New Music
New Music
New Music: Tones and I
Meet the Australian pop powerhouse unafraid to blend thoughtfulness with a healthy dose of fun.
Ticketmaster New Music is a carefully curated selection, showcasing artists we are expecting to make waves in the live music scene. Working closely with record labels, live event promoters and talent agents, our in-house experts handpick the most exciting emerging music.
Few have had a year quite like Toni Watson, the distinctively voiced Australian releasing atypical pop as Tones and I. At the very start of 2019, Tones (as she is known to her friends) opted to take her music career up a level, uploading debut single and empowering LGBT anthem Johnny Run Away to acclaimed Australian radio station triple j’s Unearthed service. Within a few days the track dominated radio waves down under, a feat she easily repeated with the insatiably catchy Dance Monkey.
Now, just over half a year later, Tones and I has released her debut The Kids Are Coming EP; a collection of six songs showcasing her pop-driven range and including the two tracks that have already propelled her to the top of countless viral charts. From the RnB-balladry of Colourblind to the understated proclamation of the title-track, it’s an immediate statement of things to come from an artist unafraid to blend thoughtfulness with a healthy dose of fun.
Showcasing her vocal prowess from an early age, Tones grew up playing the keyboard. Following a redundancy payout from a retail job, she went on to purchase a loop pedal and her characteristic sound began to take shape. From busking in Melbourne to a brief stint as a Byron Bay street performer, she was discovered by now-manager Jackson Walken-Brown. After seeing a video of Tones busking in the Australian surf-haven, Walken-Brown tracked her down and struck up a deal.
Subsequently, electronic-influenced party-pop powerhouse Dance Monkey climbed to the very top of the ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart, the first single by a native artist to do so this year. Featuring on Tones’ debut EP, the track has since been certified 2x Platinum, lighting up dancefloors across the globe with its huge hooks and its subtle melancholia.
With two sold out London headline shows on the horizon and a debut EP under her belt, Tones and I is perfectly poised to maintain the momentum of the last nine months, one which has seen her rapidly grow from busking to verging on pop superstardom.
More essential tracks
Johnny Run Away
Never Seen The Rain
The Kids Are Coming
For any current and future Tones and I live dates head to Ticketmaster.co.uk.
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