New Radicals Release First Songs in 25 Years ‘in the Spirit of Artists Supporting Democracy’
variety.comSteven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Twenty-five years after they disbanded with only one album to their name, New Radicals have released their first new songs in support of democracy.
The group, which includes Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois, has released its own versions of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” and the Oscar-nominated “Lost Stars,” sung by Maroon 5’s Adam Levine as part of the 2014 film “Begin Again.” Both songs were written by Alexander, who composed the soundtrack for “Begin Again,” with Brisebois co-writing “Lost Stars.” “In the spirit of artists supporting democracy, and for our fans, my bandmate Danielle and I are soft-launching what was nearly New Radicals’ late ’90s debut single, ‘Murder on the Dancefloor,'” says Alexander in a statement to Variety. “Sophie’s ‘Saltburn’ version went Global 200 top 10 becoming one of 2024’s biggest viral hits.
And [we released] our version of ‘Lost Stars’ to celebrate the news Adam Levin’s friends, Train, are adapting our Oscar-nominated ‘Begin Again’ hit music and some of theirs for John Carney’s Broadway follow-up to ‘Once.'” Alexander also published an open letter to Doug Emhoff on Billboard in tandem with the songs, explaining that releasing them 25 years after dissolving the band was in an attempt to share his political stance and encourage other artists to vote.
Emhoff, who met with Alexander and Brisebois yesterday at the Democratic National Convention (pictured above), has used New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” as his walk-out song since 2020, including at the DNC.
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