Years & Years

Showcasing the melismatic vocals of singer/actor Olly Alexander, London's Years & Years fuse '80s-style ambient synth pop with funky electronic beats in an inventive blend. Accolades soon followed for the group's evocative, dancey, cross-pollinated sound, among them victory in the BBC's prestigious Sound of 2015 poll. Communion, their debut album, topped the U.K. chart that same year and featured the chart-topping single "Shine." The dystopian sophomore set Palo Santo from 2018 likewise entered the U.K. Top Ten. A U.K. dance hit arrived in 2021 with "Starstruck," setting the stage for Night Call in 2022.

Years & Years first assembled in London in 2010 after multi-instrumentalist/producers Michael Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen connected online in search of bandmates. Singer and actor Alexander joined the lineup once they overheard him singing in the shower at a friend's house. Initial attention came to the trio's keyboard- and electronics-based sound with the 2013 release of the single "Traps" on Kitsuné Music. February 2014 brought their second EP, Real, and after a series of strong live shows Years & Years revealed their signing to Polydor.

"Take Shelter," the first single on a major label, surfaced in August 2014, with a collaboration alongside the Magician on Sunlight arriving the next month and Desire following in November. Communion, their debut full-length, appeared in 2015 after Years & Years claimed the BBC Sound Of award; the warmly received album launched at number one in the U.K. and reached the Top 50 of the U.S. Billboard 200. Four BRIT Award nominations arrived the next year, along with a headline tour highlighted by a sold-out performance at London's Wembley Arena and the contribution of the single "Meteorite" to the Bridget Jones' Baby soundtrack.

Palo Santo, the second full-length, emerged in 2018 with production from Kid Harpoon, Greg Kurstin, GRADES, and additional contributors; the set contained the singles "Sanctify" and "If You're Over Me," climbed to number three in the U.K., and topped Billboard's U.S. Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

A 2019 collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys yielded the single "Dreamland." Years & Years shifted to a solo project by 2021 after Goldsworthy and Türkmen departed, coinciding with Alexander's prominent role in the Russell T. Davis drama It's a Sin. "Starstruck," the first single under Alexander's sole creative direction, surfaced that April and entered the Top 20 of Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, leading to the January 2022 arrival of a third album, Night Call. Galantis appeared on "Sweet Talker," while Clarence Coffee, Jr., Mark Ralph, Jesse Shatkin, and others supplied production or songwriting.