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Magic!
Latium Entertainment’s Charles Chavez initially knew Magic! frontman Nasri as a songwriter/producer who had co-written the hit “Feel This Moment” for his management client Pitbull. After Chavez came across a YouTube link for a song called “Rude,” he called up Nasri to ask which band he had written the tune for.
“Nasri said, ‘It’s me! It’s my band!’” Chavez told Pollstar.
“So I was like, ‘Holy shit! I love this song.’ And he said, ‘Well you know, I’ve been trying to be an artist for 10 years. … Not that many people believe in me but I’m trying.’ I told him, ‘I believe in you. Let’s do something. This song can be one of the biggest songs in the world.’”
Photo: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Photo
No kidding. After signing the Canadian reggae fusion band and releasing “Rude” as a digital download, the song placed in the Top 10 on radio charts from Finland to South Africa, as well as hitting No. 1 on the American Top 40. In September the RIAA certified the tune as 3x multi-platinum.
“Rude” is the first single from Magic!’s debut studio album, Don’t Kill the Magic, which was released in June, debuting at No. 6 on the Nielsen SoundScan album chart.
“Every great band is led by a great songwriter,” Chavez said. “Honestly, if they keep writing the songs that they do, they can be one of the biggest bands. I tell them all the time, ‘If you guys keep writing like this and stay together, you can make history.’ I believe in them that much.”
Photo: Darren Calabrese/AP Photo/The Canadian Press
The showcase Chavez put together to introduce Magic! to the industry a year ago was the act’s first gig ever. The band has since been honing its skills, playing shows here and there. Magic! has a handful of festival appearances booked this fall and then they’ll spend next spring touring North America and Europe with Maroon 5.
“The Maroon 5 tour is their first big look,” Chavez said. “In the short time that they’ve been on the road, they’re getting better and better every time I see them. They’re all professional musicians that have been doing this for a while … as a unit they’re figuring it out as they’re going along. They’re becoming one.”