Okay, fine. The hotties on this list aren’t exactly bronzed beefcakes or bodacious babes. While my list may suffer from the absence of serious washboard abs and bombshell figures, it definitely is in no shortage of buzz-worthy talent. You probably won’t be hearing these hotties on 96.7 Kiss FM or see their names splattered across Top 40 charts, but that doesn’t mean their music is any less enjoyable. So rest assured, these musical hotties are making the music scene a more beautiful place.
Ernest Greene
Photo from Official Facebook page
I was on YouTube listening to some downbeat chillwave music while studying and one video kept popping up in the suggestions column. Intrigued by the video image and song title “Feel It All Around,” I clicked on it. What came out of the headphones really took me by surprise. The title “Feel It All Around” is so fitting because the song contains various layers of sounds that all mixes together creating this kind of feeling of drowning in dreamy synthpop goodness. Ernest, the guy behind Washed Out, is from Perry, Georgia and has been recording music for a while. According to Library Journal’s interview with Ernest, a blog in London called No Pain in Pop discovered Ernest’s music on MySpace and decided to approach him. This eventually spurred Washed Out’s debut EP Life of Leisure. In all the interviews I’ve watched and read, Ernest just seems like a really nice, modest, and laidback guy. As for the looks department, he shares a similar essence with Adam Brody yet mixed with a trace of youthful sweetness of someone like Justin Bieber. Ernest’s relaxed vibe, attractive face, and lovely “electro chillwave” music earns him a spot on this list.
Sameer Gadhia
Photo by Alexander Shahmiri
I was driving around during winter break and heard a song on 101X that caught my attention. The DJ didn’t announce the band, so when I got home I frantically Googled the bits and pieces of the lyrics I could remember. The song turned out to be “My Body” by Young the Giant (previously The Jakes). Sameer Gadhia is the frontman of Young the Giant and definitely a hottie to be shared. Young the Giant formed in 2004 in Irvine, California, and five talented and diverse guys currently make up the band. I initially wanted to put them under the alternative rock genre, but the more I listen to their music, the harder it gets for me to categorize them. However, there is no question that Young the Giant’s work is the kind of feel-good music that will make you want to sing along. To top it off, Sameer is one good-looking guy. Sameer’s dark hair, along with the soulful look he gets while singing, makes him quite irresistible. His warm, vibrant and rich voice is sure to melt some hearts.
Chris Chu
Photo by Waverly Rose
I don’t even know where to begin. Chris Chu is frontman of the morning benders and their most recent album, Big Echo, is one of my favorite 2010 albums. I’m just going to come out and say it: Chris Chu is one sexy man. My first taste of the morning benders was watching the Yours Truly session of their song “Excuses” (now with over 1,000,000 views) on YouTube. My discovery of the morning benders was probably at the most inopportune time because I just missed them at the South by South West Music Festival, and then found out I couldn’t make the Austin City limits Festival on the day they played. I mourned. The band started in Berkeley, California and its four members are: Chris, Jon (Chris’ brother), Tim and Julian. Ladies, don’t pack your bags and buy that ticket to California just yet because the band is now based in New York. However, these guys were all over the map in 2010—they toured in Europe, the U.S and even Australia. Since I see no signs of them stopping by in Austin anytime soon, I have been consoling myself by reading Chris’s twitter, watching interviews with Chris, and ogling at live performances of the band. Based on Chris’s tweets and the interviews, he seems like a very down-to-earth guy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how Chris enjoys pop music, has a thing for R. Kelly and is currently sporting hippo buttocks as his twitter background. I think we would be friends. Anyways, be sure to check out the morning benders and Big Echo, and it’s okay if you swoon after watching Chris and the rest of the dreamy morning benders perform live or on YouTube—it’s expected.
Alexis Krauss
Photo by Glynis Selina Arban
I thought it would be fun to throw in a foxy lady in this list of hotties, so here she is. Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells is definitely my latest girl crush. Alexis and Derek E. Miller make up the band Sleigh Bells and their music will certainly catch your attention. I think I will have to start limiting the amount of times I’m allowed to listen to their song “Infinity Guitars” because every time I hear it, I get the urge to throw on a leather jacket and set some trashcans on fire. Watch the music video—you’ll understand. According to Alexis’ interview with BlackBookMag, fate, Brazilian restaurant Miss Favela and artist M.I.A. are all key ingredients that helped launch Sleigh Bells. During a fateful day back in 2008, the two Sleigh Bell members met when Derek just happened to be the waiter for Alexis and her mother at Miss Favela. Shortly after, Sleigh Bells emerged. The band’s rise to fame was a rather quick one. They recorded a demo and started playing some small shows around New York, and soon after, M.I.A. discovered them and signed them to her label. Alexis has a rather interesting past. In her teenage years, she was in a girl band called Ruby Blue, but then she went on to become a fourth grade teacher in the Bronx. Now you can find her tearing up the stage with Derek. Watch out, because this sexy brunette with a pretty face, cool vibe and killer stage presence will most likely become your next big girl crush, as well.
Sources
Creative Loafing Atlanta
Maximum Fun
Library Journal
LA Music Blog
Stub Wire
Roadrunner Records
The Alternate Side
Tiny Mix Tapes
BlackBookMag
Video Sources
“Promo: At the Lake with Washed Out”
“Young the Giant – ‘I Got’ (Studio Session) LIVE”
“Playlist: Sleigh Bells”
“Amplified: Sleigh Bells”
“Washed Out – Feel it all around”
“Young the Giant – My Body”
“The Morning Benders – Excuses (Yours Truly session)”
“Sleigh Bells – Infinity Guitars”