Oh Wonder

Oh Wonder
Oh Wonder performing at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, 2016
Background information
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genres	Indie pop alternative R&B electropop synthpop
Years active	2014–present
Labels	Caroline International[1] Island Dew Process Republic
Website	ohwondermusic.com
Members	Josephine Vander Gucht Anthony West

Oh Wonder are an English, London-based alt-pop duo consisting of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht. Since releasing their debut album, they have seen international success with their alt-pop singles. Oh Wonder recorded and released one song a month for a year, starting in September 2014.^[2] All of the songs were released together as a self-titled debut album on 4 September 2015.^[3] On 14 July 2017, the duo released their second album, Ultralife. On 12 February 2020, they released their third album, No One Else Can Wear Your Crown. All three albums were written, recorded, produced, and mixed by the duo and have seen cross-platform success.

The band played sold-out shows in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles one week after their debut album release, which marked the beginning of the their touring career. They have since played multiple headline shows and festivals in numerous countries.^[4]

History[]

Formation and early years[]

Before Oh Wonder was formed, Vander Gucht was a solo artist, first going by her own name and later under the alias LAYLA. Anthony West was originally part of the groups Tonight Is Goodbye, Futures, and We the Wild.^[5] The two first met in High Wycombe on 21 March 2010, when West was in the audience at one of Vander Gucht's solo gigs. A year later, Vander Gucht attended one of West's gigs, talked with him, and they began writing songs and making music together.

The duo released their first two songs under the name Wonder Wonder but changed it to Oh Wonder when they learned of another band with a similar name.^[6]

2014–2016: Oh Wonder[]

Oh Wonder had an unorthodox approach to releasing their eponymous debut album, Oh Wonder. Over the course of a year, the duo released one new single each month, beginning 1 September 2014,^[7] having written, produced, and mixed each song in their home studio in London.^[8] These monthly installations culminated in the 2015 release of that first album, which also included two previously unreleased songs. The record reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart, number 16 on the Canadian Albums Chart,^{[citation needed]} and number 80 on the US Billboard 200.^[9][10]

Oh Wonder has sold over one million copies worldwide (the first-ever album to do so on an independent label) and has been certified Gold in the UK, Canada, Singapore, China, Taiwan, and Denmark, and Platinum in Russia and the Philippines.^{[citation needed]}

Oh Wonder gave their debut live performance for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studios, after receiving avid support from BBC Introducing and DJs Huw Stephens and Greg James.^[11] The band's first TV performance was on Conan, which aired in the US on 20 January 2016. They performed their single "Lose It".^[12]

Since their debut album release, Oh Wonder has toured internationally in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Russia, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Their performance in Manila was their first show in Asia.^[13] They also toured as the opening act on the final installment of the Badlands Tour with Halsey from 21 July to 12 August 2016.^[14] Their 2016 debut festival appearances included Bonnaroo,^[15] Firefly,^[16] and Lollapalooza^[17] music festivals in the United States, in addition to Live Out in Monterrey, WayHome Festival in Oro-Medonte, Canada, and Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Ireland.^[18]

2016–2018: Ultralife[]

On 30 March 2017, Oh Wonder announced that they'd finished their second studio album, to be titled Ultralife. The record's lead track, "Ultralife", was released the day after. As with their previous album, the group released new singles every two weeks in the run-up to the album's publication.

The duo embarked on the Ultralife World Tour in 2017, which saw them play a long run of headline shows in 34 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. They also played three shows with Beck on his 2018 North America Tour.^{[citation needed]}

2019–present: No One Else Can Wear Your Crown[]

On 5 September 2019, Oh Wonder released "Hallelujah", the first single from their upcoming album, followed by "Better Now" on 25 October and "I Wish I Never Met You" on 14 November. The same day, they announced via Twitter that the album, titled No One Else Can Wear Your Crown,^[19] would be released on 7 November. This was followed by the singles "This Christmas", "Happy", and "In and Out of Love". As part of the press coverage around their third album, Vander Gucht and Westand revealed they were in a relationship and had been for the past seven years.^[20]

The pair were to embark on a tour to support No One Else Can Wear Your Crown throughout Europe and North America in March 2020; however, the latter part of the tour, including the entirety of the North American segment, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[21]

Whilst subject to the 2020 UK "stay at home" restrictions related to the novel coronavirus, Oh Wonder released a series of new tracks on an EP titled Home Tapes.^[22][23][24]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

EP[]

• Home Tapes (2020)

Singles[]

As lead artist[]

As featured artist[]

Featured appearances[]

Songwriting and production credits[]

Title	Year	Artist	Album	Contributed Member(s)	Songwriter	Producer
						Primary	Secondary	Additional	Vocal
"Fly"	2015	Meadowlark	Postcards	Anthony West		Y
"Wide Eyes"						Y
"Hello Hello"	2016	Lewis Watson	Midnight	Anthony West Josephine Vander Gucht	Y	Y
"Deep the Water"					Y	Y
"Forever"					Y	Y
"Give Me Life"					Y	Y
"Slumber"					Y	Y
"Slow Fade"	2019	Ruth B	TBA		Y	Y
"Personal Best"		Maisie Peters	It's Your Bed Babe, It's Your Funeral EP		Y	Y
"Nothing Like You" (with Droeloe featuring Hana)		Gryffin	Gravity		Y

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oh Wonder.

• Official website