Emblem3
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2004 in Sequim, Washington, USA |
| Headquarters | Sequim, Washington , United States |
| Products | Music albums, singles, EPs |
Emblem3 is a rap rock group originating from Sequim, Washington, USA, composed of Wesley Stromberg (born December 6, 1993), Drew Chadwick (born October 1, 1992), and Keaton Stromberg (born July 16, 1996). In 2013, after finishing as the tenth act eliminated on season two of The X Factor, they secured contracts with Simon Cowell's label Syco Records and Columbia Records. Their debut single, "Chloe (You're the One I Want)", debuted on April 15, 2013, followed by their first album Nothing to Lose released on July 30, 2013.
Origins
During their middle school years in Sequim, Washington, Drew Chadwick and Wesley Stromberg began working together under the name American Scholars. Meanwhile, Keaton Stromberg was nine years old and part of his own band called Lucky 13. Wesley relocated to Huntington Beach, California, with Chadwick joining later and Keaton following after enrolling in a local art school. The trio recorded an album titled Bite Your Lip and Take It as The American Scholars. After experimenting with various names, they ultimately adopted "Emblem3" while performing around Huntington Beach’s Sunset Strip.
2012: Participation in The X Factor
In 2012, Emblem3 auditioned for the second season of The X Factor in San Francisco, showcasing an original composition titled "Sunset Blvd" penned by Chadwick. Their bootcamp performance featured "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls, and at the judges' houses stage they sang "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police, earning a spot in the live rounds.
Their debut live show on October 31 included a rendition of "One Day" originally by Matisyahu. Simon Cowell chose them as the first group to advance into the top twelve. Subsequent performances combined "My Girl" by the Temptations with "California Gurls" by Katy Perry and "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. Throughout the competition, they consistently ranked within the fan-voted top six.
Later performances featured songs such as "No One" by Alicia Keys, "Secrets" by OneRepublic, and "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees. In week six, they performed "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars along with fan-chosen "Forever Young" by Alphaville (band), maintaining a solid position among viewers.
During the semi-final round, Emblem3 delivered performances of "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Peter Frampton and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, before being eliminated just prior to the final episode.
The X Factor Performances
| Show | Theme | Song | Original artist | Order | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Free choice | "Sunset Blvd" | Emblem3 | — | Advanced to bootcamp |
| Bootcamp 1 | Solo performance | "Iris" | Goo Goo Dolls | Advanced to bootcamp 2 | |
| Bootcamp 2 | Group performance | Not Broadcast | Advanced to bootcamp 3 | ||
| Bootcamp 3 | Duet performance | Advanced to judges' houses | |||
| Judges' houses | Free choice | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | The Police | Advanced to live shows | |
| Week 1 | Made in America | "One Day" | Matisyahu | 16 | Saved by Simon Cowell |
| Week 2 | Songs from movies | "My Girl/California Gurls/What Makes You Beautiful" | The Temptations/Katy Perry/One Direction | 4 | Safe (6th place) |
| Week 3 | Divas | "No One" | Alicia Keys | 11 | Safe (4th place) |
| Week 4 | Giving Thanks | "Secrets" | OneRepublic | 3 | Safe (4th place) |
| Week 5 | Number-ones | "I'm a Believer" | The Monkees | 8 | Safe (3rd place) |
| Week 6 | Unplugged songs | "Just the Way You Are" | Bruno Mars | 2 | Safe (3rd place) |
| Pepsi Challenge songs | "Forever Young" | Alphaville (band) | 8 | ||
| Semi-final | Contestant's choice | "Baby, I Love Your Way" | Peter Frampton | 3 | Eliminated (4th place) |
| No theme | "Hey Jude" | The Beatles | 7 | ||
2013–2014: Nothing to Lose
The group commenced work on their first full-length album, Nothing to Lose, in December 2012 and officially launched it on July 30, 2013. Its lead track, "Chloe (You're the One I Want)", peaked at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The follow-up single was "3000 Miles". To promote the album, they embarked on the "Goin' Back to Cali Tour" in April 2013 and served as the opening act for Selena Gomez during her Stars Dance Tour beginning in August 2013. On December 5, they performed "Just for One Day" on The X Factor and revealed plans for their inaugural national headlining tour titled "#Bandlife".
On June 2, 2014, Emblem3 independently issued their debut EP, Songs from the Couch, Vol. I. Shortly thereafter, on June 20, Drew Chadwick departed from the band to focus on a solo career. Following his exit, Keaton and Wesley Stromberg collaborated as a duo to release their first EP, Forever Together, on October 27, 2014.
2015–2017: Waking Up
In 2016, the band reunited and unveiled the EP Waking Up, alongside launching an eponymous app designed for distributing new music. They initiated the Waking Up world tour in April of that year.
However, due to creative disagreements and management complications, the group entered another period of inactivity.
2019: Pyro
Operating under the Emblem3 name, Drew and Wesley released the hip-hop inspired EP Pyro, while Keaton engaged in separate endeavors with The Social.
2020–present
The trio reassembled in 2020 with Keaton rejoining and resumed production on the single "Jaiden". In 2021, they delivered three singles: "Champagne Dreams", "Eyes Wide Open", and "So Proud".
In 2023, they followed up their earlier work with the release of Songs from the Couch, Vol. 2.
In March 2025, Drew exited once more to pursue solo ambitions and was succeeded by Jack Mudd.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Digital | CAN | NZ | |||
| Nothing to Lose |
|
7 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
|
| Songs from the Couch, Vol.1 |
|
53 | 22 | |||
| Songs from the Couch, Vol.2 |
|
|||||
Extended plays
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Digital | ||
| Forever Together |
|
56 | 21 |
| Waking Up |
|
— | — |
| Pyro |
|
— | — |
Singles
| Year | Track | Highest chart rankings | Sales figures | Associated album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | US Digital | US Heatseekers | US Pop | CAN Canadian Hot 100 | KR Gaon Chart | ||||
| 2013 | "Chloe (You're the One I Want)" | 93 | 67 | 7 | 25 | 87 | 93 |
|
Nothing to Lose |
| "3000 Miles" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2016 | "Taboo Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Waking Up | |
| "End of the Summer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2017 | "Too Pretty (For Your Own Good)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Template:N/A | |
| "Homerun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan=3 Template:N/A | ||
| "New Day" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Corona and Lime" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2020 | "Jaiden" | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan=6 Template:N/A | |
| 2021 | "Champagne Dreams" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Eyes Wide Open" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "So Proud" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Walking Dead" | — | — | — | — | –– | – | |||
| 2022 | "Sunset Blvd (10 Year Anniversary)" | — | — | — | –– | –– | –– | ||
| "Rush" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | Songs from the Couch, Vol.2 | ||
| "My Year" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | |||
| 2023 | "Burning Man" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | Template:N/A | |
| "We Made It (King of the Belmont Shore)" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | Songs from the Couch, Vol.2 | ||
| "Nirvana" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | |||
| "Free Ride" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | rowspan=2 Template:N/A | ||
| 2024 | "Looks to Kill" | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | ||
Featured artist appearances
| Year | Track | Highest chart rankings | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Digital | US Heatseekers | US Pop | CAN | KR | |||
| 2014 | "Cheat Codes" (Jack & Jack featuring Emblem3) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="10" Template:N/A |
| 2023 | "Supermodel Mode" (Supermodels with Emblem3) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Jessie" (Supermodels with Emblem3) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Won't Forget" (Supermodels with Emblem3) |
— | — | — | — | −− | −− | ||
| 2024 | "Dream Squad" (Supermodels featuring Emblem3) |
"—"|"—"|"—"|"—"|"—" | ||||||
| "Miss Teen USA" (Supermodels featuring Emblem3) |
"—"|"—"|"—"|"—"|"—" | |||||||
| "Miss USA" (Supermodels featuring Emblem3) |
"—"|"—"|"—"|"—"|"—" | |||||||
| "Living The Dream" (Supermodels featuring Emblem3) |
"—"|"—"|"—"|"—"|"—" | |||||||
| 2025 | "FOREVER 25" (Supermodels featuring Emblem3) |
— |— |— |— |— | ||||||
| "Stormy" (Supermodels featuring Emblem3) |
— |— |— |— |— | |||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee/Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Music: Breakthrough Group | Emblem3 | Template:Won |
| Teen Icon Awards | Rising Icon | rowspan=7 Template:Nom | ||
| Iconic Viner | Wesley Stromberg | |||
| Capricho Awards | International Cutie (Gato Internacional) | Drew Chadwick | ||
| Best Show in Brazil (Melhor Show no Brasil) | Emblem3 | |||
| International Revelation (Revelação Internacional) | ||||
| 2014 | Radio Disney Music Awards | Best Crush Song - XOXO | "Chloe (You're the One I Want)" | |
| Radio Disney Music Awards | Best Music Group - They're the One | Emblem3 |
Tours
- West Coast Tour (2013)
- E3 Goes East (2013)
- Goin' Back to Cali (2013)
- Emblem3 Summer Tour (2013)
- Stars Dance Tour (Opening Act) (2013)
- #Bandlife Tour (2014) (with opening performances by MKTO and Jackson Guthy)
- Fireside Story Sessions (2014)
- Forever Together Tour (late 2014)
- Waking Up Tour (2016) (featuring opening acts Megan Nicole, Dyllan Murray, The Ready Set)
- Eyes Wide Open Tour (2021) (opening acts included THE SOCIAL, Tiffany Stringer)
- Songs from the Couch Tour (2023)
- The North American Tour (2023)
- Super Happy Story Time Tour (2024)
In addition to their tours, the band has appeared at events such as Z-Fest in Brazil, Kiss Concert in Boston, and Spring Break Portugal. They are also slated to perform in summer concert series like the Ramapo Summer Concert Series in New York. Their live performances have included shared stages with artists including Jack & Jack.
External links
- 2004 establishments in Washington (state)
- Musical groups established in 2007
- American boy bands
- Columbia Records artists
- Musical groups from Washington (state)
- Syco Music artists
- The X Factor (American TV series) contestants
- Musical groups from Orange County, California
- Singers from Washington (state)
- Musical groups disestablished in 2017