MAGIC! lives up to their name

MAGIC! frontman Nasri Atweh leads band to the top of the charts

MAGIC! isn’t all talk. The pop reggae troupe walks the walk and strutted all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their debut single, the slamming summer hit “Rude.”

There they stood, rock steady for 6 consecutive weeks, becoming the first Canadian band to land the No.1 position in over a decade.

Across the pond, “Rude” jumped 48 spots to the top of the UK Singles Chart, dethroning Cheryl Cole’s “Crazy Stupid Love,” and made it to No. 1 in 5 other countries including Australia and New Zealand.

Back in North America MAGIC!’s accolades are building up with hefty honors including an American Music Award nomination, three Teen Choice Award nods and one MuchMusic Video Award nom.

The Canadians also just picked up a leading 5 JUNO nominations including Single of the Year and Breakthrough Group of the Year.

MAGIC!’s ride to the summit was a sure thing with a creative force like frontman Nasri Atweh leading the band into familiar territory.

As a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, Nasri has reigned these parts before with his name on chart topping tracks including Justin Bieber’s singles “Never Say Never” and “As Long As You Love Me,” Pitbull and Christina Aguilera’s “Feel This Moment” and the New Kids on the Block’s “Summertime.”

Superstars David Guetta, Chris Brown, Cody Simpson and Jason Derulo are also on the professional hit-maker’s roster.

“I have worked with a lot of artists,” Nasri says. “I have some good memories,” favoring his unforgettable collaboration with Shakira.

Nasri lent the Columbian celeb a hand with her latest self-titled album and brought the rest of the band in for the track “Cut Me Deep.”

“That was pretty amazing,” he remembers. “Shakira is a legend and I love artists who have a really good relationship with their fans, artists who give back. Being in a band now, I understand it. Shakira is amazing, fans love her. Her hips don’t lie.”

“Cut Me Deep” was initially meant to be another solid tune on MAGIC!’s full length debut Don’t Kill the Magic, but once Shakira set her ears on the tune, it was love at first listen, and she just had to have it.

It’s all good though, the boys didn’t mind parting with the song. Only so many hits can be packed into one album anyway, and this one is busting at the seams.

Delivering three hit singles so far, Don’t Kill the Magic debuted at No.5 on the Canadian Album Charts and at No.6 on the Billboard 200, and as the world gets familiar with the album in its entirety, Nasri promises things are going to heat up.

“It’s very exciting. When you go to our show, people are going to know the songs, people are going to know more than ‘Rude.’ That is the biggest thing we’ve been waiting for. Now we get to have fun with every song on a different level.”

Nominated for 5 JUNO Awards, MAGIC! is set to perform at the 44th annual event with Kiesza, Hedley and Shawn Mendes. The 2015 JUNO Awards air Sunday, March 15 on CTV.

Follow MAGIC! on twitter and facebook, and if you haven’t picked up their debut album, Don’t Kill the Magic, get it on iTunes now.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Jan 28 2015. Filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.