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 all of the band members were attending the same high school in New York City.

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).

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, selling more than 97,000 copies in the UK.

The band will release their third album, tentatively titled The Chess Club, later on in 2014. The band has also stated that they are contemplating on going on tour.

2006-2011: Formation and early career
The band formed in 2006 at Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey where all of the band members attended. Olivier and Mandelbaum had known each other since they were babies and they both eventually befriended van Cleef in middle school, after he moved from San Francisco to the New York City metropolitan area. Olivier, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef later met and befriended Breckenridge at Glen Ridge high during their freshman year. In their sophomore year, they formed as a band. A couple of years after they formed, they met their "honorary" members Middlesbrough and Kesh. At the time, Kesh was working on material with her sister alt-pop singer Beastette.

Interestingly, the fathers of the band members had been friends since they attended the same private boarding school in Geneva, Switzerland and they later befriended Middlesbrough's father when they all attended Columbia University. The band members' brothers were and still are best friends since childhood. With the exception of Olivier and Mandelbaum and until they all met each other, the band members had not known each other or of each other, despite the already existing friendships between their fathers and brothers.

During their first five years together, the band never played in the public before and only got together for jam and writing sessions. All of the members attended Columbia University where, in between classes, they would work on their music seriously and often write about the campus culture of Columbia.

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 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. The free EPs can still be found for free online and also on YouTube.

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, the latter eventually being the title of their debut album.

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 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 at the time (since the band's popularity has grown, the video now has 33 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 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). 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 The Chess Club
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, ten 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. "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 the band's biggest international hit to date.

In late December 2013, the band released "Like A Narcissist" as the lead single from Sophomore. Premiering in November 2013, the song was praised by critics and the public as one of their best singles in their career. "Like A Narcissist" debuted at #4 in the UK, rose to #3 the following week, and then, in its third week, rose and peaked at #2. The single has become their fastest and best selling single, selling more than 655,000 copies and has been certified 2x Platinum by URAPS.

Sophomore was released in January 2014, two weeks after "Like A Narcissist". Sophomore received 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 500,000 copies in the UK and has been certified Gold by the URAPS.

In March 2014, Curriculum released the track "On The Run" as a digital single; the song reached #6 on the UK Digital Chart. Later that month, Curriculum announced that "I Can Pay Your Rent", with the single version featuring American superstar Syd Wolfe, would be the second single from Sophomore. The band also announced that that they would be airing a reality show, detailing the recording of their album Sophomore. Member van Cleef is also shooting a reality television show with his twenty-four half-siblings while Olivier is shooting a scripted dramatic series.

Image and artistry
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.

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".

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: The Chess Club (TBA)

Singles

 * 2011: "So Mainstream"
 * 2012: "At A Party"
 * 2012: "Teamwork"'
 * 2012/2013: "Honeymoon Anthem"
 * 2013: "All Pink Everything"
 * 2013: "Like A Narcissist"
 * 2014: "I Can Pay Your Rent"