Kongos (band)

For the ethnic group, see Kongo people.
Not to be confused with The Congos.
Kongos

Kongos in Austin, Texas, 2013
Background information
Origin Paradise Valley, Arizona
Genres
Years active 2007 (2007)–present
Labels
  • Tokoloshe
  • Epic
  • Rock All Night Productions LLC
Associated acts
Website kongos.com
Members
  • Dylan Kongos
  • Daniel Kongos
  • Jesse Kongos
  • Johnny Kongos

Kongos (often styled as KONGOS) is a South African-born American alternative rock band consisting of four brothers: Johnny (accordion, keyboards, vocals), Jesse (drums, percussion, vocals), Daniel (guitar, vocals), and Dylan Kongos (bass guitar, lap slide guitar, vocals).

Beginnings

They spent their childhoods in the city of London and in South Africa. They compose, record and perform in Phoenix, Arizona, where they have lived since 1996. They graduated from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona and attended Arizona State University. The four men are the sons of recording artist John Kongos.[1] They are of Greek, American and Mexican origin and have attended the Greek Saheti[2] school in Gauteng, South Africa.

History

Lunatic (2011–2015)

The band's sophomore album Lunatic was released in 2012.[3] Kongos's single "I'm Only Joking", from their album Lunatic, topped various South African charts, including all three of Tuks FM's charts, and received copious airtime on 5FM and on many other stations in South Africa.[4] The music video for the song debuted on TV 5 on SABC 3 and was in rotation on MKTV. Their second single "Come with Me Now" was in rotation on both 5FM and Tuks FM. The song appeared on the 5FM Top 40 and the Tuks FM Top 30 charts.[4]

In late October 2013, the band self-released Lunatic in the United States.[3] In 2014, both "I'm Only Joking" and "Come with Me Now" began receiving noticeable exposure in the United States, gaining momentum in airplay on radio and being featured in television commercials there. Their song "Come with Me Now" was used as the official theme song for WWE's pay-per-view event Extreme Rules and in the motion picture The Expendables 3.[5] As a result, the band was signed by Epic Records in late January 2014 and the band re-released Lunatic. "Come with Me Now" had sold more than 70,000 copies as of March 2014, but has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA, signifying sales of more than a million copies.[3]

Egomaniac (2016)

On March 27, 2016 Kongos announced via their newsletter that their second album, Egomaniac, would be released on June 10, 2016 and that the first single, "Take It from Me", would premiere on April 15. On April 28, 2016, the second instant grat track "I Don't Mind" was released to album pre-order customers. The official Egomaniac tour was announced in June of 2016 commencing in September.

Members

The film Holy Motors, and the video games Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Payday 2 used their song "Come with Me Now" in their official trailers. WWE also used this song as the theme for their 2014 pay-per-view event Extreme Rules. It is also the theme song for the Australian version of reality television series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! since 2015. It was used in the soundtrack to the movie The Expendables 3 and for the trailer to the automotive show The Grand Tour.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Single Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[7]		 CAN
[8]		 US
[9]		 US
Alt.
[10]		 US
Main.
[11]		 US
Rock
[12]
"I'm Only Joking" 2011 — — — 11 28 24 Lunatic
"Come with Me Now" 94 7 31 1 14 2
"I Want to Know"[15] 2012 — — — 37 — —
"Escape"[16] — — — — — —
"Sex on the Radio"[17] — — — — — —
"Take It from Me" 2016 — — — 9 — 16 Egomaniac
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and directors
Title Director
"I'm Only Joking"
"Come With Me Now"
"Hey, I Don't Know"
"Escape"
"Traveling On"
"I Want to Know"
"Take It From Me"

References

  1. ↑ "Kongos Bio, History, Info on JamBase". Jambase.com. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Kongos comes home to Saheti". Saheti School, South Africa. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kongos Scores Fastest Top 10 Alternative Debut Single Since Lorde's 'Royals'". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 "KONGOS". Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  5. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333784/soundtrack
  6. ↑ "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 January 2015" (PDF) (1298). Pandora Archive. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Kongos – Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Kongos – Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Kongos – Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Kongos — Chart History: Billboard Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Kongos – Chart History: Rock Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Canadian digital download certifications – Kongos – Come With Me Now". Music Canada.
  14. ↑ http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22kongos%22
  15. ↑ "I Want To Know – Single by KONGOS". iTunes Store. South Africa: Apple. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Escape – Single by KONGOS". iTunes Store. South Africa: Apple. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Sex on the Radio – Single by KONGOS". iTunes Store. South Africa: Apple. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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