Hey Monday / This Providence / The Friday Night Boys / Stereo Skyline / The Bigger Lights June 28, 2009

Led by powerhouse vocalist Cassadee Pope, Hey Monday lace their infectious emo-pop with alt-rock guitars and slick studio production. The band formed in West Palm Beach, FL, where Pope was first discovered at a regional music conference. Although still in high school, the singer drew attention from A&R execs with her vocals, which recalled the radio-ready wails of Avril Lavigne and Paramore's Haley Williams. She then formed a band with fellow teenagers Jersey Moriarty (bass), Elliot James (drums), and guitarists Mike Gentile and Alex Lipshaw. Shedding their original name (Blake) in favor of Hey Monday, the group won over A&R exec Jay Harren, who signed the band to Columbia Records. Hey Monday then entered the recording studio with S*A*M & Sluggo, the production team behind albums by Metro Station and the Academy Is..., and readied the release of their debut record. Hold on Tight arrived in October 2008 under a joint partnership with Columbia and Pete Wentz's vanity label, Decaydance.

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