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.
“Dani and I hangin’ at the DNC with the Emhoffs — and watching him dance on and off the stage while ‘You Get What You Give’ blasted around the world when Doug addressed America takes the cake!” continues Alexander.
New Radicals burned bright and fast in the late ’90s, releasing their sole album “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too” in 1998. The record spawned the hit “You Get What You Give,” which continued to have a consistent presence in pop culture in the decades that followed.
Though the band broke up just a year after the release of their debut, Alexander and Brisebois continued on with prolific songwriting careers. Alexander has penned hits including Santana and Michelle Branch’s “The Game of Love” and Ronan Keating’s “Life Is a Rollercoaster.” Meanwhile, Brisebois has written or co-written hits including Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine” and “Unwritten,” the latter of which had its own “Murder”-like resurgence earlier this year following its inclusion in the film “Anyone But You.”
Apart from songwriting, Alexander has been a vocal political activist and reunited the group for President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. “We know the drill, sometimes you have to sell your soul to break a hit — but we’ll save that for another day. Danielle and I were talking to Prince’s friend Van Jones at the DNC yesterday amazed 2024 is officially 40 years since the summer of ‘Purple Rain’!” says Alexander. “So I owe it to my 14-year-old self, that rode my bike into the inner city to watch it the day it came out, to share this music during Kamala Harris’ historic week! I’m also proud that a woman from Kalamazoo who’s a fellow Michigander might soon have the power to make this country and planet a better place. Prince would be proud, too. So this one’s for you Kamala and Doug… and Prince!”