Boy
Boy in December 2016
Background information
Origin
GenresIndie music
Years active2007–present
LabelsGrönland Records
MembersValeska Steiner
Sonja Glass
Websitelistentoboy.com

Boy (stylized BOY) is a Swiss–German pop duo founded in 2007 by Swiss singer Valeska Steiner and German bassist Sonja Glass. The two met while at a pop-music course at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg in 2005.[1]

History

The duo met at a six-week music course, but then Steiner returned to Switzerland and the two kept in touch rather irregularly. Glass occasionally sent Steiner songs she had just written, but for some time the two did not know what to write about together. The band was formed two years later.[2] The band initially played concerts exclusively,[3] before being discovered by and signed to Herbert Grönemeyer's label, Grönland Records, in 2011.[4]

Their debut album, Mutual Friends was produced by Philipp Steinke and released in the autumn of 2011.[1] The band sings entirely in English in a style reminiscent of that of Leslie Feist.[3][5] In the UK, Mutual Friends was released by Decca in June 2012. The North American release of the album was in February 2013 on Nettwerk Records.[6] Boy won the Hamburg Musician Prize HANS in 2011 in the category Hamburgs Newcomer of the Year, and their album Mutual Friends won the 2012 European Border Breakers Award (EBBA).[7][8] The duo's song "Little Numbers" was also featured in the Lufthansa Airline's Business Class advertisement in mid-2012. In 2013, the song was at number 4 in the Japan Hot 100.[9]

The duo's first-ever US tour launched on March 1, 2013, with a sold-out performance at Joe's Pub, New York City. After a two-year hiatus to focus on songwriting, the duo released their second studio album We Were Here in 2015. Their first new music in many years, a song called "Fit Back In", was released in 2021.[10]

Band members

  • Valeska Steiner was born in Zurich on October 28, 1985.[11] She grew up surrounded by music, taking piano and singing lessons from the age of seven. She took part in several bands of various styles all through her adolescence, ranging from heavy metal to African music, though at the time she thought of music more as an important part of her life than as a career path. With Glass, she declared it was the first time she felt she was creating something, instead of copying from what already existed.[2]
  • Sonja Glass was born in Munich on November 30, 1976.[11] She played the cello until she was "about 18", when a guitar player saw her on the street with the cello after a concert and asked her to play in his band. There she met some girls who were bass players and became interested in the instrument. She did not finish high school,[12] but did study bass in the Netherlands, where she says it is easier to be accepted than in Germany.

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
SWI
[13]		 AUT
[14]		 BEL
(FL)
[15]		 BEL
(WA)
[16]		 FRA
[17]		 GER
[18]		 US Indie
[19]
Mutual Friends 664100121122933
We Were Here
  • Released: August 21, 2015
  • Format: CD, download, streaming
  • Label: Grönland Records
 35166——3—
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

EPs

List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Extended play details
Hungry Beast[21]
  • Released: 2010
  • Format: CD, download
  • Label: 380grad

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
SWI
[13]		 BEL
(FL)
[15]		 FRA
[17]		 GER
[18]		 JPN
[22]		 US
AAA
[23]
"Little Numbers" 2011 569113965417 Mutual Friends
"Oh Boy" 2012 ——————
"Waitress" —126————
"We Were Here" 2015 74——57—— We Were Here
"Hit My Heart" ——————
"Fear" 2016 ——————
"Fit Back In" 2021 —————— Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Promotional singles

List of promotional singles
Title Year Album
"Drive Darling"[24] 2012 Mutual Friends

References

  1. 1 2 Ganz, Markus (2011-10-12). "Der Musik die nötige Zeit lassen: Das Frauenduo Boy präsentiert sein Debütalbum in der Alten Börse - Pop und Jazz Nachrichten". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  2. 1 2 "BOY interview - Valeska & Sonja (part 1)". YouTube. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  3. 1 2 "Interview Valeska Steiner, Boy: über 1. Album, Herbert Grönemeyer – Schweizer Illustrierte" (in German). Schweizer-illustrierte.ch. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  4. ↑ "Grönland Records angelt sich Boy | Musikmarkt" (in German). Musikmarkt.de. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  5. ↑ "– Kein Kind von Traurigkeit | Musik | Züritipp Online". Zueritipp.ch. 2011-11-15. Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  6. ↑ "Boy To Release Mutual Friends In North America". Nettskinny.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  7. ↑ "Boy | European Border Breakers Awards". Archived from the original on 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  8. ↑ "Eurosonic Noorderslag: Act". Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  9. ↑ "Japan Hot 100 : Page 1". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  10. ↑ "BOY on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.
  11. 1 2 "Die Musikerinnen der Band "Boy" im Interview ohne Worte über ihren außergewöhnlichen Musikstil und Rituale vor Konzerten". Sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  12. ↑ "UNICUM trifft: BOY". UNICUM ABI. 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  13. 1 2 "Discography BOY". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Discographie BOY". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  15. 1 2 "Discografie BOY". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Discographie BOY". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Discographie BOY". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  18. 1 2 "BOY - Germany Albums". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  19. ↑ "BOY - Billboard Independent". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-27. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  20. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Archived from the original (To access, enter the search parameter Boy and select "Suchen") on November 24, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Hungry Beast". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  22. ↑ "BOY - Japan Hot 100". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  23. ↑ "BOY - US Triple A". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  24. ↑ "Drive Darling". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
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