Ryan Folisee declined the invitation to join and I wouldn't be surprised to see him concentrate on songwriting. His parents are songwriters. Hot Chelle Rae released an EP in 2020 followed by a few singles, most recently in 2022. They toured earlier this year, including some shows in Australia. I don't know if that's enough to keep them going. Here's the video for Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae.






