Nicholas RAS Furlong

Nicholas Furlong (born September 16, 1986), also known as RAS, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. His work crosses several musical genres, ranging from dance, rock, and pop, to rap and hip-hop. He is also the vocalist and co-writer of the hit single " The Nights" by Avicii.

Furlong was initially signed by songwriter and producer Ryan Tedder during the years of 2010–2011. Since 2012, he has worked with artists such as Kygo, Steve Aoki, 5 Seconds of Summer, Big Time Rush, Sabrina Carpenter, WALK THE MOON, All Time Low, blink-182, Travis Barker, Papa Roach, the Used, Sleeping with Sirens, and Fever 333.

In 2019, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, for his songwriting credit on ''Made an America'' by Fever 333.

Early life

Furlong was born in Sacramento, California to Jennifer and Michael Furlong and raised in Carson City, Nevada. He is of English and Irish descent. At the age of 16, he began writing and recording his own songs and sharing them on music websites, before being discovered by a music director at Midway Games and being offered an opportunity to write music for video games. Furlong contributed to various game soundtracks in 2004–2005, including ''NBA Ballers'', '' Blitz: The League'', and '' NBA Ballers: Phenom''. At the age of 21, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a songwriter and producer.

Career

2010–2013: Career breakthrough

Furlong had his first commercial success in 2010 as a co-writer of the Big Time Rush and Jordin Sparks' duet, "Count on You". The song was featured on the band's debut album ''BTR'', which debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. Shortly after, Furlong signed a publishing deal with Ryan Tedder, where he worked with artists like Colbie Caillat, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis, and the Wanted. Furlong worked again with Big Time Rush in 2011, when he co-wrote "Time of Our Life" for their second album '' Elevate''. The band shot a live music video for the song during the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, which premiered after the show.

In 2012, Furlong began transitioning into electronic music, after co-writing a song for Diplo's ''Express Yourself EP''. "I'd always been a fan of dance music in general, but working on Diplo's project gave me a completely different perspective of the genre as a whole." Later that year, Furlong began collaborating with Steve Aoki, co-writing the single "Singularity". They would collaborate again in 2013, when Furlong wrote and featured as a vocalist on the single "Bring You to Life (Transcend)", which peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard'' Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Furlong performed the song alongside Aoki at his 2013 concert in Los Angeles at the Shrine Exposition Hall, during which two Guinness World Records were set for "the longest scream by a crowd" and "most people simultaneously lighting glow sticks".

2014–2015: Commercial recognition

Furlong worked with 5 Seconds of Summer in 2014 for their debut self-titled album, co-writing "Everything I Didn't Say", "Social Casualty", and "Independence Day". Despite not being released as a single, "Everything I Didn't Say" debuted at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was also featured on the band's live album '' LiveSOS''. Later that year, Furlong worked with post-hardcore band Sleeping with Sirens co-writing "Kick Me", the first single off of their fourth studio album, '' Madness''. The single peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock Songs chart. "Kick Me" won an award for song of the year at the 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards.

In 2015, Furlong began working with All Time Low on their sixth studio album ''Future Hearts featuring Good Charlotte, which served as the theme song of the Adam Sandler film ''Pixels''. ''Pixels'' was released in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on July 24, 2015. Furlong was also a co-writer on the Good Charlotte single "Makeshift Love", which debuted at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Rock chart. ''Variance Magazine'' claimed that 2015 was a "pivotal year" for the songwriter and producer.

Avicii single "The Nights"

Furlong co-wrote and performed vocals on Avicii's single " The Nights". The single premiered on the soundtrack of ''FIFA 15'' on September 23, 2014. It was released on December 1, 2014, on '' The Days / Nights EP'', alongside Avicii's prior single " The Days", and as a single in the UK on January 11, 2015. "The Nights" peaked at number one on the UK Dance Chart, number six on the UK Singles Chart, and number ten on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. As of March 2022, the single has accumulated more than one billion streams on Spotify, making it the second most popular FIFA soundtrack song of all-time. Furlong sent the original idea, titled "My Father Told Me", to Arash Pournouri, Avicii's manager. Pournouri recognised an immediate draw to the track, saying that the song had that same sense of euphoria which characterises so much of Avicii's music. In an interview with Yahoo! Music, Pournouri said: "It made absolute sense to work on it with Nick... vicii and I just neededto make it more 'us' and that's what edid."

Furlong contacted filmmaker Rory Kramer to use footage from Kramer's YouTube channel for the official music video, which was released on December 15, 2014, on YouTube. As of February 2023, the music video has over 900 million views.

2016–present: AttaBoy Music

In 2016, Furlong was brought on as executive producer, co-producer, and a songwriter for Papa Roach's ninth studio album, '' Crooked Teeth''. The first single, titled "Help", was released February 17, 2017, and spent six consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Singles chart, making it the band's third number one Rock single in their career. The album's second single "American Dreams" reached number three on the charts. Furlong simultaneously co-produced and co-wrote several songs with All Time Low for their album ''Last Young Renegade'', including the album's first single "Dirty Laundry", which reached No. 1 on the UK Rock Singles chart. Furlong is also credited as a co-writer on "Good Old Days" for blink-182's deluxe edition of their album ''California''. On October 13, 2017, The Front Bottoms released ''Going Grey'', produced and executive produced by Furlong.

Furlong worked with the politically charged rap-rock trio The Fever 333 in 2018, writing singles "Made an America", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rock performance, and "Burn It", which won the best song at the 2019 Kerrang! Awards. He also contributed as a songwriter to Logan Henderson's single "Pull Me Deep", which was the artist's first single to debut on the Billboard Top 40 chart. In 2019 Furlong was credited as a co-writer on several songs from 311's album ''Voyager''. He also launched his own joint venture publishing company AttaBoy Music with Reach Global Publishing.

In 2020, Furlong and Nicholas Petricca of ''WALK THE MOON'' wrote the song "Someday", a collaboration between Kygo and country artist Zac Brown, and "Supremacy" by The Fever 333, which was co-produced with John Feldmann and Travis Barker and interpolates the song "Rapture" by Blondie, listing Debbie Harry and Chris Stein as co-writers. In addition, he also co-wrote and produced "Hanging with Ghosts" by Yung Pinch featuring Good Charlotte and Goody Grace.

Furlong revealed his own project, The Dirty Rich, on September 14, 2020. The first single, titled "Hot American Summer", was released on September 28, 2020, via Furlong's independent record label AttaBoy Music. In 2021, the label also released an official remix of the single "Vacation" by Dirty Heads, and two singles titled "Grey Skies" and "5AM" by Betcha.

In 2022, Furlong was the executive producer, co-producer, and co-writer of Papa Roach's eleventh studio album, Ego Trip. The album's singles "Kill The Noise" and "No Apologies" both reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Singles chart. He also co-produced and co-wrote three singles by Big Time Rush titled "Call It Like I See It", "Not Giving You Up", and "Fall".

Discography

Production and songwriting credits

As The Dirty Rich

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, Nicholas
Living people
1986 births
American male singer-songwriters
21st-century American male rappers
Record producers from Nevada
Rappers from Nevada
Pop rappers
American rock singers
American rap rock musicians
American dance musicians
American hip-hop singers
American male pop singers
Singer-songwriters from Nevada
Musicians from Nevada