The Latch

In 1997, Hanson began their meteoric rise to success when they released “MMMBop”, a song that spent nine weeks holding the number one spot on the ARIA Singles Chart and went on to be certified platinum twice over. The brothers, Isaac, Taylor and Zac, were only 16, 13, and 11 years old respectively at the time.

Since then, Hanson have released 11 studio albums, six compilation albums, four live albums and two demo albums, with their sound evolving and changing as they’ve grown out of adolescence, made their way through young adulthood, gotten married, and had children. Their sound has grown, evolved and shifted along with them, but for the general public, they’ll forever be most strongly connected with the infectious pop melody of “MMMBop”.

As the Hanson brothers sat down to talk to The Latch about their latest release, RED GREEN BLUE, and their upcoming Australian tour, we had to know: do they ever consider what their career trajectory would’ve looked like had they debuted later on?

“It’s an interesting thing to think about,” said Zac. “I mean, ultimately, we’re really really thankful for the strong, real, authentic connection we made with the fans at such a young age.”

Calling the experience “something that we could never top”, Zac went on to say that it was a “huge, huge, huge benefit” for them to have debuted when they did, “because when people were still defining who they wanted to be in their life, they were saying ‘I want Hanson to be a part of that’”.

“People would probably think of us as a rock band instead of a pop band if we had come out five years later,” Zac conceded, “but we love pop music, so as long as people think of us, I think it’s good most ways!”

The new album, RED GREEN BLUE, is comprised of three solo-led projects — Taylor’s Red, Isaac’s Green, and Zac’s Blue.

With 30 years of being a band together in the rearview mirror, Zac said that in recent years, they’ve turned their attention to their “bucket list” projects, like 2018’s String Theory, which saw the band reimagine their classic songs for a symphony show.

The RED GREEN BLUE album, they said, was a way for them to shake up the way they approach songwriting, and the way people perceive them as a band, and to work on individual projects while staying “very much together”, said Zac.

Isaac agreed, adding: “over the years there have been a lot of songs Zac sings lead on, I sing lead on, Taylor sings lead on, and to make more of a point of that I think is a way for people to get a fresh look at the band“.

The most important takeaway, Taylor said, is that they’ve “always been about the music”.

“The music is the reason,” Taylor explained. “It’s the reason we broke young — we were hungry for it — but we just really, in a very pure way, loved the process of creating things, and of getting to play shows.”

Noting that this album is a way to continue “to push the story” of the band, Taylor continued: “All of us enjoy producing, enjoy the studio work as much as we enjoy walking on stage and being the artist, being out in front”.

“It’s gotta be interesting, it’s gotta be inspired, it’s gotta be something that you wanna share, and this project definitely stretched muscles for everybody that hadn’t been stretched —”

Isaac interjected. “I’m still feeling the discomfort,” he joked, rubbing his arm. They laughed.

Working on their solo-driven projects was a way for each brother to tease out their individual sound, which Zac described as “a cool science experiment”.

“We have spent so much time together and at a time even shared a sound system together, had the same record collection,” he explained, “so to see how we diverge when we have 30 years of the same influences, it’s really interesting.”

“I think some of it is driven by the instruments that we primarily play,” Isaac hypothesised, adding that for him, it brought out “the singer-songwriter” more.

“It brought out kind of a roots-ier version of myself, because when you’re sitting there going ‘what do I want to say?’, this is kind of the first time that I’m really allowing myself to be able to go ‘wait a minute, I’m totally in charge of this!’” Isaac explained.

“Nobody’s gonna tell me no!” Zac exclaimed, as they all laughed.

“No project, even this one, having exposed the clarity of different voices, can ever fully say ‘well, here’s the sound’, of this person,” Taylor said, “but I think a lot of the differences you hear are in the types of messages that people want to put into the lyrics, the stories, and I think our process is different.”

He continued: “It’s in the way we go about things, which you don’t hear as clearly, but it is reflected in the way we made these particular things.”

For Taylor, his “biggest interest” when songwriting is to create something that is “a point of connection”.

“It doesn’t have to make exact sense, but it should make sense emotionally,” he explained. “Sometimes you say stuff in a lyric that doesn’t actually, literally makes sense, but every single person is like ‘I know exactly what that is’. I’m looking for that, where even if you didn’t speak the language you would still get it, it’s that visceral sense of it.”

His brothers, however, have a different process.

“Zac is extremely creative,” Taylor said. “Zac is a visual artist, he likes to transport himself like ‘let’s make a movie, how would this character play out?’”

Meanwhile, Isaac is “true” and likes to convey his feelings and emotions directly, keeping thing raw and honest.

With a new album out and a slew of music they haven’t had a chance to play live yet, Hanson are itching to get back on the road after not being able to tour throughout COVID.

“My 40th birthday on the road was robbed from me!” Isaac exclaimed, laughing.

“We’re figuring out the tour right now,” Zac shared. “It’s an interesting place to be in, we’ve got so much new music.”

The struggle — although they would hesitate to call it that — is in trying to strike a balance in the show that represents the new material while not ignoring the classics.

“We don’t want to walk away from all these memories and all this history that people have with you,” Zac said.

With “like 40 singles” to choose from, choosing which classics to play is no easy feat, but Hanson are committed to giving the fans what they want.

“We never shy away from the classics, the stuff that really brought people together,” Zac said. “They’re probably coming with a friend that they listened to that song in the car on the way there, 20 years earlier they met at a place where they would listen to that song, so you wanna still be able to connect into those memories.”

He continued: “It’s about, ‘how do we make something from this that connects to people’s history?’ and excites them with something new and unexpected, which is the new music and the things we’ve never done.”

For Taylor, the show will be all about “gratitude” and “celebration”, and taking the opportunity to “really seize the moment with the audience”.

“We have this sense of ‘thank you, wow’, so you wanna play the songs that make people feel that excitement,” he explained, “and celebration is really just making sure that you get the chance to really enjoy and lift up the fact that, we all do get to finally get to do a real tour.”

With the Hanson brothers all having large families of their own now — Isaac has three kids, Taylor has seven and Zac has five — we had to know: Is Hanson: The Next Generation on its way?

They laughed. “If they call it Hanson: The Next Generation we’ll slap them across the face, like ‘YOU ARE NOT CREATIVE!’” Isaac joked.

The idea itself, however, is not out of the question.

“Our parents are musical, we have all kinds of relatives who have that ability,” said Zac, who added that “Taylor has some kids who are amazing musicians, [and] Isaac has a son who’s in several bands”.

“It’s possible!” Zac said, recalling the brothers’ own “very strong drive” when they were just starting out.

“It wasn’t put upon us,” Zac explained. “We were going ‘hey, can we play?’ or ‘hey, can somebody get me a drum set?’, that’s just the way it was and it was so very natural, and so I think if they chose to do that, it could happen, it could happen!”

Hanson’s new album RED GREEN BLUE is available now, and presale for the RED GREEN BLUE 2022 Tour begins on Tuesday, May 24.

FRONTIER MEMBERS PRE-SALE
​Runs 24 hours from: Tuesday 24 May (12noon local time) or until pre-sale allocation exhausted

ALL SHOWS 18+*

Sunday 6 November
​The Astor Theatre | Perth, WA
​18+
​On sale: Thursday 26 May (12noon local time)
​ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

Wednesday 9 November
​Enmore Theatre | Sydney, NSW
​Licensed All Ages*
​On sale: Thursday 26 May (12noon local time)
​ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

Saturday 12 November
​Hindley Street Music Hall | Adelaide, SA
​18+
​On sale: Thursday 26 May (12noon local time)
​moshtix.com.au | Ph: 1300 438 849

Monday 14 November
​The Fortitude Music Hall | Brisbane, QLD
​18+
​On sale: Thursday 26 May (12noon local time)
​ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100

Wednesday 16 November
​The Forum | Melbourne, VIC
​18+
​On sale: Thursday 26 May (12noon local time)
​ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849

Saturday 19 November
​Powerstation | Auckland, NZ
​18+
​On sale: Thursday 26 May (12noon local time)
​ticketmaster.co.nz | 0800 111 999

The Morning Show 

The musical brothers have a new album and are set to return to Australia for a tour this November.

Since gaining worldwide fame with their hit single MMMBop back in 1997, pop group Hanson, consisting of brothers Taylor, Isaac and Zac Hanson, have continued to entertain fans all over the world.

While still just kids when their catchy singalong hit went to No1 in at least 12 countries, 25 years later the group is still as popular as ever having just released their 11th album, Red Green Blue, and announcing a mammoth world tour that includes Australian dates in November.

Speaking with The Morning Show from New York, the brothers revealed they still held a great affinity for the platinum-selling MMMBop despite having to perform the song for close to a quarter of a century.

“When you go on stage and play that song, anyone would want to play it. The reaction is amazing, the amount of life that people have connected to that song, it’s a pleasure,” drummer Zac said.

“We have a great time playing it. It’s not everything, we’ve made a lot of music over 30 years but we want to play songs like MMMBop because of the connection to the audience.

“It’s the way we feel about going to see our favourite bands and hearing their iconic songs.”

Isaac explained the concept behind their latest album, Red Green Blue, which features three solo-led projects from each member of the group.

“It could go a few different ways, I guess, but the fun part about deciding to try something new, you never know exactly what the result is going to be, and for us this project was about diving and conquering in a way,” he said.

“It was positive deconstruction, we each wrote five songs and produced five songs,” added Zac.

As the band gets ready for their Red Green Blue 2022 tour which hits our shores in November, Taylor explained how the three brothers, who have 15 children between them, handle the logistics of life on the road.

“You don’t sleep a lot, but once you start having children it starts to feel like you’re on a tour all the time. You know, you’re up in the morning, you’re up at night, you’re trying to make sense of the world around you,” he said.

“We do all have families and where we can we bring them along and share the life experience, but ultimately we’re dad to them and we’ve got to go and do our thing.

“Our wives are probably ready like ‘OK, go back on the road’,” Taylor said.

For ticket information for Hanson’s new tour visit hanson.net

Woman and Home

It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since MMMbop catapulted Hanson to global fame. 

A quarter of a century on and the number one hit is still beloved, most recently appearing in an episode of Derry Girls (the brothers tell us they’re big fans).

But what have Isaac, 41, Taylor, 39, and Zac, 36, been up to since they became pin-ups for millions of teenage girls, and boys, around the world? Well, they’ve become dads – to 15 kids between them, yes, really – sold 16 million albums, run a yearly ‘musical escape’ in Jamaica where fans take over a resort and rooms start at a cool $1799 (£1400) per person, they’ve even launched their own beer – MMMhops, naturally.

We caught up with the band who although heartbreakingly have ditched the long locks, still most certainly have the ability to make us swoon…

HANSON ON THEIR BIGGEST HIT

“We’re very proud of MMMbop, but we would be tired of it if it was the only song we sang!” laughs Taylor. “I think the part that is less gratifying is feeling like you’re not moving as far down the road as you’d like with people’s perceptions, but a lot of that is what happens when a song makes an impression that is so big – MMMbop has become a part of pop culture.”

“But one of the big saving graces of the way we started is that we were writing the songs. We definitely weren’t as hands-on in producing everything when I was 14 and Zac was 11 but it was our thing, it was our message.”

HANSON ON FAME

From Taylor Swift to Katy Perry, the brothers have a lot of famous fans and you don’t spend 25 years in the music industry without a couple of wild stories.

“One of the things you learn is not to answer that!” says Taylor. “But everybody’s had moments that are a little wilder than others.”

“I’m just glad those parties back in the day where you threw up on your shoes weren’t captured on film,” says Isaac.

HANSON ON THE ROYALS

Her Majesty could be getting a present she didn’t bargain on! To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022 Hanson has offered to write a song for the monarch.

“The Jubilee is a huge deal. If we were British we’d probably be writing a song for the Queen,” admits Isaac. “Maybe we should do it anyway, it might feel a little odd but we’ll consider it!”

“I have a great deal of respect for the extended royal family and how they represent their nation,” adds Taylor.

“As Americans, it’s very foreign to think of a royal family but we definitely admire it and 70 years is unbelievable, we’ll be taking in the celebrations while we’re in the UK.”

HANSON ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THEIR KIDS

“I don’t envy being a 15-year-old with every thought you’ve had and place you’ve been being documented,” says Taylor.

Isaac agrees, “My kids do not have social media, and they won’t be getting it!”

“I’m not sure it’s healthy, this 15 minutes of fame for the whole population, it’s certainly not healthy for celebrities – have you seen what happens?!”

WHAT ARE HANSON UP TO NOW?

The latest album Red Green Blue, which features the new single Child At Heart is a different style for the brothers, with each of them taking five songs.

“We say it’s like three solo projects in one,” explains Isaac. “When you’ve been doing music as long as we have you tend to have a certain process and you do the rinse and repeat, which is fine, and hopefully you’re good at it but sometimes you need a fresh look at it. It’s hard sometimes for people to get another first look at a band so we felt like this was a really good creative challenge.”

So it’s not just that they’d all had enough of each other?

“Sometimes it’s a little bit of that!” laughs Isaac. “I jest a bit, but you do need to give each other room sometimes.”

“We’ve definitely had our fair share of tensions and challenges,” adds Taylor. “I think one of the things that’s happening is that everyone is figuring out what’s important to them, what they need to do, and what makes them inspired and excited.”

“We’d be making these songs if it was for 10 people or a million people – you make it because it’s something you need to do.”

Hanson’s new album Red Green Blue is out May 20 and they’re on tour from June 8, tickets on sale now. 

Chugg Entertainment and Frontier Touring are excited to announce American pop-rock trio HANSON will return to Australia and New Zealand this November with their RED GREEN BLUE 2022 TOUR.

“This tour is an exciting chance to reunite with our fans all over the world and celebrate three decades of music. We can’t wait to come together with fans across Australia and New Zealand, and share music live on stage once again,” said Taylor Hanson.

Known for their 1997 international smash hit ‘MMMBop’ and in celebration of 30 years performing together as HANSON, brothers Isaac Hanson (guitar, vocals, bass, piano), Taylor Hanson (keyboards, vocals, percussion), and Zac Hanson (drums, vocals, piano), as well as supporting members Dimitrius Collins (guitar) and Andrew Perusi (bass) will play Auckland in support of their new album RED GREEN BLUE [3CG Records] out now.

RED GREEN BLUE is HANSON’s 11th studio album – a unique combination of three solo – led projects, bringing together Isaac, Taylor and Zac’s creative voices like never before, with each brother producing a third of the album (Taylor’s Red, Isaac’s Green, and Zac’s Blue). The record is co-produced by Grammy Award-winning Producer, Engineer and Mixer Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wilco), and Grammy Award-winning Artist and Producer David Garza (Fiona Apple, Midland), and features the pre-released tracks ‘Child At Heart’, ‘Write You A Song’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Down’.

HANSON dominated the music scene in the late ‘90s following the release of their 5x ARIA Platinum and 4x RIAA Platinum debut studio album Middle of Nowhere (1997). The album reached #1 in Australia, the UK, Germany and Taiwan, #2 on the Billboard 200 and #4 in New Zealand, selling 10 million copies world-wide with hit singles ‘MMMBop’, ‘Where’s the Love’, ‘I Will Come to You’, ‘Weird’ and ‘Thinking of You’. This was followed by their sophomore album Snowed In – a Christmas record that became the best-selling holiday album for 1997 in the US and peaking at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and #12 on the official New Zealand Music Chart.

In 2017 HANSON celebrated their 25th anniversary when touring Australia and New Zealand with their Middle of Everywhere World Tour, celebrating two decades of music and the amazing community of fans – new and old – who have supported them throughout their career. They most recently toured Australia in 2019 with their String Theory Tour, which saw them take the stage alongside a symphony orchestra, through a special collaboration with Academy Award-winning arranger David Campbell.

‘As soon as HANSON hit the stage in this unique viewing space, the audience took to their feet… This was HANSON at their best.’ – The AU Review

‘The Forum is electric and raucous, fuelled with unbridled joy and shameless nostalgia’ – The Guardian

RED GREEN BLUE 2022 TOUR will not only premiere the 15 songs from the new project but also celebrate 30 years of music in one great show. Being HANSON’s first major tour since 2019’s String Theory album and tour, fans can expect a career spanning set list of fan favourites, along with the songs off the new album and 2020’s Against The World.

CHCH

Going into their 30th year as a band, Hanson is not only going on tour but is releasing a brand new album called ‘Red Green Blue’ that brings together the band’s three unique creative voices. Taylor, Isaac and Zac joined us this morning to talk about the album and their past career.