MAGIC! Peform “Rude” Live And Acoustic: Idolator Sessions

Robbie Daw | July 17, 2014 12:29 pm

Toronto reggae-pop-rockers MAGIC! pulled off the ultimate pop trick this week by unseating Iggy Azalea from the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The Nasri Atweh-fronted band’s debut single “Rude” had been steadily gaining momentum since the early spring, and last week Idolator had the good fortune to have the guys around for an intimate Idolator Sessions performance. (Watch them do “No Evil” live during their session here.)

“Songwriting is important for us,” Nasri explains before performing the song. “The craft has always been a bit of an obsession for me, and I know the guys love the process too.”

He continued by explaining the origins of the quartet’s hit single. “It actually started off [as] a really dark song,” Atweh says. “It’s funny, because I would have never expected it would end up where it ended up now, which is this story where I’m basically singing to a dad.”

Of course, radio listeners and MAGIC!’s audience can get confused at times by the chart-topping song’s lyrics — as can Nasri himself!

“Sometimes I’m on stage and I’m singing to a girl, but it’s actually lyrics to a dad,” he says. “So I don’t know whether to keep going at this girl asking her to marry her daughter, which would be like an infant. It’s just an odd thing.”

Watch Nasri and bandmates Mark Pellizzer, Ben Spivak and Alex Tanas give the story behind their smash “Rude” and perform a stripped-down rendition of the song live for Idolator Sessions. Then check back next week for another performance from the band.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.