Titanium was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

formed in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 2012 from the winners of ''

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...

'' radio station's competition to create New Zealand's first authentic boy band. The Edge radio station hosted auditions across New Zealand and eventually six young men were selected: Zac Taylor, Andrew Papas,

Jordi Webber Jordi Webber (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand actor and musician. He came to prominence as a member of the boyband Titanium, which was formed in 2012 as part of a competition run by The Edge radio station. The band's first single " Come On Hom ...

, Shaquille Paranihi-Ngauma, Haydn Linsley and T.K Paradza. They released their debut single, "Come On Home", which debuted at number one on the official

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

on 17 September 2012. Titanium released its debut studio album, '' All For You'' in December 2012. It became the first New Zealand band to have three songs in the Top 40 Singles Chart at one time.

History

2012: Formation

The Edge radio station began a nationwide search to find six young men to form a boy band. Auditions were held across New Zealand. Ten finalists were chosen and sent to "Boyband Camp". At the end of the week public voting for the guys opened and in conjunction with a panel of experts from

Illegal Musik Illegal Musik is a New Zealand Lifestyle Company with a primary focus on Music & Entertainment. Its success started via its development of R&B singer J.Williams and has grown to include a wide range of artists from various genres. It currently ...

and

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...

the final six members were announced and became Titanium. Shortly after releasing their first single " Come On Home" which debuted at number one, the band announced a 15-date Come On Home Tour. Titanium then went on to support American band

Hot Chelle Rae Hot Chelle Rae ( ) (formerly known as Miracle Drug) is an American pop rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. Their debut album, '' Lovesick Electric'', was released on October 27, 2009. They gained widespread attention for their 201 ...

as supporting acts for their New Zealand leg of the "Whatever World Tour", at

Vector Arena Spark Arena (also known as Auckland City Arena, and formerly as Vector Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The venue is located at Quay Park, Parnell, very close to Britomart Transport Centre and The Strand Station. The ...

. The concerts also featured ''The X Factor'' contestant and recording artist,

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She participated on the The X Factor (UK series 7), seventh series of the television talent show ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor'' in 2010, where she finished in fourth place. F ...

. After the tour concluded in October 2012, the group continued working on their debut album, recording took place in Auckland, as Titanium worked with producers including

Vince Harder Vince Harder (born Charles Vincent Harder; 9 April 1982) is a New Zealand R&B/pop recording artist and producer. He is most notable for the 2008 song "Everything" with P-Money, which reached number one in New Zealand on the New Zealand Single ...

. Titanium's debut studio album '' All For You'' was released worldwide on Friday, 7 December 2012. The official second single, "

I Won't Give Up "I Won't Give Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. It was released as the first official single from his fourth studio album, '' Love Is a Four Letter Word'', on December 26, 2011, via iTunes. It was written by Mraz and Michae ...

" was released to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on 19 October 2012. On 5 November 2012, Titanium made New Zealand music chart history when they became the first New Zealand band to have three singles simultaneously in the official

2013-2014: Commercial success, Mariah Carey tour

In 2013, Titanium signed a managing deal with Mike Cammarata who is the manager of American boy band

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

. Titanium's '' All For You'' album was released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on 4 October 2013, under the title ''All For You 2.0''. In November 2014, the boy-band was the opening act for

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

on the New Zealand stop of her world tour,

The Elusive Chanteuse Show The Elusive Chanteuse Show was the eighth headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was launched in support of her fourteenth studio album, '' Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse'' (2014). The tour began in Tok ...

, at

2015-2016: Move to the United States

In May 2015 the band moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia to continue to record and release music as a four-piece.

Musical style

Titanium's music style contains elements of

teen pop Teen pop is a sub genre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards Preadolescence, preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop". About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Often, the artists themselves are teenagers during their break ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

, and R&B influences. Songs "Come On Home" and "Sky" were particularly noted by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

for the genres of

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, for their "powerhouse" vocals and "catchy" choruses. The band demonstrates influences from American boy bands

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

'N Sync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey ...

and the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

but also other influential artists such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Members

Final members

Zac Taylor born in 1993 is from Whakatane, New Zealand. is a performer with roots in music and theater. He gained early recognition in "The Voice of McDonald's" competition in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

and later served as a guest judge in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. After his time with Titanium, Zac moved from Atlanta to Sydney, Australia, to pursue a solo music career. His debut tracks, including "Stay In The Night," "Lay," and "Letting You Go," garnered over 3 million streams, with "LAY" charting in New Zealand. Recently, Zac has shifted his focus to film and television, studying at the Howard Fine School of Acting and other institutions in Australia. Shaquille Paranihi-Ngauma (youngest of the band) was born in 1993 is from Gisborne lived in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

. Haydn Linsley born in 1993 is originally from

Bristol, England Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and lived in

Palmerston North, New Zealand Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Ma ...

. Before joining the boy band he was a full-time

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

and part-time

barista A barista ( , ; ) is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks and other beverages. Etymology and inflection The word comes from Italian, where it means a "bartender" who typically works be ...

. Linsley's grandfather is

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...

, composer of the ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' theme tune and

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

's "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

" among many others. Linsley is currently a vocalist for Rotorua based Reggae-Rock band Tyneegiant, which includes members of the popular Reggae band 1814. Tyneegiant have performed at NZs biggest Reggae festival 'One Love' and are about to release their debut album, 'We are Coming'. TK Paradza was born and raised in

Shurugwi Shurugwi, originally known as Selukwe, is a small town and administrative centre in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe, located about south of Harare, with a population of 22,900 according to the 2022 census. The town was established in 189 ...

and is from

Masvingo Province Masvingo, previously named Victoria, is a province in southeastern Zimbabwe. It has a population of 1.638 million as of the 2022 census, ranking fifth out of Zimbabwe's ten provinces. Established by the British South Africa Company, it was one o ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. His family immigrated to

when his father fled the country as a

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

in 2006 and are now living in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

. Before joining the group, TK was studying at Victoria University of Wellington and had released his album project

Wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

through band camp and SoundCloud in 2012. His YouTube follow up Catch me, brought him some attention on social media and on The Erin Simpson Show and went on to join the group Titanium shortly after. TK has now gone back to continue his studies at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

Past members

left in 2013 when the band relocated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and went solo. He is known internationally for playing Aiden "Levi Weston" Romero/Ninja Steel Gold Ranger in

Power Rangers Ninja Steel ''Power Rangers Ninja Steel'' is the twenty-fourth season of the television program ''Power Rangers''. The season was produced primarily using footage, costumes, and props from Japanese 39th Super Sentai series '' Shuriken Sentai Ninninger'' ...

(2017–18). Andrew Papas left the group in 2014.

Production

wrote Titanium's debut single "Come On Home" which received double platinum status in New Zealand and Australia. Harder was born and raised in West Auckland, New Zealand. He has also played the lead role as 'Simba' in the Australian stage production of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''. In 2005, he came third in the Australian TV version of ''The X Factor'', beating over 100,000 people who originally auditioned for a place in the finals.

Discography

* '' All for You'' (2012)

Concert tours

*Come On Home Tour (2012) *Whatever World Tour (2012) *Teen Rush Tour (Australia 2013) * Tattoos World Tour (2014) (opening acts for

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

) *Take Us Back Tour (2014) *

world tour (2014) (opening acts for

)

Awards

Nowie Awards

The Nowie Awards is a kids choice awards show voted by the youth public of New Zealand.

New Zealand Music Awards

The

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

(VNZMA) is an annual

music awards show.

Merchandise

The Collateral Company was enlisted to produce Titanium branded merchandise that was given away at events and radio promotions. Merchandise included custom designed metal dog tags and a range of branded wristbands.

Filmography

References

External links

Titaniummusic.netVoxy.co.nzRotoruadailypost.co.nzStuff.co.nzthecollateralcompany.comOdt.co.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titanium Titanium (band), Musical groups established in 2012 2012 establishments in New Zealand New Zealand boy bands The Edge (radio station)