Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the acronym PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 912 million YouTube views and 3.2 million subscribers.
Each week, Postmodern Jukebox puts out a new video on YouTube. Although originally most were filmed casually in Bradlee's living room, sets became more elaborate over time. The band has covered songs by artists ranging from Lady Gaga and The Strokes to Katy Perry and the White Stripes. Since their beginnings as a small group of friends making music in a basement in Queens, New York, Postmodern Jukebox has gone on to feature 70 different performers and tour five continents.
With over 1 million views in its first week, and 4 million in its first year, Robyn Adele Anderson's cover of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis', "Thrift Shop" (2012) was Postmodern Jukebox's first viral music video. The breakout track was included on Introducing Postmodern Jukebox (2013) and eventually found its way to a #8 position on Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart. This success was followed by her cover of Miley Cyrus’, “We Can't Stop” in 2013, landing the band a performance spot on Good Morning America (ABC) in September.
Ariana Savalas and Sarah Reich perform "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco
In late 2013, Postmodern Jukebox was invited into the New York City offices of Cosmopolitan magazine to film a year-end tribute to 2013, covering the year's hit songs with arrangements transitioning through various genres and time periods. The "Just Another Day at the Office" mashup features: Robyn Adele Anderson singing “Blurred Lines”, Cristina Gatti singing "Holy Grail", Anderson and the Tee Tones singing “We Can't Stop”, Karen Marie singing "Roar", Ashley Stroud singing "Royals" and Andromeda Turre singing "What Does The Fox Say?". The production was completed in a single take, and a companion behind-the-scenes video was also produced.
In 2014, guest artist Kate Davis performed a cover of Meghan Trainor's, "All About That Bass" (2014), in Scott Bradlee's living room after three hours of practice. Davis performs and solos on the upright bass while singing the song and recalls the occasion, "I knew the song, probably could have done it on the fly. Maybe that's why it's so funny. I remember thinking it was so funny at the time I was going to crack up, maybe five times." The 1940s arrangement and piano accompaniment is by Bradlee with Dave Tedeschi on drums. The single was a success, catching the attention of Time magazine, Billboard magazine, the Huffington Post and PBS NewsHour. As of February 2017, the music video has over 16,570,000 YouTube views, and the song is track 11 on PMJ's Historical Misappropriation (2014) album.
BuzzFeed featured a doo-wop cover of "Timber," with Robyn Adele Anderson and The Tee Tones fronting, in February 2014. The group's cover of Radiohead’s seminal ‘90s hit “Creep,” performed by Haley Reinhart, was called a “stunning listen” by the Los Angeles Times in April 2015. As of November 2017 the video had over 39 million views, and was their most viewed video.
In 2015, Broadway actress Shoshana Bean became active with the group as a guest artist when Bradlee moved to Los Angeles. Broadway World raved about Bean's performance of Sia's, "Chandelier," at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and Billboard magazine did a feature story on her Motown makeover of Justin Bieber's "Sorry." Bean joined the Postmodern Jukebox 2016 spring European tour at its midway point. Sara Niemietz first performed with the cast in August 2015, covering the Talking Heads', "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (1983), PMJ's rendition of "Hey Ya!" (2003) by Outkast, a Dixieland arrangement of Justin Bieber’s "Love Yourself" (2015), and a club-jazz version of the "Pokémon Theme." Niemietz joined the band's Northeastern leg of its 2015 U.S. tour and the entire 2016 European tour. MTV U.K. caught up with the show in London and spotlighted a big band cover version of Elle King's "Ex's & Oh's" (2014) featuring Niemietz on vocals and Sarah Reich tap dancing.
In early February 2016, Postmodern Jukebox covered the late David Bowie’s classic song "Heroes" in honor of World Cancer Day – featuring vocals by Nicole Atkins. The track was sold on iTunes to earn money for the Cancer Research Institute. In 2016, Heineken announced their global partnership with Formula One racing management and in September released its first "If You Drive, Never Drink" campaign commercial featuring Sir Jackie Stewart (the "Flying Scot”) with PMJ’s cover of “Heroes” as the soundtrack. Around the same time, PMJ launched a program called "Reboxed," consisting of new versions of songs that they'd already covered. The first Reboxed song was Niemietz (and the Sole Sisters) singing "Bad Romance" which had previously been sung by Ariana Savalas (feat. Sarah Reich tap dancing).[43] Adweek went on to feature Bradlee as one of "20 Content Creators Who Are
Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the acronym PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 912 million YouTube views and 3.2 million subscribers.
Each week, Postmodern Jukebox puts out a new video on YouTube. Although originally most were filmed casually in Bradlee's living room, sets became more elaborate over time. The band has covered songs by artists ranging from Lady Gaga and The Strokes to Katy Perry and the White Stripes. Since their beginnings as a small group of friends making music in a basement in Queens, New York, Postmodern Jukebox has gone on to feature 70 different performers and tour five continents.
With over 1 million views in its first week, and 4 million in its first year, Robyn Adele Anderson's cover of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis', "Thrift Shop" (2012) was Postmodern Jukebox's first viral music video. The breakout track was included on Introducing Postmodern Jukebox (2013) and eventually found its way to a #8 position on Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart. This success was followed by her cover of Miley Cyrus’, “We Can't Stop” in 2013, landing the band a performance spot on Good Morning America (ABC) in September.
Ariana Savalas and Sarah Reich perform "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco
In late 2013, Postmodern Jukebox was invited into the New York City offices of Cosmopolitan magazine to film a year-end tribute to 2013, covering the year's hit songs with arrangements transitioning through various genres and time periods. The "Just Another Day at the Office" mashup features: Robyn Adele Anderson singing “Blurred Lines”, Cristina Gatti singing "Holy Grail", Anderson and the Tee Tones singing “We Can't Stop”, Karen Marie singing "Roar", Ashley Stroud singing "Royals" and Andromeda Turre singing "What Does The Fox Say?". The production was completed in a single take, and a companion behind-the-scenes video was also produced.
In 2014, guest artist Kate Davis performed a cover of Meghan Trainor's, "All About That Bass" (2014), in Scott Bradlee's living room after three hours of practice. Davis performs and solos on the upright bass while singing the song and recalls the occasion, "I knew the song, probably could have done it on the fly. Maybe that's why it's so funny. I remember thinking it was so funny at the time I was going to crack up, maybe five times." The 1940s arrangement and piano accompaniment is by Bradlee with Dave Tedeschi on drums. The single was a success, catching the attention of Time magazine, Billboard magazine, the Huffington Post and PBS NewsHour. As of February 2017, the music video has over 16,570,000 YouTube views, and the song is track 11 on PMJ's Historical Misappropriation (2014) album.
BuzzFeed featured a doo-wop cover of "Timber," with Robyn Adele Anderson and The Tee Tones fronting, in February 2014. The group's cover of Radiohead’s seminal ‘90s hit “Creep,” performed by Haley Reinhart, was called a “stunning listen” by the Los Angeles Times in April 2015. As of November 2017 the video had over 39 million views, and was their most viewed video.
In 2015, Broadway actress Shoshana Bean became active with the group as a guest artist when Bradlee moved to Los Angeles. Broadway World raved about Bean's performance of Sia's, "Chandelier," at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and Billboard magazine did a feature story on her Motown makeover of Justin Bieber's "Sorry." Bean joined the Postmodern Jukebox 2016 spring European tour at its midway point. Sara Niemietz first performed with the cast in August 2015, covering the Talking Heads', "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (1983), PMJ's rendition of "Hey Ya!" (2003) by Outkast, a Dixieland arrangement of Justin Bieber’s "Love Yourself" (2015), and a club-jazz version of the "Pokémon Theme." Niemietz joined the band's Northeastern leg of its 2015 U.S. tour and the entire 2016 European tour. MTV U.K. caught up with the show in London and spotlighted a big band cover version of Elle King's "Ex's & Oh's" (2014) featuring Niemietz on vocals and Sarah Reich tap dancing.
In early February 2016, Postmodern Jukebox covered the late David Bowie’s classic song "Heroes" in honor of World Cancer Day – featuring vocals by Nicole Atkins. The track was sold on iTunes to earn money for the Cancer Research Institute. In 2016, Heineken announced their global partnership with Formula One racing management and in September released its first "If You Drive, Never Drink" campaign commercial featuring Sir Jackie Stewart (the "Flying Scot”) with PMJ’s cover of “Heroes” as the soundtrack. Around the same time, PMJ launched a program called "Reboxed," consisting of new versions of songs that they'd already covered. The first Reboxed song was Niemietz (and the Sole Sisters) singing "Bad Romance" which had previously been sung by Ariana Savalas (feat. Sarah Reich tap dancing).[43] Adweek went on to feature Bradlee as one of "20 Content Creators Who Are