During the early 2010’s, Far East Movement was one of the most popular musical groups in the world. With hits like “Like a G6” and “Rocketeer”, they dominated all of the biggest charts. They came onto the scene fast, and it seems like they left it just as quickly as they came. They’ve been featured on a couple of major tracks since their initial success, but from the perspective of some, it seems like they’ve fizzled out. What happened to Far East Movement after this period of dominance? In this article, I’ll talk about what the musical group did to climb to the top, and then I’ll provide you with a brief update as to what they’re doing today. Without further delay, let’s take a closer look at what Far East Movement has been doing in 2016.
The Formation of Far East Movement
This was the group’s first taste of “making it big”, and it helped them decide to continue to pursue a career in music in a very serious way. Their newfound success and popularity allowed them to go on a couple of international tours, which took them to the United States, Japan, Canada, and South America. Despite this success, the group had yet to fully break out into the mainstream music industry. In 2008, the group welcomed a new member, DJ Virman. In that same year, Far East Movement released their second studio album, Animal. Animal featured collaborations with several other up-and-coming artists, including  Bruno Mars and Wiz Khalifa. (Like Far East Movement, neither of these now-famous artists had really achieved massive mainstream attention by this point.) The album contained several singles (You’ve Got A Friend, Girls On The Dance Floor, and Lowridin) which received significant airplay. “Girls On The Dance Floor” was the most popular single to come from this album, reaching #27 on Billboard’s Latin Rhythm Airplay chart. This would be the first time that Far East Movement would hit the Billboard charts, but it would not be the last.
Reaching their peak in 2010
Just a couple of weeks after Free Wired dropped, their song “Like a G6” rocketed in the Billboard rankings. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was also topping charts on iTunes. Not wanting to let all of this newfound attention to go to waste, Far East Movement went on tour alongside La Roux in November of 2010. “Like a G6” became something of a smash hit, and it had peaked at number one on the U.S. Hot 100 for three nonconsecutive weeks. It also saw a lot of airplay in New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, Canada, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, among others. The song was actually the first single produced by Asian-American artists to top the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the first song produced by someone of Asian descent to top the chart since 1963. The song was heavily covered, remixed, and parodied, and I think that you would be hard-pressed to find someone who listened to music on the radio in 2010 and has never heard it. Less than a month after the single topped the charts, it had reached double platinum status, eclipsing two million units sold.
After all of that, they were able to release their next album, Dirty Bass, in May of 2012. Although the singles “Live My Life” and “Turn Up the Love” achieved modest success as top-40 hits, the success of this album was honestly dwarfed by the success of Free Wired. The group’s largest victory during this bleak time period was when they were featured on the Bingo Players’ track “Get Up (Rattle)”, which hit #1 on the UK Singles chart. It wasn’t much, but being featured on an international hit like this one did a little bit to boost their popularity again. Despite their best efforts, it seemed like Far East Movement just wasn’t able to get themselves out of this sophomore slump. In the years to follow, they were never able to obtain the same level of popularity that they saw in 2010. Most people haven’t even heard of the group since then. So, did Far East Movement quit music entirely? Did the group break up? What are they doing now in 2018?
What’s Far East Movement Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates
If it’s any consolation to fans of the musical group, it seems as though Far East Movement is still thoroughly intent on continuing a career in the music business. In recent years, the group has created their own record label alongside Trap City called Brednbutter Records. According to their Facebook page, they’re looking to release a new Far East Movement album, as well as an EP, in the near future. They’re also still performing live on occassion, and they are currently slated to perform alongside DJay Mando in Madison, Wisconsin in December of this year. Although they’ve been away from it all for quite a long time, it doesn’t look like these artists are interested in fully stepping away just yet. Far East Movement is currently only really known for their handful of hits, but they hope to be known for a lot more within a few years.