Originally from Australia’s Mornington Peninsula, Tones And I journeyed to Byron Bay in early 2018 to take a chance at busking. On the first day she had crowds spilling onto the street, so Tones quit her retail job and decided to make Byron her new home where she lived out of her van for the year.
The genesis of her global smash “Dance Monkey” can be traced back to those performances. Born as a response to hecklers, the song poetically made history multiple times in the wake of its release. Capturing #1 in 30 countries around the world, Tones And I emerged as the most dominant artist ever in the history of the ARIA singles chart, spending a record breaking 24 weeks at #1. “Dance Monkey” became the most Shazamed single of all time, the most-streamed song ever by a female artist on Spotify, and the first Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit solely written by a woman since 2012. Clocking over 7 billion streams, it went quadruple-platinum in the US and garnered multiplatinum or diamond certifications in 15 other countries, going 11-times platinum in Australia. “Dance Monkey” featured on Tones And I’s RIAA gold certified debut EP The Kids Are Coming alongside standout single “Never Seen The Rain.” The collection earned her four major wins at Australia’s ARIA Awards including: “Breakthrough Artist,” “Best Female Artist,” “Best Pop Release,” and “Best Independent Release,” with Tones And I also winning the 2020 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) and “Song Of The Year” and “Breakthrough Songwriter” at the APRA Music Awards. Plus, she delivered performances around the globe on her sold-out world tour, while making appearances at international festivals as well on major network TV shows including: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Voice, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Today Show.
Everything set the stage for her 2021 full-length debut album, Welcome To The Madhouse. Tones And I preserved the integrity of her vision as the sole songwriter and co-producer on all 14 tracks, opening up about her journey thus far and beaming out a sweet homage to her late best friend T. She preceded the record with “Fly Away” before delivering an upbeat affirmation on the skyscraping single “Cloudy Day.” Welcome To The Madhouse is yet another step on her magical journey from the streets to the stratosphere.