The Lonely Island

The Lonely Island first gained notice as a comedic threesome responsible for multiple “digital shorts” on Saturday Night Live, three of whose writers—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone—made up the act. Samberg encountered Schaffer and Taccone during junior high in Berkeley, California. Once high school ended, the three pursued separate routes until they regrouped in 2001, launched the Lonely Island, and began producing sitcoms and sketch programs in pursuit of a network commitment. Although that deal never materialized, their collaboration with Channel 101 markedly increased their visibility. A mock hip-hop effort called Incredibad came next, followed by a Fox sketch series titled Awesometown that stalled after the pilot.

Hired onto SNL, the group saw their 2005 short “Lazy Sunday,” performed by Samberg and cast member Chris Parnell, ignite an online sensation that popularized the line “Mr. Pibb and Red Vines = Crazy Delicious.” One year later they released the similarly viral “Dick in a Box” with Justin Timberlake. That same year they achieved moderate box-office results with the feature Hot Rod. Shifting toward Euro-dance textures, they unveiled the 2008 short “Jizz in My Pants,” offered as a digital single to promote their debut album. Issued in 2009 and also titled Incredibad, the record featured Timberlake, Norah Jones, and T-Pain. Timberlake rejoined for the follow-up Turtleneck & Chain, which also included Beck, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, and power-ballad specialist Michael Bolton.

Their third project, The Wack Album, arrived in 2013 with guest spots from Too $hort, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga. That year Samberg joined the cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, while the trio teamed with Tegan and Sara for 2014’s “Everything Is Awesome,” the Lego Movie theme produced by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh. In 2016 they wrote, directed, starred in, and released the mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, produced by Judd Apatow and accompanied by a soundtrack containing “I’m So Humble” with Adam Levine and “Turn Up the Beef” with Emma Stone.