Nicholas Furlong (musician)
Nicholas Furlong is a multi-platinum, award-winning American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His work is noted to cross several musical genres, ranging from dance and pop to rock and hip-hop. Furlong has had many chart successes, both in America and internationally. He is best known for writing and performing vocals on Avicii's "The Nights".
Furlong has worked with an eclectic array of acts including WALK THE MOON, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ryan Tedder, Skylar Grey, Kygo, Steve Aoki, Diplo, blink-182, All Time Low, The Front Bottoms, Logan Henderson, 311, Good Charlotte, Papa Roach, The Fever 333, Vic Mensa, Machine Gun Kelly, Goody Grace, Onyx, and Waka Flocka Flame.
Early life
Furlong was born in Sacramento, California to his mother Jennifer and father Michael Furlong, and raised in Carson City, Nevada. He is of English and Irish descent. A self-taught musician, he began writing and producing music at the age of sixteen. While still a junior in high school, he began recording his own songs and sharing them on various music sites, before being discovered by a music director at Midway Games and offered an opportunity to write music for video games. Furlong contributed to various game soundtracks between the years of 2004–2005. At the age of twenty-one he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a songwriter and producer.Career
2010–2013: Career breakthrough
Furlong had his first commercial success in 2010 as a co-writer of the Big Time Rush and Jordin Sparks' duet, "Count On You". The song was featured on the band's debut album BTR, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. Shortly after, Furlong signed a publishing deal with Ryan Tedder, where he worked with artists like Colbie Caillat, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis, and The Wanted. Furlong worked again with Big Time Rush in 2011, when he co-wrote "Time of Our Life" for their second album Elevate. The band shot a live music video for the song during the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, which premiered after the show.In 2012, Furlong began transitioning into electronic music, after co-writing a song for Diplo's Express Yourself EP. "I'd always been a fan of dance music in general, but working on Diplo's project gave me a completely different perspective of the genre as a whole." Later that year, Furlong began collaborating with Steve Aoki, co-writing the single "Singularity." They would collaborate again in 2013, when Furlong wrote and featured as a vocalist on the single "Bring You To Life ", which peaked at number forty-four on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Furlong performed the single alongside Aoki at his 2013 concert in Los Angeles at the Shrine Exposition Hall, during which two Guinness World Records were set for "the longest scream by a crowd" and "most people simultaneously lighting glow sticks."
2014–2015: Commercial recognition
Furlong worked on several songs with pop punk band 5 Seconds of Summer for their debut self-titled album in 2014, including "Everything I Didn't Say," "Social Casualty," and "Independence Day." Despite not being released as a single, "Everything I Didn't Say" reached number twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also featured on the band's live album LiveSOS. Later that year, Furlong worked with post-hardcore band Sleeping With Sirens co-writing "Kick Me," the first single off of their fourth studio album Madness. The single peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. "Kick Me" won an award for song of the year at the 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards.In 2015, Furlong began working with All Time Low on their sixth studio album, Future Hearts, co-writing "Runaways" and "Don't You Go." The album was the highest selling album worldwide its first week out, making it the band's highest debut ever. Later that year, Furlong co-wrote and co-produced "Game On," a single by Waka Flocka Flame featuring Good Charlotte, which served as the theme song of the Adam Sandler film, Pixels. Pixels was released in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on July 24, 2015. Furlong was also a co-writer on the Good Charlotte single, "Makeshift Love," which debuted at number nine on the Billboard Rock Charts. Variance Magazine claimed that 2015 was a "pivotal year" for the songwriter and producer.
Avicii single: "The Nights"
In addition to co-writing, Furlong was also the vocalist of Avicii's single "The Nights". The single premiered on the soundtrack of FIFA 15 on September 23, 2014. It was released on December 1, 2014 on The Days / Nights EP, alongside Avicii's prior single "The Days", and as a single in the UK on January 11, 2015. "The Nights" peaked at number one on the UK Dance Chart, number six on the UK Singles Chart, and number ten on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. It has accumulated more than five-hundred million streams on Spotify. Furlong was also responsible for the idea of using friend Rory Kramer's footage as the official music video, which has since surpassed five-hundred million views. "The Nights" achieved gold and platinum certifications in various countries including the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and Australia,2016–Current: AttaBoy Music
In 2016, Furlong was brought on as executive producer, co-producer, and a songwriter for Papa Roach's ninth studio album, Crooked Teeth. The first single, titled "Help," was released February 17, 2017, and spent six consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard's Top Mainstream Rock Singles chart, also making it the band's third number one Rock single in their career. The album's second single "American Dreams" reached number three on the charts, making it the album's second top ten Rock single. Furlong simultaneously assisted in the development of a solo artist project with Logan Henderson. In addition to playing the role of executive producer, he produced/co-produced and co-wrote every song. Henderson's debut single "Sleepwalker" was released January 27, 2017 via Henderson's own imprint, Mystic Rabbit Records. Henderson released his second single "Bite My Tongue" on September 15. Furlong co-produced and co-wrote several songs with All Time Low for their album Last Young Renegade, including the album's first single "Dirty Laundry," which reached No. 1 on the UK Rock Singles chart. Furlong is also credited as a co-writer on "Good Old Days" for blink-182's deluxe edition of their Grammy nominated album, California. On October 13, 2017, The Front Bottoms released Going Grey, produced and executive produced by Furlong.Furlong worked with the politically charged rap rock trio The Fever 333 in 2018, writing singles "Made An America", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rock performance, and "Burn It", which won best song at the 2019 Kerrang! Awards. He also contributed as a songwriter to Logan Henderson's single "Pull Me Deep," which was the artist's first single to debut on the Billboard Top 40 chart. In 2019 Furlong was credited as a co-writer on several songs from 311's album Voyager.
In 2020, Furlong once again displayed his talent for blending genres, producing and co-writing "Hanging with Ghosts" for hip hop artist Yung Pinch, which features Good Charlotte and Goody Grace. In addition, he also is credited for producing and co-writing the single "Love and Fear" by Felly. Furlong recently launched his own joint venture publishing company AttaBoy Music with Reach Global Publishing. Furlong also signed a record deal with Fueled By Ramen. He is currently writing & producing music for a solo project.
Discography
Singles as Featured Vocalist
Songwriting and Production credits
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Title | Category | Result |
| 2019 | Kerrang! Awards | "Burn It" | Best Song | |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | "Made An America" | Best Rock Performance | |
| 2018 | iHeartRadio Music Awards | "Help" | Rock Song of the Year | |
| 2017 | Loudwire Music Awards | Crooked Teeth | Hard Rock Album of the Year | |
| 2015 | Alternative Press Music Awards | "Kick Me" | Song of the Year |