'It's like a dream' - We Three, of 'America's Got Talent' fame, return to travelling, performing live in London

Record ID: 1632605

  • Title: 'It's like a dream' - We Three, of 'America's Got Talent' fame, return to travelling, performing live in London
  • Date: 17th August 2021
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 10, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BAND "WE THREE" MEMBERS, SIBLINGS BETHANY BLANCHARD, MANNY AND JOSHUA HUMLIE, ON WRITING SONGS TOGETHER, SAYING: MANNY HUMLIE "Yes. We tried." JOSHUA HUMLIE "We started trying." MANNY HUMLIE "It didn't work at all. They were very, they were all about like... there were too many analogies when we were all writing together. It was about trees and wind and water tons of stuff like that. But basically so I write most of the songs and I think we just all found our niche in things, you know, and that's very, very important. One, just being in a band, but being in a band with your siblings is like, you know, letting each other find those things that they're good at and, you know, running with that.
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2021 13:58
  • Keywords: AGT band siblings America's Got Talent We Three We Three band We Three music sibling band
  • Location: LONDON AND LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • City: LONDON AND LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Music
  • Reuters ID: LVA009EQO2NNX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. band We Three are doing what many musicians around the world dream of at the moment - travelling and playing in front of live audiences.
    The group, made up of siblings Manny, Bethany and Joshua, have been in the United Kingdom for a week, performing in London and visiting the birthplace of the Beatles, Liverpool.
    "This is our first real, like, going and doing stuff, it feels so good and we don't ever want to leave!" the group's lead singer and guitarist, Manny Humlie told Reuters.
    The trio hails from Oregon and grew up in a musical family, performing in their father's band and forming their own group in their teens.
    "They started first, when I was probably like 10 and I wasn't allowed to be in the group," said Manny, the youngest.
    "He literally wasn't cool enough," joked middle child Bethany, 28, who is the group's bassist, adding that once Manny was allowed to join in, he started writing original music that gave the band a new direction.
    That included an appearance on America's Got Talent, where they wowed judges with "Heaven's Not Too Far", a tribute to their mother who passed away from cancer in 2016, and advanced all the way to season 13 semi-finals.
    Manny, now 24, said the show provided We Three with a new fanbase and a platform to showcase their music on a bigger scale.
    Since appearing on the show in 2018 We Three have released two full length albums, an EP and toured extensively. They were performing in Germany in March 2020 when the pandemic hit.
    "It all happened very quick. So, this last year has actually been really good for us to kind of have time to breathe for a second and really figure out what we want to do," said Bethany.
    "It has been a really cool journey since then in some rebranding and figuring out who we want to be as a band, musically," added Manny.
    "We've just sharpened our writing skills, our social media skills, everything."
    While the siblings are used to sharing everything, the task of writing their songs eventually fell on Manny.
    "We tried. It didn't work at all," he said, laughing, of trying to write songs together.
    "There were too many analogies when we were all writing together. It was about trees and wind and water tons of stuff like that."
    Instead of the natural world, his lyrics spring from personal experiences, Manny said.
    Feeling things very strongly since he was a child, songwriting became a means to express his emotions and his observations.
    "My goal any time, I show someone a song, is to feel uncomfortable with what they're hearing about me and what I've said. And I feel like if I don't feel uncomfortable, then I wasn't honest enough in the song," he said.
    "I hate that I have that standard because it's pretty uncomfortable sometimes. But I think that's what's important, because I do think people connect to it because it's so vulnerable and honest."
    That candour manifests itself in the song "Half Hearted" from the group's 2020 album "Dear Paranoia, Sincerely, Me" which Manny said he wrote as he was going through a divorce and mourning the end of a relationship while realising there was nothing left to fight for.
    The siblings reached out to fellow AGT contestants, trapeze act Duo Transcend for the song's music video which was released during their London visit on Friday (August 13).
    For another one of their hard-hitting songs, "Sara", from the 2019 EP "We're All Messed Up - but it's OK", We Three teamed up with non-profit mental health organisation "To Write Love On Her Arms" for a music video they hoped would make a difference.
    Initially concerned about its difficult subject matter, "Sara" became a social media hit after We Three performed the song at a livestream concert for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
    "We were scared to put that one out. I remember, when you (Manny) showed it to us the first time, it was intense. But I think we all knew that it needed to be shared and that one is one that definitely took us by surprise," said drummer and pianist Joshua, 30, the eldest of the siblings.
    All proceeds from the music video, which features contact details for help lines, will be donated to "To Write Love On Her Arms", the siblings said.
    "In terms of mental health, we always say it wasn't intentional for us to talk so much about it but I think just when you go through stuff, I think we're, maybe to a fault sometimes, honest people, which I think is scary, but it can be obviously beneficial," said Bethany.
    With more London dates to come, the trio say they are still having a hard time believing their luck and can't wait to share their music with fans.
    "It still feels kind of like a dream to come to a different country and play a show of all your original music," said Manny.
    "It still just kind of blows my mind."
    We Three will perform at London's Hard Rock Hotel on Tuesday (August 17) evening.
    (Production: Gerhard Mey, Hanna Rantala)
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