The XX is an English indie pop band formed in 2005 in Wandsworth, London. The group released their debut album XX in August 2009. The album reached the top ten of 2009, peaking at number 1 on The Guardian's list and number 2 on the NME.
In 2010, the band won the Mercury Music Prize for their debut album. Their second album Coexist was released on September 10, 2012, and their third album I See You saw the world 5 years later on January 13, 2017.
2005-2009: Formation of The XX
All four members originally met at the Elliott School in London. By the way, this school is known for giving birth to many artists and musicians to the world, such as: Burial, Four Tet and Hot Chip.
Oliver Sim and Romy Madeley-Croft formed the band as a duo when they were about 15 years old. Guitarist Bariya Qureshi joined in 2005 and 1 year later Jamie Smith joined the band.
But after Baria left in 2009, only three members of the pop group remained - these are Oliver, Romy and Jamie.
Initial reports said it was due to exhaustion, but Oliver Sim later admitted that the guys in the band made the decision themselves:
“I would like to refute some rumors ... many say that she herself left the group. But it's not. It was a decision that me, Romy and Jamie made. And it had to happen."
Madeley-Croft later compared this "split" to a family divorce.
2009-2011: XX
The band's debut album XX was met with critical acclaim and received a "universal acclaim" rating on Metacritic.
The album also peaked at number one on the year's top bands list, placing at number 9 on Rolling Stone's list and number two on the NME.
On the 50 NME The Future 2009 list, The XX were ranked 6th, and in October 2009 they were named one of the top 10 MTV bands Iggyc Buzz (at the CMJ Music Marathon 2009).
Their album was released on UK label Young Turks on August 17, 2009. Despite the fact that the band had previously worked with producers such as Diplo and Kwes, they decided to take on their own production. According to the artists themselves, the XX album was recorded in a small garage that was part of the XL Recordings studio.
Why there? To maintain a special mood and state. This was often at night, which contributed to the album's low condition.
In August 2009, the band announced their live tour. The XX toured with artists such as Friendly Fires, The Big Pink and Micachu.
And their first success was thanks to the single Crystalised. It was he who hit iTunes (UK) as the "single of the week", starting from August 18, 2009.
Songs from the album have been featured extensively on television and in the media such as: 24/7, Person of Interest, NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games; also during episodes of Cold Case, Suits, Mercy, Next Top Model, Bedlam, Hung, 90210.
In addition, they were picked up for an E4 commercial in March 2010 for 90210, Misfits, Karl Lagerfeld Fall/Winter 2011 fashion show, Waterloo Road and in the movie I Am Number Four.
In January 2010, Matt Groening chose the band to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival, which he curated in Minehead, England.
In addition, the band has played five of North America's most popular music festivals: Coachella, Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.
In May 2010, the BBC used the Intro track to cover the 2010 general election. This led to the band playing the track on an episode of Newsnight.
The song was also sampled in Rihanna's Drunk on Love from her album Talk That Talk. It was also used for the final scene in the 2012 film Project X, and was also played before UEFA Euro 2012 matches at stadiums in Poland and Ukraine.
In September 2010, the band's debut album won the Barclaycard Mercury Prize, winning British and Irish Album of the Year.
Following the live broadcast of the ceremony, the album rose from number 16 to number 3 on the music charts, resulting in a more than doubling of sales.
XL's marketing campaign expanded dramatically following this substantial win. Due to the fame, XL Recordings said it released over 40 CDs in the days following the Mercury Awards.
XL Managing Director Ben Beardsworth explained, "With the Mercury win...things have improved dramatically and the band is going to reach more and more audiences with their music."
The band was nominated for "Best British Album", "Best British Breakthrough" and "Best British Group" at the 2011 BRIT Awards, held on 15 February 2011 at the O2 Arena in London. However, they did not win in any of the categories.
2011-2013: Enjoying festivals
In December 2011, Smith announced that he wanted to release a second album. “Most of the stuff I'm working on right now is The XX and we're just about to start recording. Hopefully make it in time for most of the festivals next year because it should be awesome!"
They came back from the tour, had a little rest and came off at the festivals. In an interview, they said: “When we were 17 years old, we missed this part of our life when everyone else was having fun. Club music definitely influenced our second album."
On June 1, 2012, it was announced that Coexist's second album would be released on September 10. On July 16, 2012, they released Angels as a single for Coexist. In August 2012, The XX was featured on the cover of #81 of The Fader magazine. Because of the hype, the album came out even before the deadline they set. Already on September 3, in collaboration with Internet Explorer The XX, a complete second album was released.
The band continued to perform at festivals. And on September 9, 2012, in front of the largest audience, the band announced that they were going to conduct their first North American tour, which will begin on October 5 in Vancouver (Canada).
In 2013, The XX held a series of three concerts in the style of the festival "Night + Day" in Berlin, Lisbon and London. Festivals have featured performances and sets of DJs created by the band, including Kindness and Mount Kimbie.
Each festival ended with a nightly concert by the group. Also that year, The XX were nominated for the Brit Awards for Best British Band, despite losing to Mumford & Sons.
In April 2013, The XX featured the song Together on the official soundtrack for The Great Gatsby. And Fox Broadcasting used their Intro track to cover the World Series.
2014-2017: Work on I See You
In May 2014, the band announced that they were going to work on a third studio album. They will be assisted in this by producer Rodaid McDonald at Marfa Recording Studios in Texas.
In May 2015, Jamie stated that the record would have a "completely different concept" than their previous albums. Throughout 2015, the band continued their work and planned that the album would be released by the end of 2016. But, in order for everything to be of high quality, they warned the public that they needed more time.
In November 2016, The XX announced that their third studio album, I See You, would be released on January 13, 2017. At the same time they released the single On Hold. On November 19, 2016, The XX appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. They performed the songs On Hold and I Dare You. On January 2, 2017, the band released the album's second lead single, Say Something Loving.
The group is also very popular to this day. Every year it does not decrease in ratings, but only increases.
