Mercury4 were an Australian

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

vocal quartet formed in 2002 with Rien Low, Brad Johnston, Javier Perez and Cole Rintoul. In early 2004 Perez was replaced by Kevin Layton. They issued a self-titled studio album, ''

Mercury4 Mercury4 were an Australian boy band vocal quartet formed in 2002 with Rien Low, Brad Johnston, Javier Perez and Cole Rintoul. In early 2004 Perez was replaced by Kevin Layton. They issued a self-titled studio album, '' Mercury4'' (May 2004) wh ...

'' (May 2004) which reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 40. Their highest-charting single, " Get Me Some" (June 2003) had peaked at No. 5 on the related ARIA Singles Chart. It was followed by "

5 Years from Now "5 Years From Now" is the second single released by Australian group Mercury4 from their self-titled debut album, ''Mercury4''. "5 Years From Now" debuted at #20 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and in the following week ascended to its peak at ...

" (January 2004), which reached the top 20 and their cover version of Bobby Brown's "

Every Little Step "Every Little Step" is a 1989 single by American singer Bobby Brown, written by L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and released by MCA Records. Released as the fourth single on his second album ''Don't Be Cruel'' it reached number three on ...

" (May 2004) peaked in the top 30. However, the group disbanded by late 2004.

History

Mercury4 started in 2000 with Rien Low and Brad Johnston meeting and deciding to work together. Cole Rintoul joined in 2001 with Javier Perez joining in 2002. The band signed with

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

in late 2002 after a showcase gig at the Mercury Lounge, hence the name Mercury4. BMG recruited hit production team the Matrix who had produced hits for

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

and

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her act ...

to write and produce their first single " Get Me Some". Released in June 2003 in Australia, it arrived at No. 5 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

the following month. Their second single, "

", was released in January 2004 and reached No. 16 on the Australian charts in February 2004. The band's third single "

" (May 2004) was a cover of Bobby Brown's 1989 single, and was produced by

Cutfather & Joe Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, ...

who wrote and produced the

Jamelia ' Jamelia Niela Davis (born 11 January 1981) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. She has released three studio albums, each of which has reached the Top 40 in the UK, which collectively have spawned eight UK top-ten singl ...

hit " Superstar". It reached No. 27. In early 2004 Javier Perez left the band for personal reasons and was replaced by Kevin Layton. The band's self-titled debut ''Mercury4'' was released on 31 May 2004, and included a cover of Air Supply's hit "

All Out of Love "All Out of Love" is a song by British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply, released as a single in 1980 from their fifth studio album '' Lost in Love''. The song was written by Graham Russell and Clive Davis. The song's lyrics describe the em ...

" featuring vocals by Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell from the original band. However, the album only charted for one week in Australia and the band were dropped from their label after BMG merged with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. The group disbanded by late 2004. Member Kevin Layton auditioned for the 2009 series of ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...

'' but missed out on the Top 24. Rien Low auditioned for the 2011 series of '' The X Factor (Australia)'' but missed out on a spot in ''

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian recording artist, actress, and Celebrity, television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an ...

s 'Over 25's' category, making the Top 12 but not the Top 6. He also auditioned for '' Season 2'' of '' The Voice (Australia)'' but was unsuccessful.

Members

*Brad Johnston (born 30 November 1981) – lead vocals *Rien Low (born 22 February 1978);– lead vocals * Javier Perez – lead vocals (2002–04) *Cole Rintoul (born 27 November 1982) – lead vocals *Kevin Layton (born 1 May 1982) – lead vocals

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{Authority control Australian pop music groups Australian boy bands Victoria (state) musical groups Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2004