40 Fun Facts About PrettyMuch

Which British TV talent judge put PrettyMuch together in 2016 from five teenage solo hopefuls?

Simon Cowell sprang the audition on them: the five flew in for what they were told was a showcase and learned who was judging only when they walked in.

Which English singer-songwriter wrote PrettyMuch's breezy 2018 single Summer on You, produced by Steve Mac?

Ed Sheeran had made his own chart-topper Shape of You with the same producer a year earlier. PrettyMuch's song reached the top 50 at American pop radio.

Which single ended PrettyMuch's silent 2020, landing in January 2021 on the day a countdown on their website ran out?

Stars had been teased days earlier with cover art that hid its title behind asterisks, and it arrived with a music video.

Which 2017 PrettyMuch single shares its title with a 1982 Journey power ballad that peaked at number two?

Open Arms was the first song the five helped to write; they were so sure of it that they phoned their manager to come and hear it straight away.

PrettyMuch's Zion Kuwonu decided on a singing career after watching a concert film about which fellow Canadian?

Justin Bieber's Never Say Never did it, and he stayed the collaborator Kuwonu most wanted: the biggest name for people his age.

In which city did the five members of PrettyMuch share a house from 2016 while they trained and recorded?

Los Angeles was where the group went through a boot camp of vocal and dance training; the house they shared had three studios for writing on the spot.

Which Dance Moms alumna opened for PrettyMuch on the 2019 summer headlining tour that began in Dallas?

Kenzie Ziegler spent six years on the Lifetime series beside her older sister Maddie and had two pop albums out by the time of the tour.

Which singer took PrettyMuch on the road in 2018 as openers for the Roxy Tour, named after his rescued pit bull?

Khalid gave a dollar from every ticket to an animal shelter at each stop; the run had been announced after his five Grammy nominations.

Which former Fifth Harmony singer booked PrettyMuch to support her 2020 Romance Tour before the pandemic cancelled it?

Camila Cabello announced the line-up on 10 March 2020, days before concerts shut down; the tour was postponed and then scrapped altogether.

The video for PrettyMuch's debut single Would You Mind echoes 1990s clips by NSYNC and which other boy band?

Backstreet Boys' We've Got It Goin' On was a touchstone for the director, who said those late-1990s videos made him want to direct in the first place.

Before releasing any music, PrettyMuch won notice with a YouTube cover of which singer's hit Attention?

Charlie Puth's Attention sat beside a Michael Jackson cover and a choreography tribute to Bruno Mars in the clips that introduced the five.

Which Latin boy band, winners of the TV contest La Banda, joined PrettyMuch on the 2019 single Me Necesita?

CNCO and PrettyMuch share a founding father of sorts: La Banda was created by the same mogul who assembled the American group.

On which social platform did PrettyMuch first appear in February 2017 and announce their split in October 2023?

Instagram bookended the story: the five introduced themselves there with dance and song covers months before their first single came out.

Which Moroccan-born rapper guests on No More, the hip-hop-flavoured single PrettyMuch released late in 2017?

French Montana left Casablanca for the United States as a boy, speaking no English, and scored his diamond-selling hit Unforgettable months before this guest spot.

PrettyMuch sang No More in December 2017 at the final of which British talent show created by their own mentor?

The X Factor final of series 14 also had a set from Louis Tomlinson, a graduate of the show and a labelmate of the American group.

PrettyMuch's Austin Porter says which singer-songwriter's greatest hits shaped his taste growing up in North Carolina?

James Taylor grew up in the same state and wrote Carolina in My Mind about it; the band's shared tastes ran from him to Bob Marley.

Which Texas city, where his great-grandfather landed from Mexico, names a PrettyMuch song by Brandon Arreaga?

Corpus Christi is where his family's American story begins: his great-grandfather took the first flight out of Mexico after an affair with a married woman was discovered.

PrettyMuch performed in October 2017 on which MTV show, revived that week after nine years off the air?

Total Request Live had been off the air since 2008; PrettyMuch played it in the week of its return, days after releasing their second single, Teacher.

At which August 2017 ceremony on Fox did PrettyMuch give their first televised performance, weeks after debuting?

Teen Choice Awards night came three weeks after their first single. Labelmates were there too: Louis Tomlinson performed and Grace VanderWaal won Next Big Thing.

Zion Kuwonu, the only PrettyMuch member from outside the United States, grew up playing hockey in which city?

Ottawa is why the group was billed as American-Canadian; Kuwonu says he took up singing only after schoolfriends needed a voice for their song.

Which founding member left PrettyMuch in October 2022, leaving the others to continue as a four-piece?

Nick Mara left to take on new endeavours as an individual; the remaining four marked the day with H2L, their first independent release.

PrettyMuch's Edwin Honoret credits the mix of cultures in which borough, where he grew up, for his creativity?

The Bronx native, who is of Dominican descent, told Billboard days after the group's TV debut that the world was ready for another boy band.

Which K-pop group joined PrettyMuch on the 2019 track Up to You, praised for lyrics about consent?

NCT Dream began as the teenage unit of the wider NCT collective, whose members were meant to graduate on reaching adulthood.

Which rapper behind the 2018 hit Plug Walk features on PrettyMuch's Latin-flavoured single Solita?

Rich the Kid added his verse to a Latin-pop track that came out just before the band set off on their fall Funktion Tour.

Which rapper, who broke through on Polo G's Pop Out, joined PrettyMuch on the 2019 single Lying?

Lil Tjay's guest spot arrived mid-tour: the band were already performing Lying on the road that summer, and its video was shot against walls of graffiti.

PrettyMuch signed in December 2020 to which Warner label that had signed Madonna and the Ramones?

Sire Records' president said she was drawn to the members as quadruple threats: singers, songwriters, producers and performers.

What was the name of PrettyMuch's first label, the One Direction home that was wound down in 2020?

Syco Music closed after its founder and Sony ended an 11-year joint venture; Sony kept the roster, and the band spent a year without a record deal.

Which playfully named 2021 EP was PrettyMuch's first for a new label, with a deluxe edition a month later?

Smackables arrived as three tracks with three more a month later; asked what the made-up title means, the band told GQ it means nothing at all.

Which 2019 PrettyMuch single also gave its name to the six-track EP that followed a month later?

Phases was the EP the band largely co-wrote and co-produced themselves, working in the makeshift studios of their shared house.

One PrettyMuch member danced as a boy with ICONic Boyz, runners-up in 2011 on which TV competition?

America's Best Dance Crew put the New Jersey troupe second in its sixth season, when each week's routines were set to one artist's music.

PrettyMuch's Zion Kuwonu was noticed by Sony after posting song covers on which app to win popularity at school?

Vine got him noticed even though he had only about 150 followers at the time; the app's clips could run no longer than six seconds.

PrettyMuch were nominated in 2018 for the first Best Boy Band prize, won by BTS, at which ceremony?

iHeartRadio Music Awards voters chose the new category's winner on social media; Why Don't We and The Vamps were also on the shortlist.

Which Chicago R&B singer features on PrettyMuch's 2021 single I Don't Wanna Leave?

Jeremih took his debut single Birthday Sex to number four on the Hot 100 in 2009, when no member of PrettyMuch had yet turned twelve.

PrettyMuch's INTL:EP track The Weekend features Luísa Sonza, a pop singer from which country?

Brazil was one of four markets the EP reached for: each track paired the band with an act from a different country, among them the Philippines and South Korea.

Which song did Brandon Arreaga write and produce entirely by himself for PrettyMuch's second EP in 2019?

Gone 2 Long came out four days before the EP; Arreaga had been building his own bedroom studio since he was 13.

Which British director of Calvin Harris and Selena Gomez videos shot PrettyMuch's Would You Mind clip?

Emil Nava spent days with the five before filming, and when their people carrier got stuck on a Malibu canyon road all six got out to push.

Which hitmaker for One Direction and Ariana Grande co-wrote PrettyMuch's debut single Would You Mind?

Savan Kotecha wanted grooves that were not on the radio: a throwback 1990s sound, he said, feels fresh to kids and familiar to their parents.

Which American label, home to Beyoncé and Billy Joel, backed PrettyMuch's 2017 launch alongside their British imprint?

Columbia Records saw the gamble pay off quickly: the debut single reached the top ten of Spotify's Viral 50 both in the US and worldwide.

Which Bob Marley anthem shares its title with the solo pop album PrettyMuch's Austin Porter released in 2013?

One Love came out when Porter was a teenager in Charlotte, years before the audition; he also made a rap EP that was never released.

Which Lion King character shares a name with the dog PrettyMuch's Zion Kuwonu says is always by his side?

Simba is the company he says he keeps whenever he isn't making music; his own tastes run to PartyNextDoor and classic Michael Jackson.