DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer

Jack Lawless Jack Lawless (born September 20, 1987) is an American musician and singer. He is the drummer for the bands DNCE and Ocean Grove, as well as a live drummer for the Jonas Brothers. He grew up in Middletown Township, New Jersey, part of Monmouth C ...

, and guitarist

JinJoo Lee JinJoo Lee ( ko, 이진주; born November 15, 1987) is a Korean–American musician and singer. She is best known as the guitarist for the pop rock band DNCE. Life and career Early life JinJoo Lee was born in Incheon, South Korea on Novem ...

. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018. DNCE's music is mainly

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disc ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

, and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

- pop. The band signed with

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

, who released their debut single, "

Cake by the Ocean "Cake by the Ocean" is the debut single by American band DNCE. It was released through Republic Records, as the lead single from their debut EP, ''Swaay'', on September 18, 2015. It is also included on their debut studio album, '' DNCE'' (2016). ...

", which was released on September 18, 2015. The song reached the top 10 on several charts, including on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number nine. Their debut extended play (EP), '' Swaay'', was released on October 23, 2015. Their self-titled debut studio album was released on November 18, 2016. Their second EP, '' People to People'', was released on June 15, 2018. They were also nominated for Favorite New Artist for the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards and Best Song to Lip Sync and Best Anthem for the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards. The group performed at the 2017 Fashion Meets Music Festival. In February 2022, DNCE returned after their hiatus with a collaboration with

Kygo Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 201 ...

titled " Dancing Feet".

Career

2015–2017: Commercial debut, ''Swaay'', and ''DNCE''

Lead singer Joe Jonas originally rose to fame as a member of the band the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in W ...

, alongside his brothers,

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

and

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

. Both guitarist

and drummer

were, for varying tenures, a part of the Jonas Brothers' live backing band, playing guitar and drums respectively. The idea for DNCE first came about while Jonas and Lawless were living together, although the project was put on hold due to the duo's respective busy schedules. Jonas, Lawless, and Lee officially came together to form DNCE in 2015. Though work on music had already begun, the group struggled to find a fourth member to fit into the band. Jonas began working with American singer-songwriter

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

for DNCE's music. This led to the friendship of Jonas and bassist and keyboardist

Cole Whittle DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 201 ...

, the now-former bassist in Tranter's band, Semi Precious Weapons. Ultimately, Whittle was added as a full-time member of the band. The group named themselves DNCE, which lyrically spoke of being too drunk to spell the word "dance". Jonas later added that the group decided on the name as it described the "imperfect awesome

ess The suffix ''-ess'' (plural ''-esses'') appended to English words makes a female form of the word. ESS or ess may refer to: Education * Ernestown Secondary School, in Odessa, Ontario * European Standard School, in Dhaka, Bangladesh Governmen ...

of the four of

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

together." Lee later added that "much like the spelling of the word, you don't have to be a perfect dancer to dance in life." The group began performing secret shows in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to rehearse for their upcoming tour and promotional performances. DNCE made an official

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account in September 2015 and Jonas later posted a teaser video for the band on his account, tagging the band's official page, on September 10, 2015. The band released their debut single, "

", on September 18, 2015. Though starting out slow, the song managed to reach the top 10 across several charts, including a number nine peak on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The band released their debut extended play, '' Swaay'', on October 23, 2015. The band embarked on a 14-date tour in November 2015, known as the Greatest Tour Ever. All 14 scheduled dates for the tour sold out. The tour received critical praise, and featured unreleased songs as well as covers of older classics. On January 31, 2016, DNCE made a cameo during

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's television special '' Grease: Live''; a live production of the Broadway musical '' Grease''. The band performed as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers during a high school dance scene, which incorporated a 1950s-inspired rendition of "Cake by the Ocean" and a cover of

the Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, ...

' "

Maybe Baby Viktoriya Vladimirovna Lysyuk (; born 27 September 1995), known professionally as MAYBE BABY (), is a Belarusian pop singer and rap artist based in Russia. Early life Victoria Lysyuk was born in the city of Zhabinka in the Brest Region of Belar ...

" alongside the ''Grease'' songs "Born to Hand Jive" and "Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay". In an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', Jonas explained that DNCE was approached by the producers of the special following a show in New York City, and that he had always been a fan of ''Grease''. In February 2016, the band joined American singer

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

as opening acts for her

Revival Tour The Revival Tour was the second solo concert tour by American singer Selena Gomez, in support of her second solo studio album '' Revival'' (2015). The tour began in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 6, 2016, and concluded ...

. On February 26, 2016, DNCE was featured on American singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld's single, " Rock Bottom", from the update of her debut extended play, '' Haiz'', which was then considered the main version of the song. On April 22, 2016, the group appeared on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

's ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'', performing "Cake by the Ocean". "

Toothbrush A toothbrush is an oral hygiene tool used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach ar ...

" was chosen as the second single from ''Swaay'', being sent to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on May 17, 2016. The song peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On September 14, 2016, DNCE announced their self-titled debut studio album and its release date. The album includes three songs from ''Swaay'': "Cake by the Ocean", "Toothbrush", and "Pay My Rent", while the last song from the EP, "Jinx" only stayed on the EP. The lead single of the album, "

Body Moves "Body Moves" is a song by American band DNCE. It was released through Republic Records as the lead and only single from their self-titled debut studio album on September 30, 2016. The band's lead singer, Joe Jonas, wrote the song alongside Jus ...

", was released on September 30. Three promotional singles were subsequently released for three Fridays in a row: "Blown" (featuring Kent Jones) on October 28, "Good Day" on November 4, and "Be Mean" on November 11. The album was released on November 18, the next Friday. On April 14, 2017, the band released the single "

Kissing Strangers "Kissing Strangers" is a song by American band DNCE, featuring vocals from Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released to digital retailers on April 14, 2017, through Republic Records as the lead single from the bonus edition of the band's ...

", featuring Trinidadian-American rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

. On August 25, 2017, DNCE was featured on a remade version of British singer-songwriter

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

's single, "

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", also written "Da' Ya' Think I'm Sexy", is a song by British singer Rod Stewart from his ninth studio album, ''Blondes Have More Fun'' (1978). It was written by Stewart, Carmine Appice and Duane Hitchings, though it inc ...

2018–2019: ''People to People'' and hiatus

To start out 2018, DNCE released the single, "Dance" on January 26. On April 6, they were featured on Italian record producer duo

Merk & Kremont Federico Mercuri and Giordano Cremona (both born in 1992), known professionally as Merk & Kremont are two Italian DJs, songwriters, record producers and remixers from Milan. In 2014 they were included in the top 100 of the world's DJ compiled by ' ...

's single, " Hands Up". On June 15, they released their second extended play, '' People to People''. In late February 2019, the Jonas Brothers announced their comeback. Jonas and Lawless resumed work with them and DNCE hiatus for more than three years. The Jonas Brothers have since incorporated "Cake By the Ocean" into their live set.

2022: Return and Whittle's departure

On February 7, 2022, DNCE announced their return, without former bandmate Cole Whittle. On February 25, 2022, DNCE was featured on Norwegian record producer and DJ

's single " Dancing Feet", as their comeback single. Another single, titled "

Move Move may refer to: People * Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Go ...

", was released on May 6, 2022.

Artistry

Now-former band member Cole Whittle has said, "Musically, we sound like disco funk hits played by a good garage band." The band's influences include the Electric Light Orchestra,

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Members

;Current members * Joe Jonas: lead vocals – Jonas first rose to prominence as a member of the

, a band that has considerable success across music, film and television. *

: drums, percussion, backing vocals – Jack Lawless played drums for the Jonas Brothers from their Marvelous Party Tour (2007) until their disbandment, and again from their 2019 reunion onwards. Lawless and Jonas were roommates, with Lawless continuing to perform with the band on subsequent tours. In 2010, Lawless became the drummer for alternative rock band Ocean Grove; the group released their debut extended play in 2011. *

: guitar, backing vocals – Lee is from South Korea and, like Lawless, has previously toured with acts such as the Jonas Brothers, playing the guitar. She was a member of

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

's touring band from 2010 to 2011, and later worked with JoJo and

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

. ;Former members *Cole Whittle: bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals – Whittle rose to fame as the bassist for Semi Precious Weapons. The band released three studio albums during their run, with their final release coming in 2014. He has also recently contributed as a songwriter, alongside fellow Semi Precious Weapons member

. Whittle did not return to DNCE when they reunited in 2022 due to focusing on his solo career.

Discography

* ''

DNCE DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018. ...

'' (2016)

Filmography

Tours

Headlining *The Greatest Tour Ever Tour (2015-2016) *DNCE in Concert (2017) *DNCE GOGO SAIKO Japan Tour (2017) Opening act *

(2016) * 24K Magic World Tour (2017-2018)

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control American pop music groups Musical groups established in 2015 Musical groups disestablished in 2018 Musical groups reestablished in 2022 Musical trios Republic Records artists 2015 establishments in California