Curriculum

Curriculum is an American alternative pop band that formed and originated in New York City in 2006 and, since 2011, is signed to Blacklight Records. The band consists of four members which are de facto lead singer Gregory Preston Olivier, Phillip Mandelbaum, Wyatt van Cleef, and Dana Breckenridge who all sing vocals, play a variety of their own instruments, and write, compose, and produce their own material. The band formerly also had two "honorary members", Stephanie Kesh and Shawn Middlesbrough, who were not necessarily apart of the band but were considered to be apart of the band's "team" instead; in 2013, Kesh and Middlesbrough amicably ended their professional relationship with Curriculum to pursue their own career where they are now known as Cerise + Victor. The band formed in 2006 when they were all teenagers.

The band launched their professional music career in late 2011 following them garnering moderate notoriety from a video they posted on YouTube. In November 2011, they signed to Blacklight Records and released their debut single "So Mainstream", which reached #3 in the UK and became an international hit. In February 2012, they released their debut album Syllabus, which peaked at #1 in the UK and eventually went to sell one million copies in the UK, earning them a Diamond certification from Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS) (under the old certification).

In late 2013, the band released "All Pink Everything" followed by "Like A Narcissist" in January 2014. Both singles would become the band's biggest hits to date by peaking at #2 in the UK and becoming a massive international success. In January 2014, the band released their long-awaited (and previously much-delayed) sophomore album aptly titled Sophomore. Sophomore, which was critically acclaimed, became the band's second #1 album in the UK, eventually selling 1.7 million copies in the UK, becoming their second Diamond album (under the new and current certification).

2006-2011: Formation and early career
By the time they were born, families of the members of Curriculum had been friends with each other for generations. Olivier and Mandelbaum lived next door to each other in the same wealthy New York City neighborhood. The families would often take holiday trips together depending on the season; in the summer, they would go to San Francisco and in the winter, they would go to Switzerland. The future members of Curriculum would often be playmates on these holiday trips.

All of the members of Curriculum have similar backgrounds. They all come from "extremely" wealthy families, were academically successful in school, are approximately the same age, and also had numerous issues and problems with their families. Despite knowing each other since they were infants, the band members did not consider each other as best friends until they were teenagers, after van Cleef and Breckenridge moved to New York City. Prior to that, van Cleef spent his childhood in San Francisco and Breckenridge "lived all over" the world. The band members finally became friends after bonding over their issues with their families and, mostly, their love of music, geography, culture, and education. The band also attended the same prestigious high school together as well and were considered "popular" by their classmates.

The members' musical talents were each recognized by their parents who decided to team up together and form them into a boy band pop group. Their parents, who had ties in the music industry, hired well-known writers and producers to work with the boys in the studio, even without them being signed to a record label. The members' hated the songs that were given to them and when they left for college, decided to take control of their own musical direction without the knowledge of their parents who would only finance but not supervise the "boy band project" as the band would eventually call it.

All of the band members graduated in the top five percentile of the high school class (Olivier was the valedictorian; Mandelbaum was salutatorian) and later attended Columbia University. As they were all beginning college, they decided to take their pursuit with music seriously. After they released two independent EPs, the band began writing songs for their debut album, which they originally planned to be an independent release.

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)", originally done by girl group Girls Aloud. The video showed the band, with their faces blurred, throwing colorful paint on the wall while Olivier sings to the side facing the camera (again his face is blurreed). According to Olivier, the band only did the video "just for fun" and was not meant to be taken seriously, but the video became viral hit in the United States, eventually garnering millions of 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 on the Billboard Hot 100, their first charting entry.

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. "So Mainstream" also became a big international hit for the band.

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 one million copies and has been certified Diamond by the Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS), under the old certifaction. The album would also see some degree of commercial success in international markets as well. In the US, Syllabus has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold more than one million copies in the United States.

Three more singles were released from Syllabus throughout 2012. "At A Party" was released as the second single while "Teamwork" was released as the third. Each single, for their commercial release, each had a featured artist on it; "At A Party" featured American pop singer Blonde Ambition for the single version while "Teamwork" featured pop singing sensation Kleo, who replaced the "uncredited female vocals" (later revealed to be Stephanie Kesh) on the album version of the track. Both singles also peaked at #3 in the UK and were international successes as well. The fourth and final official single from the album, the Icelandic-themed "Honeymoon Anthem" charted at #9 in the UK and was another international success for the band. In late 2013, "Guess WHO", an album track from Syllabus, was released as a digital only charity single with all proceeds going to charity related to AIDS research and awareness.

2013 to present: "All Pink Everything", Sophomore, and Flunking Out/Remedial
Between late spring/early summer 2012 to autumn 2013, the band worked on their sophomore album which they decided to aptly title Sophomore. The title to Sophomore was announced in December 2012 and was initially planned on being released in January or February 2013. However, the album's release was set and later postponed numerous times, along with a series of singles, EPs, and other material that were cancelled due to a variety of issues concerning the band including their waning and struggling management, Olivier's surprising cocaine and medication addiction that sent him to rehab, and members van Cleef and Mandelbaum pursuing solo careers. The band also faced rumors that they were breaking up which they adamantly denied.

In October 2013, nine months after they released their previous official single "Honeymoon Anthem" in January, the band released "All Pink Everything", which was supposed to be the lead single from a free mixtape they wanted to release titled The Chess Club; however, The Chess Club was withheld by Blacklight Records who has decided to release it commercially as the band's third album though the entire project has since been cancelled. "All Pink Everything", which was originally supposed to be Mandelbaum's follow-up to his debut single "Your Love's A Drug" for his solo career but was re-recorded by the band, received negative reviews, but thanks in part due to a promotional campaign that centered around breast cancer awareness and the color pink (they released it in October which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month), the single proved to be commercially successful and peak at #2 in the UK, becoming the band's biggest hit to date, staying there for two weeks. "All Pink Everything" also became a surprise international hit for the group.

In late December 2013, the band released "Like A Narcissist" as the lead single from Sophomore. Premiering in November 2013, the song talked about the "perils" of personally dealing with someone who has narcissistic personality disorder and how they can wreak havoc on people's lives. The song was praised by critics, fans, and the general public as one of their best singles of their career. "Like A Narcissist" became a massive commercial success. Though it debuted at #4 in the UK Singles Chart, it rose to #3 the following week, and then, in its third week, rose and peaked at #2. It is the best-selling single to not reach #1 and is one of the best selling singles ever, selling over one million copies copies in the UK. Their biggest hit to date, the single is still charting on the UK Singles Chart and has been certified Diamond by the URAPS.

Sophomore was released in January 2014, two weeks after "Like A Narcissist". Sophomore received highly positive reviews due to the its lyrical content and production. The album proved to be commercially successful as it debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming their second album to top the chart. Sophomore sold more than 97,000 copies in its first week. In late January 2014, the band won their first Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for their single "Honeymoon Anthem". In February 2014, Sophomore returned to #1 on the UK Albums Chart in its third week of sales. The album also reached the top two in most countries it was released in. Sophomore has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK; initially certified Diamond once but then downgraded to Platinum, due to new sales certification criteria, the album has been re-certified Diamodn by the URAPS.

In March 2014, Curriculum released the track "On The Run" as a digital single; the track reached #3 on the UK Digital Chart.

In late May 2014, the band released "I Can Pay Your Rent" as the second single from Sophomore. The single version features popular American superstar Syd Wolfe. The single became the band's third consecutive single to reach #2 on the UK Singles Chart and also broke records for Wolfe as well (she became the first artist to occupy the top two positions on the UK Singles Chart in one week; her duet with popular singer Kleo was #1).

The band released their third single "To Move On" in June 2014. The same week, the band released their first major label EP Flunking Out. Despite the fact that both releases received subpar promotion from the band, they were well-received critically and commercially. "To Move On" has since peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart, though it debuted at #11 and almost interrupted the band's top ten streak. Flunking Out performed beyond expectations, peaking at #5 and being certified Gold by the URAPS. The EP was re-released as Remedial in October 2014.

The band's fourth single will be "Masculine" which will replace "Vice City 1986", which was initially being promoted as the band's initial fourth single. Though the promotional campaign around "Masculine" was controversial, due in part to Mandelbaum having a massive falling out with the band, the single became the band's biggest surprise hit. It debuted and peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's first UK number one single. It also reached #1 on the airplay charts and #2 on the digital charts.

"Vice City 1986", however, will be released in January 2015 as the album's fifth - and possibly final - single.

Television
The band also announced that they would be airing a reality show, primarily detailing recording of their album Sophomore. Members van Cleef and Olivier also announced that they would be starring in their own television shows. van Cleef is shooting a reality show TV show with his twenty-four half-siblings while Olivier is shooting a scripted dramatic series. Eventually members Mandelbaum and Breckenridge also announced that they would pursuing a career in television as well.

Image and artistry
The band usually sings about geography, social issues, culture, and other topics that are consider "not usual" in mainstream music. Their music usually consists of eclectic styles melodically while the lyrics are usually described as "quirky" and "offbeat".

Promotion of "Masculine"
The promotion of the band's first number one single "Masculine" was marred by a massive falling out that Mandelbaum had with the rest of the band. Though the final conflict that lead to the falling out was a result of an altercation over Mandelbaum reportedly having his Syd Wolfe albums stolen by van Cleef and his brother, Mandelbaum stated that the band "never ever respected" him for the years they had been associated with each other. van Cleef, however, stated that Mandelbaum never liked the song and got angry because they replaced "Masculine" with "Vice City 1986" (which was a fan favorite and incited negative feedback once it was cancelled in favor of "Masculine").

After the altercation of the supposed stolen Syd Wolfe albums, Mandelbaum suddenly left for Asia to promote his debut solo album Wonderful is Everything. The rest of the band promoted "Masculine" as a trio. The single artwork for the single only shows three soldiers marching to battle with some speculating that it was a "dig" at Mandelbaum for not promoting "Masculine" with them.

One week before the single's release, the band's label, Blacklight Records, negotiated a reconciliation of sorts between Mandelbaum and the rest of the band.

"Masculine" later reached number one in the UK and also became an international hit as well.

Band members

 * Gregory Preston Olivier
 * Phillip Mandelbaum
 * Wyatt van Cleef
 * Dana Breckenridge

Olivier is the de facto lead singer of the group though Mandelbaum and van Cleef also sing vocals as well. Breckenridge is the band's primary producer, mainly for their second LP after former "honorary" member Middlesbrough left the band, along with Kesh, to pursue their own career. Olivier, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef are the chief songwriters; Breckenridge used to be a songwriter for the group but has since focused on production and did not write anything on the band's second album.

Olivier and Mandelbaum primarily play guitars, Breckendrige plays the piano and bass, and van Cleef plays guitar and drums. All of them also play other instruments as well and play all of their own instruments on their material.

Solo careers
In 2013, Mandelbaum and van Cleef attempted solo careers. Former honorary members Kesh and Middlesbrough left the group to work on their own material; they are now known professionally as Cerise + Victor. Kesh had initially planned to go solo by herself but she eventually convinced Middlesbrough to join her in her endeavors.

Discography
Main article: Curriculum discography

Albums

 * 2012: Syllabus
 * 2014: Sophomore
 * 2014: Flunking Out (EP)