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Vampire Weekend

Data updated on 2024-12-25 11:38:14 UTC
Mixing well-read indie rock with Afro-pop, ska, hip-hop, '80s pop, and more, Vampire Weekend has helped define the sound of indie music from the 2000s onward. After establishing the foundations of their lively, literate style with 2008's Vampire Weekend, they quickly grew from music blog favorites into a chart-topping act: They're the first indie group to have two consecutive albums (2010's Contra and 2013's Modern Vampires of the City, their first Grammy-winning album) enter the Billboard 200 at number one. On each of their albums, Vampire Weekend complemented their signature sound with ever-evolving sounds and ideas. They folded jam-rock and psychedelic soul into their wide-open musings on the complexity of everyday life in the 21st century on 2019's Father of the Bride and distilled their memories of a bygone New York City into the densely layered reflections of 2024's Only God Was Above Us.

Vocalist/guitarist Ezra Koenig, drummer Chris Baio, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, and bassist Chris Tomson met when they were finishing up their studies at Columbia University. They formed Vampire Weekend in early 2006 out of Koenig and Tomson's hip-hop collaboration L'Homme Run. Taking their name from a short film Koenig worked on during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, the band started out by playing gigs at the university's literary societies and at parties. The following year, they issued their self-released eponymous EP as well as the "Mansard Roof" single on Abeano Records and the "A-Punk/Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" single on Free News Projects. Praise from music blogs led to several appearances at that year's CMJ Music Marathon, and Vampire Weekend signed with XL Recordings soon after. The label reissued "Mansard Roof," and the group began recording their debut album in locations ranging from a barn to the bandmembers' apartments to Brooklyn's Tree Fort studio.

Arriving in January 2008, Vampire Weekend was one of the year's most popular indie releases, debuting within the Top 20 of both the American and U.K. album charts and ultimately earning Platinum certification in both countries; meanwhile, the singles "A-Punk" and "Oxford Comma" also charted in the U.S. and the U.K. The band then toured for the better part of two years, while Batmanglij gathered additional accolades by releasing an album with Discovery, his electro side project with Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles. During this time, Vampire Weekend returned to the studio to record their second album, Contra, which arrived in January 2010. Featuring the singles "Horchata" and "Cousins," the LP debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Contra was certified Gold in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, and earned Diamond certification for its sales throughout Europe.

Late in 2011, the band returned to the studio to record their third long-player with Ariel Rechtshaid, who co-produced the album with Batmanglij. The group wrote and recorded the album at New York's SlowDeath Studios, Hollywood's Vox Recording Studios, and Batmanglij's New York apartment. Described by Koenig as a darker, more organic set of songs, Modern Vampires of the City was released in May 2013. Like Contra, the album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 -- making Vampire Weekend the first rock band on an independent label to enter the charts at number one with two consecutive albums -- and it also won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2014. Also like its predecessor, Modern Vampires of the City was certified Gold in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

Early in 2016, Batmanglij announced he had left Vampire Weekend but would continue to play with them in the future. That year, the band began work on their fourth album with collaborators including Rechtshaid, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Danielle Haim, and Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth. Early in 2019, Vampire Weekend released several pairs of songs, including February's "Harmony Hall" and "2021," before the arrival of the double album Father of the Bride that May on the Columbia Records imprint Spring Snow. The LP topped the Billboard 200 and received nominations for both Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. The band commissioned jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel and jam band Goose to create epic, all-new versions of the track "2021" from Father of the Bride. The resulting 40:42 arrived, appropriately, in 2021. It topped the Billboard 200 and received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album, winning in the latter category. Vampire Weekend commissioned jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel and the jam band Goose to create reimaginings of the Father of the Bride track "2021" that were each twenty minutes and twenty-one seconds long; the resulting 40:42 arrived, appropriately, in 2021. While the band worked on its next album, they issued vinyl releases of Father of the Bride shows as Frog on the Bass Drum Vol. 1 and Frog on the Bass Drum Vol. 2. Appearing in May 2023, Only God Was Above Us was co-produced by Koenig and Rechtshaid and channeled memories of New York City in the late 1990s and early 2000s with its noisy experimental pop.~ Heather Phares

Total plays

2.6 billion
Updated on 2024-12-25

Country

United States

Monthly listeners

4,908,161

Followers

1,998,331

Top Cities

  1. United Kingdom
    103,644 listeners
  2. United States
    73,118 listeners
  3. Australia
    83,821 listeners
  4. Australia
    73,596 listeners
  5. United States
    70,465 listeners

Most popular tracks

Track Plays Duration Release date
A-Punk
A-Punk
509,452,037 2:18 2008-01-27
Campus
Campus
153,511,690 2:56 2008-01-27
Oxford Comma
Oxford Comma
127,091,716 3:16 2008-01-27
Unbelievers
Unbelievers
126,458,669 3:23 2013-05-08
Harmony Hall
Harmony Hall
115,394,277 5:08 2019-05-03
Step
Step
112,633,730 4:12 2013-05-08
This Life
This Life
111,807,339 4:29 2019-05-03
Diane Young
Diane Young
88,728,425 2:40 2013-03-25
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
60,147,519 3:35 2008-01-27
Sunflower (feat. Steve Lacy)
Sunflower (feat. Steve Lacy)
57,418,588 2:18 2019-05-03
Hannah Hunt
Hannah Hunt
54,277,182 3:58 2013-05-08
Holiday
Holiday
47,320,723 2:18 2010-01-11
White Sky
White Sky
44,397,319 2:59 2010-01-11
Horchata
Horchata
43,518,638 3:27 2010-01-11
Cousins
Cousins
42,880,860 2:25 2009-11-17
Giving Up the Gun
Giving Up the Gun
42,106,694 4:46 2010-01-11
Mansard Roof
Mansard Roof
39,731,885 2:08 2007-10-22
Ya Hey
Ya Hey
35,887,604 5:13 2013-05-08
Walcott
Walcott
33,888,685 3:42 2008-01-27
M79
M79
31,633,117 4:16 2008-01-27
Obvious Bicycle
Obvious Bicycle
28,932,812 4:11 2013-05-08
Diplomat's Son
Diplomat's Son
28,567,413 6:01 2010-01-11
Unbearably White
Unbearably White
27,311,150 4:40 2019-05-03
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
26,992,505 4:03 2008-01-27
Bambina
Bambina
25,340,967 1:43 2019-05-03
Worship You
Worship You
24,482,547 3:21 2013-05-08
Everlasting Arms
Everlasting Arms
23,303,896 3:03 2013-05-08
2021
2021
20,612,884 1:39 2019-05-03
Run
Run
20,078,489 3:53 2010-01-11
Hold You Now (feat. Danielle Haim)
Hold You Now (feat. Danielle Haim)
20,076,140 2:34 2019-05-03
Big Blue
Big Blue
19,604,144 1:49 2019-05-03
Don't Lie
Don't Lie
18,503,427 3:33 2013-05-08
Taxi Cab
Taxi Cab
18,065,965 3:56 2010-01-11
I Stand Corrected
I Stand Corrected
17,421,893 2:40 2008-01-27
Flower Moon (feat. Steve Lacy)
Flower Moon (feat. Steve Lacy)
17,187,621 3:57 2019-05-03
Finger Back
Finger Back
17,130,604 3:26 2013-05-08
How Long?
How Long?
16,654,235 3:32 2019-05-03
Bryn
Bryn
15,830,888 2:13 2008-01-27
One (Blake's Got A New Face)
One (Blake's Got A New Face)
15,594,043 3:13 2008-01-27
Jerusalem, New York, Berlin
Jerusalem, New York, Berlin
15,269,056 2:55 2019-05-03
Rich Man
Rich Man
14,628,476 2:30 2019-05-03
Capricorn
Capricorn
14,561,206 4:10 2024-04-05
California English
California English
14,545,865 2:30 2010-01-11
Married in a Gold Rush (feat. Danielle Haim)
Married in a Gold Rush (feat. Danielle Haim)
14,516,753 3:42 2019-05-03
I Think Ur A Contra
I Think Ur A Contra
13,809,693 4:29 2010-01-11
Sympathy
Sympathy
13,444,326 3:47 2019-05-03
Ottoman
Ottoman
11,823,514 4:02 2008-01-01
Young Lion
Young Lion
10,765,495 1:45 2013-05-08
Hudson
Hudson
10,490,604 4:15 2013-05-08
I'm Goin' Down - Recorded at Electric Lady Studios NYC
I'm Goin' Down - Recorded at Electric Lady Studios NYC
10,110,234 3:28 2019-06-26
Classical
Classical
8,791,003 4:20 2024-04-05
We Belong Together (feat. Danielle Haim)
We Belong Together (feat. Danielle Haim)
8,626,015 3:11 2019-05-03
Mary Boone
Mary Boone
8,618,409 4:26 2024-04-05
Prep-School Gangsters
Prep-School Gangsters
8,420,372 3:49 2024-04-05
Stranger
Stranger
8,341,908 4:09 2019-05-03
Ladies of Cambridge
Ladies of Cambridge
8,222,174 2:39 2007-10-22
My Mistake
My Mistake
8,145,874 3:19 2019-01-01
Spring Snow
Spring Snow
6,387,552 2:41 2019-05-03
Ice Cream Piano
Ice Cream Piano
6,138,394 3:36 2024-04-05
Step
Step
6,113,645 4:21 2014-03-03
Gen-X Cops
Gen-X Cops
5,968,632 3:48 2024-04-05
Jonathan Low
Jonathan Low
5,547,724 3:33 2010-06-08
Connect
Connect
5,460,716 5:10 2024-04-05
Giant
Giant
4,921,243 2:49 2010-01-11
California English Pt. 2
California English Pt. 2
4,447,557 2:57 2009-12-14
The Surfer
The Surfer
3,820,412 5:47 2024-04-05
Pravda
Pravda
3,452,884 4:11 2024-04-05
Arrows
Arrows
3,398,277 3:04 2008-02-20
Hope
Hope
3,172,428 7:58 2024-04-05
This Life - Recorded at Electric Lady Studios NYC
This Life - Recorded at Electric Lady Studios NYC
3,149,134 5:11 2019-06-26
Houston Dubai (Japanese Bonus Track)
Houston Dubai (Japanese Bonus Track)
2,473,716 2:19 2019-05-03
I Don't Think Much About Her No More (Japanese Bonus Track)
I Don't Think Much About Her No More (Japanese Bonus Track)
2,224,935 2:49 2019-05-03
Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò)
Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò)
1,666,547 3:13 2014-01-01
Lord Ullin's Daughter feat. Jude Law (Japanese Bonus Track)
Lord Ullin's Daughter feat. Jude Law (Japanese Bonus Track)
1,638,632 3:38 2019-05-03
White Sky - Basement Jaxx Club Mix
White Sky - Basement Jaxx Club Mix
1,393,429 6:43 2010-08-16
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Chromeo Remix
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Chromeo Remix
1,302,260 4:38 2008-12-09
Ya Hey - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
Ya Hey - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
1,294,458 5:26 2014-08-26
White Sky - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
White Sky - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
1,095,211 3:08 2014-08-26
Holiday - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
Holiday - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
1,090,063 2:09 2014-08-26
California English - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
California English - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
1,018,932 3:14 2014-08-26
Diane Young - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
Diane Young - Live from Bonnaroo 2014
955,601 2:35 2014-08-26
2021 (January 5th, to be exact)
2021 (January 5th, to be exact)
913,118 20:21 2021-02-04
White Sky - Warp Dub
White Sky - Warp Dub
866,062 5:13 2010-08-16
Mansard Roof
Mansard Roof
776,213 2:09 2007-10-23
White Sky - Vamp Dub
White Sky - Vamp Dub
709,691 3:58 2010-08-16
Unbelievers - 'Seeburg Drum Machine' Mix
Unbelievers - 'Seeburg Drum Machine' Mix
683,541 3:24 2013-05-08
Prep-School Gangsters (Spotify OUTSIDE Version) - Live from Queens, NY
Prep-School Gangsters (Spotify OUTSIDE Version) - Live from Queens, NY
467,150 3:23 2024-05-31
White Sky - Cécile Remix
White Sky - Cécile Remix
414,036 6:42 2011-05-24
2021 (in the space between two pieces of wood)
2021 (in the space between two pieces of wood)
412,700 20:21 2021-02-04
White Sky - New Look Remix
White Sky - New Look Remix
329,697 2:52 2011-05-24
Walcott - Insane Mix
Walcott - Insane Mix
146,031 3:59 2008-05-27
Giving Up the Gun - Extended Mix
Giving Up the Gun - Extended Mix
28,748 8:14 2010-09-07
Ya Hey - 'Paranoid Styles' Mix
Ya Hey - 'Paranoid Styles' Mix
19,500 3:49 2013-05-08
Giving Up the Gun - Dub
Giving Up the Gun - Dub
17,300 7:13 2010-09-07

New releases

Prep-School Gangsters (Spotify OUTSIDE Version) - Live from Queens, NY
Prep-School Gangsters (Spotify OUTSIDE Version) - Live from Queens, NY
2024-05-31
[Columbia]
Only God Was Above Us
Only God Was Above Us
2024-04-05
[Columbia]
40:42
40:42
2021-02-04
[Spring Snow, LLC.]
Spotify Singles
Spotify Singles
2019-06-26
[Columbia]
Father of the Bride
Father of the Bride
2019-05-03
[Columbia]
Father of the Bride (Deluxe)
Father of the Bride (Deluxe)
2019-05-03
[Columbia]
My Mistake
My Mistake
2019-01-01
[Columbia]
Spotify Sessions
Spotify Sessions
2014-08-26
[XL Recordings]
Unbelievers
Unbelievers
2014-03-03
[XL Recordings]
Modern Vampires of the City
Modern Vampires of the City
2013-05-13
[XL Recordings]
Modern Vampires of the City
Modern Vampires of the City
2013-05-08
[XL Recordings]
Diane Young
Diane Young
2013-03-26
[XL Recordings]
Diane Young
Diane Young
2013-03-25
[XL Recordings]
White Sky
White Sky
2011-05-24
[XL Recordings]
Giving Up the Gun
Giving Up the Gun
2010-09-07
[XL Recordings]
Holiday
Holiday
2010-08-24
[XL Recordings]
White Sky
White Sky
2010-08-16
[XL Recordings]
Jonathan Low
Jonathan Low
2010-06-08
[XL Recordings]
Contra
Contra
2010-01-12
[XL Recordings]
Contra
Contra
2010-01-11
[XL Recordings]
Giant
Giant
2010-01-11
[XL Recordings]
California English Pt. 2
California English Pt. 2
2009-12-14
[XL Recordings]
Cousins
Cousins
2009-11-17
[XL Recordings]
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
2008-12-09
[XL Recordings]
Oxford Comma
Oxford Comma
2008-05-27
[XL Recordings]
Arrows
Arrows
2008-02-20
[XL Recordings]
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
2008-01-29
[XL Recordings]
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
2008-01-27
[XL Recordings]
Ottoman
Ottoman
2008-01-01
[XL Recordings]
Mansard Roof
Mansard Roof
2007-10-23
[XL Recordings]
Ladies of Cambridge
Ladies of Cambridge
2007-10-22
[XL Recordings]
Mansard Roof
Mansard Roof
2007-10-22
[Abeano]