On March 24, 2006, Disney Channel aired the premiere of Hannah Montana. The new show, featuring Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, a pop singer living a secret “normal” life, became a huge hit. The series launched Miley Cyrus’ career, and she soon became a 2000s icon. Miley’s co-stars included Emily Osment as her best friend Lily, Jason Earles as her brother Jackson, her real-life father Billy Ray Cyrus as her father, and her friend Oliver, played by Mitchel Musso.
During the filming of the show’s first season, the Cyrus family and the Musso family arranged a meeting between Miley’s real-life brother Trace and Musso’s brother Mason. They met on the set of Hannah Montana and jammed at Musso’s house a few days later. Right then, they formed a new pop-rock band, Metro Station. They began writing and releasing their music through Myspace.
That same week, Hannah Montana debuted alongside Metro Station’s debut EP, The Questions We Ask At Night. The EP was released on March 31, 2006, and tracks such as “Seventeen Forever” and “Kelsey” garnered significant attention on Myspace.
Metro Station Releases Their Debut Album
By the time the band released their self-titled debut on September 18, 2007, Metro Station had a large Myspace following. Their single, “Seventeen Forever”, went to No. 1 on the Myspace Music’s Unsigned Bands chart in 2006. Afterward, the band signed with Columbia Records. Their debut album was co-produced by S*A*M and Sluggo, a production and songwriting duo formed by Sam Hollander and Dave “Sluggo” Katz. Additionally, two members of Motion City Soundtrack, lead singer Justin Pierre and guitarist Joshua Cain, also co-produced the album. In particular, their production can be heard on the hit single, “Kelsey”.
Metro Station’s primary influences were The Postal Service, The Killers, and Forever The Sickest Kids. Their debut single, “Kelsey”, went to No. 1 on the US Dance Songs chart in August 2007. A second single, “Control”, failed to match the success of the debut single. Despite this, their third single, “Shake It”, became the band’s biggest hit and signature track. Released on April 1, 2008, “Shake It” peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band re-released “Seventeen Forever” as the album’s final single.
After releasing the Kelsey EP in 2009, the band went on hiatus in 2010 because of creative differences. Trace Cyrus focused on a solo project, Ashland High, while Mason Musso obtained the rights to the name Metro Station. The group briefly reunited in 2014 to release a new EP and a sophomore album in 2015. Again, the band went on hiatus in 2017, only to return once more in 2020 with a new single, “I Hate Society”. The coronavirus pandemic brought plans for a comeback tour to a screaming halt.
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