With a brand of 80s electro pop that speaks directly to today’s teens, Metro Station has catapulted from Internet sensation to Next Big Thing on the pop rock scene. Formed in Los Angeles in 2006, Metro Station is comprised of Trace Cyrus (vocals, guitar), Blake Healy (keyboards, synthesizer), Mason Musso (vocals, guitar), and Anthony Improgo (percussion). The band was helped along by some strong show biz connections; co-frontman Cyrus is the stepson of country star
Billy Ray Cyrus, and his half sister,
Miley Cyrus, plays the title character on Disney's
Hannah Montana.
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Similarly, Musso's younger brother plays the role of
Oliver Oken in Hannah Montana. The group released the teenage anthem, “Seventeen Forever,” on their MySpace Music website. Musso sang lead on the track. The group's popularity on MySpace Music grew, and the band eventually topped the MySpace Music Unsigned Band's charts. Metro Station was discovered by an intern working for Columbia Records' Walking Eye program, and the group were signed shortly thereafter to Red Ink. Metro Station released their self-titled debut studio album in September 2007, the album had two singles released, "Kelsey" and "
Control" both failed to chart, although with higher sales of the album both became more popular. It wasn't until mid-2008 when the release of the single "
Shake It" grabbed the band a significant amount of commercial exposure, peaking in the top-ten of three US charts and fulfilling their early promise.
Not yet twenty, the members of Metro Station have already worked with some illustrious talent. Warped Tour veterans
Motion City Soundtrack produced two tracks, “Kelsey” and “Comin’ Around” off their debut album, and the band worked on the remaining tracks with celebrated producers Sam Hollander and
Dave Katz (
Gym Class Heroes,
Boys Like Girls). They are also signed to Crush Management, following in the footsteps of bands like
Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco. The group has also toured with numerous bands such as
We The Kings, Boys Like Girls, Valencia, Cobra
Starship, and
Good Charlotte. “It’s been less than a year, so I can’t even wait to see where we are at a year from now,” says Trace on the band’s Web site. Metro Station fans can’t wait either.
