With many modern pop groups assembled by talent show contests, teenage heart-throbs Why Don't We broke the trend by being united through social media in 2016 and were quickly being billed as the heirs to One Direction's boyband crown.
Each member had individually started out on their music careers in their own different ways, but it was Daniel Seavey who was best known, having made it to the final ten of TV show 'American Idol' in 2015 when he was only 15. Jonah Marais and Corbyn Besson also had large followings thanks to their performances on live streaming service YouNow, and Zach Herron and Jack Avery had both scored popular viral clips on YouTube, before they all met in person while performing at shows organised by social media companies. They all agreed to meet up in Los Angeles to further explore marketing and collaborative ideas, but when they began jamming together and exchanging harmonies, they asked themselves the question: "Why don't we form a band?". Within a year they had signed to Atlantic Records and released five EPs including 'Something Different', 'Why Don't We Just' and 'Invitation' and they reached a wider audience when social media star Logan Paul became a fan featuring them in his vlogs and directing their videos.
They released the track 'The Fall of Jake Paul' with Paul and made appearances on national and international TV shows, while singles 'These Girls' and 'Trust Fund Baby', written by Ed Sheeran, helped them notch up audio streams of more than 85 million. Their first sold-out North American headline tour followed in 2018, before their debut album '8 Letters'.
