Hanson

American pop rock band Hanson was formed by three brothers: Isaac, Taylor and Zac. Young musicians sang a cappella and they even recorded such songs as Rockin' Robin, Splish Splash, Johnny B. Goode and their own compositions. The brothers’ first performance as the professional band took place in 1992 at the Mayfest Arts Festival in Tulsa. Initially Hanson brothers learned to play the piano, but later Isaac bought a second-hand guitar, Zac got an old set of drums, and Taylor became the keyboard player. Their band recorded two albums by themselves: Boomerang, which was released in 1995 and MMMBop, which appeared in 1996. Their second album contained the composition MMMBop, which was later included into the album Middle Of Nowhere. During some show the band attracted Steve Greenberg’s attention, and soon after that Hanson signed the contract with Mercury Records. The band’s third album Middle Of Nowhere was released in 1997 and became the musicians’ first studio work since the contract was signed.

Middle Of Nowhere was acclaimed by the critics, and they stated that Hanson was a good alternative to numerous post-grunge bands, which were so popular at that time. Hanson’s music was first of all sincere, and Middle Of Nowhere was so well received due to such songs as MMMBop, Where's the Love, I Will Come to You, Weird and Thinking of You. Worldwide more than 10 millions copies were sold, and in the US the album was certified 4 times platinum. By the end of the year Hanson released their Christmas album Snowed In, which had been recorded in London. Snowed In included traditional Christmas carols, such as Silent Night Medley, cover-versions of Christmas compositions of different musicians and songs written by the brothers. The sales of Hanson’s Christmas album were good, and later that record was certified platinum.

In 1988 Hanson were nominated for three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The same year the band started the Albertane Tour, where they recorded the material for their live album Live from Albertane, which was released in 1998. The fifth studio album was issued in 1998, however it had been recorded before Middle of Nowhere. That album includes the original version of MMMBop, which initially was the rock ballad. The album of 2000 This Time Around surprised the band’s fans, because its sound was much closer to rock. In 2004 Hanson released Underneath, which was recorded on their own independent record label. It was followed by The Walk (2007), and as the musicians stated, that album was really different from other works. First of all it was connected with brothers’ growing up and their changing world outlook.

The eight studio work titled Shout It Out was released in 2010. It was acclaimed by the critics and many musical experts noted that Shout It Out was one of the trio’s most ambitious project. There is no doubt that Shout It Out will be interesting for the band’s old fans and for those who are not familiar with their music yet.