MKTO
Feb 7, 2013

You may not have heard of MKTO yet, but get ready: 2013 may just be the year "Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts" rule the airwaves.The group, comprised of real-life best friends Tony Oller, 21, and Malcolm Kelley, 20, just debuted a video for its single "Thank You" on VEVO. And it's a true pop anthem. "Don't tell us how to live our lives," the duo sings. "This world is too damn jaded. We'll be fine. Thank you for nothing because there's nothing left to lose."
"We wanted to have a song that described our views of our generation," Oller has said.
"And to describe how we feel about being in the circumstances we are in, thanks to previous generations making mistakes. It's about the world we are living in. By that, I mean, the situations us young folks are in due to some of our elders' decisions," Kelley added. "We have the power to take things into our own hands nowadays. Following your dreams, working at it, and education are key."
But MKTO's "Thank You" is more than just another song about teenage angst - it's an anthem for underdogs, something both Oller and Kelley experienced in their careers.
"I always felt like the underdog," said Oller. "Especially in school, but being the underdog is a good thing because you [have] more to prove."
Oller and Kelley met while starring on the TeenNick series Gigantic. The two starting making music together and posting videos to YouTube before teaming up with songwriters Evan Bogart and Eman (Emanuel Kiriakou) to collaborate on a pop/R&B direction.
With their musical influences ranging from Gavin DeGraw to Kendrick Lamar, MKTO's full-length album is sure to be a genre-bending pop record. "We wanted to do something nobody is doing," said Oller. "A mixture of upbeat and slow tunes, but everything has that MKTO twist."