From their unexpected origin on Netflix's 'Building the Band' to the launch of their debut 'Afterglow' EP, Midnight Til Morning reflects on the friendships, challenges, and shared aspirations that transformed four strangers into a band—and, ultimately, a brotherhood.
Stream: 'Afterglow' – Midnight Til Morning
In a competition centered solely around vocal performance, Midnight Til Morning discovered their ideal match. After living together, filming, and touring, their bond is stronger than ever. Since their debut in August, Midnight Til Morning has quickly captured the hearts of pop music fans everywhere. Comprising Shane Appell, Zach Newbould, Conor Smith, and Mason Watts, this emerging boy band first connected on Netflix's reality singing competition, Building the Band, and has been on an unstoppable trajectory since. Following their exclusive covers on the show, the quartet compiled a group of songs that truly capture the initial stages of their journey.
Afterglow – Midnight Til Morning
Released on October 8 via Chugg Music, the Afterglow EP highlights the band’s vibrant, catchy pop style while also exploring deeper, darker elements of their evolving sound. Their single "Navy Eyes" particularly introduces fans to a more intimate and moody side of their music. As the band shares, this intimacy is inherently tied to the song’s intent: “‘Navy Eyes’ is a song you listen to while cruising through the city late at night, whether with your best friend, partner, or alone,” they explain to Atwood Magazine. “It’s a positive romantic anthem meant to accompany those special moments.”
For Midnight Til Morning, everything shifted rapidly and significantly. The group transitioned from signing NDAs and keeping their friendship hidden to releasing an EP and embarking on tour in what felt like an instant.
“This EP is really the beginning of our story,” they express. “We've invested every part of ourselves into these seven songs, and we can’t wait for people to connect with them just as we do.”
Midnight Til Morning © courtesy of the artist
While Midnight Til Morning didn’t rank in the top three on the Netflix competition, they gained something far more significant. The four members formed a profound friendship with one another, and they can’t envision doing any of this differently. They’re not only creating music – they’re doing it as a collective. The group's dynamic is heartfelt, sincere, and unmistakable. As their journey continues to gain momentum, Midnight Til Morning stays rooted in the connection that initially united them. Afterglow marks not just the beginning of their career but the commencement of something deeply personal – a band born from circumstance and strengthened by mutual choice, trust, and instinct. Eager to reflect on this whirlwind chapter, the four members discussed with Atwood Magazine the creation of their debut EP, the creative chemistry they found off-camera, and the brotherhood that has propelled them from 'Building the Band' to stages across the globe.
:: stream/purchase Afterglow here ::
:: connect with Midnight Til Morning here ::
A CONVERSATION WITH MIDNIGHT TIL MORNING
Atwood Magazine: Did you dive straight into working on the EP after 'Building the Band' wrapped up? How long did it take to complete Afterglow?
Mason Watts: “We pretty much jumped into it right away. I think it was two weeks after filming 'Building the Band' ended that we all met up in Sydney. That week, we started writing and recording. I’d say we spent about two or three months in the studio, on and off.”
Conor Smith: “We were pretty indecisive about how we wanted the Afterglow EP to shape up. So, the songs came together quickly after those three months. It took us a while to decide which songs to include because we had so many unreleased tracks to choose from.”
Mason Watts: “We were also still figuring out our sound. On the show, we were assigned songs, but now we get to choose what we want to sing. So, we had to all get on the same page regarding the direction we wanted to take.”
Will your unreleased tracks see the light of day eventually, or will they remain in drafts?
Mason Watts: “Some will definitely be released, while others probably won’t.”
Conor Smith: “We’re playing a lot of unreleased tracks on this tour and the fans are going wild for some of them, urging us to release them. So I’m sure they’ll be out soon.”
Zach Newbould: “We perform unreleased songs at the shows and everyone already knows the lyrics, singing them back at us, which is really awesome.”
The term "afterglow" appears in multiple songs on the EP. What makes this word significant to you, and why did it feel like the right title for this project?
Mason Watts: “It’s mainly because we mentioned it in a few songs. Honestly,
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From their unexpected formation on Netflix’s 'Building the Band' to the launch of their first EP 'Afterglow,' Midnight Til Morning reflects on the friendships, challenges, and common goals that transformed four strangers into a band – and eventually, a brotherhood.