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 [i]de facto[/i] 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 as six members - four "regular" members" and two "honorary" members - who collectively come from three different countries/national backgrounds: Olivier, 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.

Olivier and Mandelbaum had known each other since they were babies and eventually befriended van Cleef in middle school. Olivier, Mandelbaum, and van Cleef later met Breckenridge in high school. Shortly after the regular members of the band had formed, they met Middlesbrough at a college party. Kesh entered the group while trying to help them with their musical skills in 2010. At the time, Kesh was working with her sister Beastette on her material.

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. The free EPs can still be found for free online.

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 January 2014, the band released "Like A Narcissist" as the lead single from Sophomore. Premiering in November 2013 and slated for a December 2013 release, "Like A Narcissist" was critically lauded by critics and the public as one of the band's best singles in their career. "Like A Narcissist" debuted at #4 in the UK, rose to #3 the following week, and has so far peaked at #2, becoming another big hit for the band. The single has been certified Gold by the URAPS, becoming the band's fastest-selling single in their career.

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.

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 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"