Midnight Red’s Joey Diggs, Jr. (second from right) talked about the band’s origin story and their upcoming tour with The Wanted in this edition of “The Five Question Challenge.” (Photo courtesy of Midnight Red)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Midnight Red is on fire!
America’s Boy Band just finished MTV’s Artist to Watch Tour with Austin Mahone, Becky G and W3 The Future and are preparing to hit the road with the Wanted for their farewell tour.
They have also worked with some of the biggest names in the industry such as the Backstreet Boys and RedOne. In addition, they have been featured on multiple high-profile media outlets such as The Today Show, HuffPost Live and MTV.
In this edition of the Five Question Challenge, Joey Diggs, Jr. talked about the challenges the group is facing while recording their debut album and talked about the highlights from the Artist to Watch Tour and what fans can expect from their tour with the Wanted.
Jacob Elyachar: Joey, could you please share the group’s origin story with my readers?
Joey Diggs, Jr.: Eric (Secharia) and Anthony (Ladao) started the group a couple of years ago. Eric was friends with Thomas (Augusto), who flew from Texas to join them. They found Colton (Rudloff) on YouTube and found me through a mutual producer. We were in a garage for days practicing and we started from the bottom and worked our way up.
JE: Midnight Red has worked with multiple artists and producers including the Backstreet Boys, Carly Rae Jepsen, New Kids on the Block and RedOne. What were some of the lessons that the group learned from them that helped you grow professionally?
JDJ: Humility plays a grand part in all of their success. RedOne is a very successful producer and when you meet him, you would never know that he ruled the world at one point in his career. When we were on tour with the Backstreet Boys, they went out there every night and stayed true to themselves and their fans. They knew what the people wanted to hear and they gave it to them. The band learned a lot by just watching them onstage every night. We were just baby guppies at the time, but the big thing that they taught us was humility.
JE: The group is in the process of recording its debut album. What have been some of the challenges that you faced while recording the album? How did the band overcome them?
JDJ: Like everyone starting out in the music industry, we had a hard time finding our sound. It took us a while to find our sound and we went through a lot of trial and error and we became brothers throughout this process. Our sound is a little bit pop, hip-hop and anything in between. Midnight Red is like the Melting Pot of America and we can sing anything for you. If you want a country song, we will sing it!
JE: The band just wrapped up MTV’s Artist to Watch Tour and is preparing to join the Wanted with their farewell tour. What were some of the highlights from MTV tour? What can fans look forward to with The Wanted tour?
JDJ: We traveled to 10 cities with Austin Mahone and Becky G on the Artist to Watch Tour. Every night, we saw new faces and fan bases such as the Mahomies. All the fans were very excepting to us. After the show, we had Meet and Greets and all the little girls were going crazy. I think the best part of that tour was receiving new fans and getting new people to love Midnight Red. We are also stoked about the Wanted Tour, even though we are going home today for the first time in a while…we are going to rest and then go straight into rehearsals. We want to thank the Wanted for inviting us to join them on their farewell tour. Fans can expect a little bit of everything that Midnight Red brings to the table. We will dance, plus slow it down and sing a ballad. Also, expect us to show personality and we want our audiences to get involved in our set! By the end of The Wanted tour, there is going to be a lot more people loving Midnight Red.
JE: If you had the chance to meet with aspiring music groups who want a career in the music industry, what advice would you give to them?
JDJ: I would honestly tell them: “If they see it (the dream), keep going!” There is going to be a lot of “No’s” in your journey. We like to be doing very well right now, but there are a lot of “No’s” in our journey. But, we did not let the “No’s” get to us and we are carving our path and our destiny! If you receive a “No,” keep going and find a “Yes!”
To learn more about Midnight Red, you can visit their website: http://www.midnightred.com/
You can also connect with them on their social media networks! Visit their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube channels!
