In Real Life

In Real Life
Also known as	IRL
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Pop Latin pop
Years active	2017–2020
Label	Hollywood Broke Hero
Past members	Brady Tutton Chance Perez Drew Ramos Sergio Calderon Conor Michael Smith

In Real Life (also referred to as IRL) was an American boy band that formed upon winning the first season of ABC's Boy Band in August 2017. It was composed of Brady Tutton, Chance Perez, Drew Ramos, Sergio Calderon, and Conor Michael Smith. They were signed on with Johnny Wright's Wright Entertainment Group (WEG).

In Real Life reached the top 10 on the iTunes charts with their debut single, "Eyes Closed." Their song "Tattoo (How 'Bout You)" reached number 29 on the pop charts and their "Tonight Belongs to You" music video attained 2 million views in less than a week. In June 2019, their single "Crazy AF" reached top 40 on pop radio. Their debut studio album She Do was released a day before their 2-year anniversary on August 23, 2019.

Biography

Bound by an unstoppable passion for music, the five members of L.A.-based pop band In Real Life hail from wildly diverse backgrounds. As the first band in history to be voted together by America, Sergio, Drew, Conor, Chance, and Brady made a point of deliberately celebrating their differences as they brought their music to life. "We didn't start this band in a garage together when we were 12—we're not even from the same town," says Conor. "It might seem like that would make it hard for us to find a cohesive sound, but actually it's motivated us to explore our individual strengths and really play to those, and make something that stands out from everything else happening today."

Over the past two years, IRL have proven the power of their camaraderie by performing in such far-flung places as The Philippines and Turks and Caicos, constantly turning out an unforgettably feel-good live show. "So many of our favorite moments are created on tour," says Sergio. "We love being able to travel all over and experience as much as we can in every new place. Now we have all these memories from all around the world, and all the fans that we've gotten to meet there."​

​As Brady points out, life on the road has also helped intensify the ever-growing connection at the heart of the band. "We've definitely gotten a lot closer from all these nights of just hanging out and doing crazy stuff, and you can really hear that in the music," he says. Along with infusing an infectious energy into their music, that closeness has ultimately helped IRL to strengthen their artistic vision. "At this point we've all seen what we're like at our best and our worst," says Chance. "We know so much more about each other, and about the kind of music we want to create. We're in a much stronger position than we ever were before, and all we want is to just keep going."

For IRL, one of the greatest rewards of touring lies in that direct interaction with their fanbase. To that end, each member has forged a deep kinship with their fans by keeping candid and open about his own unique path through life, including Sergio's upbringing as the son of Mexican immigrants, Chance's journey as a young father, and Conor's experience in being diagnosed on the autistic spectrum at age 16. "We each have a different relationship with the fans, and hopefully we can help people through different struggles by talking about what we've gone through in our own lives," says Drew. "We always try to do what we can to put ourselves in their position, and be there for them as much as possible."

History

2017: Formation

In 2017, the quintet was assembled on the reality television singing competition, Boy Band. The show premiered June 2017 on ABC with hostess Rita Ora, and "architects" Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter, the Spice Girls' Emma Bunton, and Timbaland. The 10-episode season began with thirty young male vocalists competing to become a member of the new five-piece boy band. Each week, the boys would rotate into different groups and perform, and at the end, the "architects" would put either two or three boys up for elimination. Through live voting, a boy would be saved by America. At the end of the season, the final five remaining boys would form the boy band and receive a recording contract with Hollywood Records.

After a 24-hour voting period the week before, it was announced at the final live show on August 24, 2017, that Brady Tutton, Chance Perez, Drew Ramos, Sergio Calderon, and Michael Conor were the winning members to form In Real Life. The group performed their debut single, "Eyes Closed", at the finale. IRL's first holiday EP, Feel This Christmas / I'll Be Home for Christmas, was released in early November, and they performed on Good Morning America in December.

2018-2020: She Do and split

In Real Life on their Tonight Belongs to You Tour

The group's first 2018 single, "Tattoo (How 'Bout You)" (February), reached 29 on the pop charts. They appeared on the shows Live with Kelly and Ryan and Jimmy Kimmel Live! that same month. In April, "How Badly" was released, their first foray into the mix of Spanish and English lyrics, and performed the track on the show, ¡Despierta América!. "Tonight Belongs to You" was released in July, and "Got Me Good" in September, the former attaining two million views for the music video in less than a week. In May 2018, it was announced that the group would open in a supporting slot on the 2018 American Idol summer tour. Later they embarked on their first headlining and international concert tour near the end, Tonight Belongs to You, from October to November 2018.

In 2019, their singles "Crazy AF," "Somebody Like You," and "Hurt for Long" were released. On August 9, 2019, they announced their debut studio album She Do, slated to be released a day before they became a band on August 23rd. It compiled their previously released singles, along with three new songs, one of them being the title track. In October, they embarked on their second headlining tour across the U.S, the For U Tour. Later in November, they independently released the holiday single "California Christmas" through their label, Broke Hero Records, after finishing their contract with Hollywood Records.

On January 20, 2020, the group announced over their social media that the five of them would be moving forward as solo artists, put on indefinite hiatus. Their message stated:

"Lifelines, - The last two and a half years have been a life changing experience for us. We have gone on six tours, had a billboard charting single on the radio, and dropped our debut album last year. Through all of this, we have gotten a chance to live our dreams, grow closer as brothers as we build an even greater family, our fans. From the hours you all have spent promoting our singles, to camping out days before our shows, you have always been there for us. From the success of In Real Life, each of us individually have received some incredible opportunities that we believe we must take. As we begin this new decade, it is our decision to take up those opportunities, and see what success may come out of them. Each of us possesses a unique talent that we would love to share with the world, so with that being said, we will be starting a new journey as five solo artists. Just as you have supported the group these past couple years, we request the same love from our family for each member of our band. This is not goodbye from "In Real Life" forever, it's just what we believe is right for this moment. We love you all, and look forward to seeing you this year."

Band members

• Brady Tutton (2017–2020)
• Chance Perez (2017–2020)
• Drew Ramos (2017–2020)
• Sergio Calderon (2017–2020)
• Conor Michael Smith (2017–2020)

Discography

Main article: Discography

• She Do (2019)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Boy Band	Themselves (contestants)	Season 1

Tours

Headlining

• Tonight Belongs to You Tour (2018)
• For U Tour (2019)

Opening act

• American Idol Tour (2018)

Trivia

In Real Life in 2017

★ 4/5 of the members were scouted on Boy Band, but Tutton signed up, thinking it was a scripted series.

★ When thinking of the band name, they came up with ones and chose their favorite. It was later revealed that the producers had several names, and they chose the best one. They recalled one of the producers excitedly suggested the name "Wild Five".

★ Over a Twitter poll, the options for the fandom name were "Lifelines," "Realists," or other. 4/5 preferred the first option, while Tutton argued for the "Realists". The poll ended with 54% in favor for Lifelines.

★ In Real Life have met Niall Horan, Logic, Liam Payne, Becky G, Camila Cabello, Wiz Khalifa, Dua Lipa, Meghan Trainor, Alessia Cara, and Shawn Mendes.

★ They all want matching tattoos someday.

★ When dressed for Starlight Children's Foundation in 2017 for Halloween, they all went as superheroes.

★ When asking who they'd date in the band if they were a girl, Tutton and Ramos chose Calderon, while Smith chose Perez.

★ Their favorite Christmas songs are: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (Tutton), "Baby It's Cold Outside" (Perez), "Jingle Bell Rock" (Smith), and "Little Drummer Boy" (Calderon).

★ When asked who would play them in a movie, they replied: Ryan Gosling (Tutton), Zac Efron (Perez), Leonardo di Caprio (Ramos), Robert Pattinson (Smith), and Bruno Mars (Calderon).

★ If In Real Life were an animal, they would choose: a dolphin (Tutton), pterodactyl (Perez), a unicorn (Ramos), a bird (Smith), and a dog (Calderon).

★ Smith, Perez, and Tutton are huge Harry Potter fans.

★ No one in the band wrote a song to impress a girl, or laughed so hard they peed.

★ Ramos and Calderon are the only ones in the band who have not skinny dipped.

★ They all cheated on a test, texted to a wrong person and broken a bone.

★ One of the artists that the band collectively look up to is Jon Bellion.

★ The band would rather be Santa's reindeer than Santa's elves.

★ According to their band mates, Calderon is the class clown, Tutton is the little brother, Perez is most likely to be Calvin Klein model, Ramos is the nerd, and Smith is the messiest.

★ In Real Life went to Main Event, which had a Virtual Reality place.

★ Ramos and Perez are most likely to slide into a celebrity's DMs.

★ Their favorite film was: Good Will Hunting (Tutton), The Goonies (Perez), Stepbrothers (Ramos), High School Musical (Calderon), and The Sandlot (Smith).

★ Their favorite candy: snickers (Tutton), Sweet and Sour (Perez), sour patch watermelon (Ramos), Reeses pieces (Calderon), hi-chews (Smith).

★ One of the most funniest things that happened to them was on the first day of their tour. They had their mike packs in their ears, but were unaware that the music wasn't playing out to the crowd. They continued performing until Tutton realized what was happening.

★ In Real Life essentials for tour life are: red bulls, bathroom essentials, PlayStation, and laundry (underwear and socks).

Gallery

Main article: In Real Life/Gallery

2017

2018

2019

References

External links

• In Real Life on Apple Music
• In Real Life on YouTube
• In Real Life on SoundCloud
• In Real Life on Spotify
• In Real Life on Twitter
• In Real Life on Facebook
• In Real Life on Instagram