THE COOL KIDS

[ FROM LEFT ERIC WONG, TOVE LO, KIESZA, NICK JONAS, DAVID MASSEY

TOVE LO: "HABITS (STAY HIGH)" 2 WEEKS ON MAINSTREAM TOP 40; 6 WEEKS ON HOT ROCK SONGS

KIESZA: SOUND OF A WOMAN 1 WEEK ON DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUMS

NICK JONAS: "CHAINS" TRENDING 140

A LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR AGO, Tove Lo,27;Kiesza,25;and Nick Jonas,22, weren'tevensigned. But in2014they all emergedas verydifferent kinds ofsensa- tions, from alt -rocktodanceto pop-R&B. In doingso,they helped definea newchap- terfor Island Records, which splitapart from Def Jam in Apriltobecomeastand- alone label for the first time in13 years.

DAVID MASSEY,president, Island: The rebuilding of Island has been about the emergenceofourbrand-new artists and the recognition they've achieved.

ERIC WONG,executive vp/GM, Island: And thosethree artists couldn't bemoredif- ferent from each other. With Nick, and all the history of theJonas Brothers,wehadto reimage and let the music lead.

NICK JONAS"Chains"was abridge be- tween whatpeople had heard frommein thepastand whatwascoming. This leans moretoward alternative R&B, neo-soul. My socialpresence was amain driver,at least in the beginningstages,ofmy new music being released.

WONGWith Kiesza,wehadourfriends in the U.K.startthe record.

KIESZAI got to LondononJan.21.Annie Mack [a BBC Radio1DJ] played "Hide- away"onthe 24th. It blewup onSound- Cloud. We had to catchup tothesong.

MASSEYFor Tove Lo, the ideawas tobreak heratalternative, because "Habits" has suchacool lyric. [E.g.,"Igotta stayhigh all the time/To keepyouoffmymind"]

TOVE 10Whenwereleased "Habits" in the U.S., itwas aslow but steady climb, with people discovering itontheirown,hear- ing itonthe radio. Butas soon asit started catching, itwentquick.

MASSEYThe reactionwasorganic. Pro- grammers seethe Shazaming and the sales. Radio embraced it, and themorethey did, themore greatfeedback theygot.-JOE LEVY

DECEMBER 20. 2014 I WWW.BILLBOARD.COM 73