Curriculum

Curriculum is an American-based alternative ("indie") pop band that formed and originated in New York City in 2006 and, since 2011, is signed to Blacklight Records. The band consists of six members: Gregory Preston Athanasiadis, Phillip Mandelbaum, Wyatt van Cleef, Dana Breckenridge, Stephanie Kesh, and Shawn Middlesbrough, with the latter two being considered "honorary members" of the band. The band formed in 2006 when most of the band members were attending the same high school in New York City; currently most of the band is either attending college at Columbia University or New York University which are both located in New York City.

The band gained notoriety in late summer 2011 when they posted a video of themselves singing their rendition of the Loud Females song "All I Need (All I Don't)", which became a viral hit. In November 2011, they signed to Blacklight Records and released their debut single "So Mainstream", which reached the top three in the UK and also became an international hit. In February 2012, they released their debut album Syllabus, which reached #1 in the UK and spawned three more singles, two of which also hit in the top three in the UK.

The band has been nominated for seven Urapopstar Awards, have reached the top twenty on the most recent URAPS Rate (the eighteenth edition), and have earned critical praise for their music (and also criticism for their promotional habits).

In January 2013, the band announced that they were going on a "brief hiatus" in favor of the solo careers of Mandelbaum and van Cleef, and the burgeoning drug problems of Athanasiadis, which led him to be admitted to rehab. The band announced that they have completed their second album which they have already named Sophomore. The release date of the album is unknown.

2006-2011: Formation and early career
The band consists of six members who collectively come from three different countries/national backgrounds: Athanasiadis, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef are American, Breckenridge is Australian-born but has lived most of his life in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Canada before moving permanantly to the United States in 2004, and Kesh and Middlesbrough are British. Athanasiadis and Mandelbaum were childhood friends and eventually befriended van Cleef and Breckenridge. The band was officially formed just shortly after they first met Middlesbrough at a college party. Kesh entered the group while trying to help them with their musical skills in 2010.

During their first five years together, the band never played in public before and initially only started out by getting together for only jam sessions. Eventually they started to seriously work on their music. The band apparently almost broke up when some of the band members went to different colleges instead of attending the same college as one another. Eventually, the band decided to stick together with them not feeling that attending different colleges would not threaten the band or their time needed to work on their music.

In April 2011, the band released their first independent EP titled STUBDEPS. A month later they released their second independent EP titled Hipsterology 101. The band couldn't afford to make physical copies of the EP and only "released" the EPs online with a link to the both EPs beings shown on their official Facebook page; The EPs were given away for free and were even uploaded in their entirety on the band's official YouTube page. Some of their songs from the EPs managed to get moderate airplay on college radio stations and demand grew for the band to perform live at certain functions and parties.

Name changes
The band went through a series of name changes before settling on their current name. The band was first titled Werewolf Weekday but was then changed to The College Boys. The band, for the longest time, were known by The Weekenders and later The Lost. Eventually, they settled on the name Curriculum which was nod to the members fondness of college life and culture, academia, knowledge, and education. According to sources, the band was almost called Curriculum Vitae and Syllabus.

2011-2013: Syllabus
In late summer 2011, the band uploaded a video of themselves singing a song called "All I Need (All I Don't)". The video was meant to be shown only to their small fanbase of college students but the video became viral hit in the United States and garnered over five million views. The band eventually was prompted to release the song on iTunes where they considered it their first ever promotional/"buzz" single, saying that their actual debut single was coming soon. The promotional release of "All I Need (All I Don't)" reached #63 in the United States.

In 2011, the band announced that they were pursuing a professional music career and a record deal in the US and UK. After announcing that their debut single would be "So Mainstream", in November 2011, they signed with Blacklight Records. That same month, the band released "So Mainstream" in the UK and US; the single would eventually reach #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their first charting single in the UK. Soon after, they released their second promotional single titled "Innocent; Convicted", which peaked at #13 on the UK Downloads Chart.

In February 2012, the band released their debut album Syllabus. The album garnered generally positive reviews and would become commercially successful. The album debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Silver in its first week of sales, after selling over 103,000 copies. To date, the album has sold more than 500,000 copies and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album would also see some degree of commercial success in international markets as well. In the US, Syllabus has been certified Gold.

In March 2012, the band released their second single "At A Party". Originally supposed to be released in January 2012, the single's final release featured American pop singer Blonde Ambition. Blonde was added onto the song after she was only supposed to be featured on the remix of the song and had managed to befriend the band. "At A Party" debuted and peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their second top three single.

In May 2012, the band suddenly premiered what is confirmed to be their third single from Syllabus titled "Honeymoon Anthem". The single was postponed shortly after. The band has since confirmed that they will be releasing another promotional single titled "British" which will then be followed by another song which will serve as their third single from Syllabus titled "Teamwork". Originally featuring the band only, the single mix featured popular singer Kleo and was released on 23 July 2012. The single became the band's third UK single to reach the top three while also becoming their third to peak at #3 on the UK Singles Chart; it also become a top ten or top twenty hit internationally as well. In September 2012, barring the UK, "Honeymoon Anthem" was released as the fourth and final single from Syllabus and become another international hit for the band, including it being their third single to reach #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. "Honeymoon Anthem" was eventually released in the UK on 28 January 2013.

2013 to present: Second album and hiatus
The band had plans since the summer of 2012 to release an EP but as of late they have announced that they are working on their second album. All of the tracks for their planned EP, which would've been called Extra Credit and was formerly called Summer School EP, will be included on the album.

In December 2012, the band announced that they plan on calling their second album Sophomore.

In January 2013, it was announced that Mandelbaum was signed to solo record deal with the South Korean label S.M. Entertainment and the Japanese label Avex Group. The record deals were meant to be for the band but the band decided not to pursue Asia and Mandelbaum, with the blessing of the rest of the group, decided to sign the deals on his own; record contract negotiations apparently took place in December 2012. That same month, van Cleef announced he too would pursue a solo career.

In January 2013, one day before their single, "Honeymoon Anthem", was supposed to be released in the UK, Athanasiadis was admitted to rehab for addictions to cocaine and prescription medication. He was put in rehab by his girlfriend Kleo who walked in on him doing cocaine while pills were sprawled out all over a table. It is unknown how long he will be in rehab.

One day after Athanasaidis was put in rehab, van Cleef announced that the band would go on a "brief hiatus" so Athansiadis could get treatment for his addictions and Mandelbaum and van Cleef can pursue their solo careers. van Cleef stated that the band "should be back very soon...just not now."

Influences
The band is heavily influenced by Ben Johnston, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Mannequin, Vixen, and British girl bands.

They have been heavily compared to the now disbanded alt-pop/rock group The Found. Despite this, the members do not cite The Found has an influence of theirs and has even claimed that they do not like any of material from them either.

Image and popularity
Though not the first band to make alternative or "indie" music popular with mainstream audiences, they have become one of the most successful alternative acts in the present day climate of the music industry aside from Sandi Cohen, FERROXYL, and Dresden & Bareilles.

In January 2012, Curriculum ranked at #5 on James Moss' Top 12 Breakouts of 2012; on the "revised" edition of the special, which aired in May 2012, the band rose to #2. For the overall definitive list of the year, the band ranked at #12. The band has been nominated for seven Urapopstar Awards and has been included on many lists praising their image and music. They also debuted at the URAPS Rate 17 in 2012.

In February 2012, the band ranked at #30 on the URAPS Rate 17 where they got a 75% approval rating. That same month, the band was nominated for four Urapopstar Awards for Best Group, Best Alternative, Best Newcomer, and Best Male Video for their single "So Mainstream". In August 2012, the band rose to #19 on the URAPS Rate 18 where their approval rating increased by 2.5 percent to 77.5%. That same month, the band was also nominated for three more Urapopstar Awards where they were nominated for Best Group and Best Alternative for a second time in a row; the band was also surprisingly nominated for Best Promotion.

Band members

 * Gregory Preston Athanasiadis, 21
 * Phillip Mandelbaum, 21
 * Wyatt van Cleef, 21
 * Dana Breckenridge, 20
 * Honorary Members:
 * Stephanie Kesh, 26 (born in France on 31 December 1986)
 * Shawn Middlesbrough, 26 (born in Newcastle upon Tyne on January 17, 1987)

Kesh and Middlesbrough are rarely photographed with the band for promotional shoots and they rarely make promotional appearances with the band. As such many people usually consider Athanasiadis, Mandelbaum, van Cleef, and Breckenridge as the "core band". Kesh and Middlesbrough, according to sources, like to work behind the scenes and out of the spotlight. The rest of the band considered them as regular members regardless of their lack of appearance in the band's image.

Solo careers
In 2013, Mandelbaum (now taking on the name Phil M) and van Cleef began to pursue their solo careers. Honorary member Kesh also announced that she would release her own material. Middlesbrough will produce for van Cleef and Kesh while Phil M will be working with a variety of producers on his solo project.

Discography
Main article: Curriculum discography

Albums

 * 2012: Syllabus

Singles

 * 2011: "So Mainstream"
 * 2012: "At A Party"
 * 2012: "Teamwork"'
 * 2012/2013: "Honeymoon Anthem"
 * 2013: "All Pink Everything"

Promotional singles

 * 2011: "All I Need (All I Don't)"
 * 2011: "Innocent; Convicted"
 * 2012: "British"