MKTO

Biography

MKTO is an American pop and hip hop duo, consisting of Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller from Los Angeles. Their self-titled album was released on January 30, 2014, by Columbia Records. In July 2015, the duo released their first extended play, titled Bad Girls EP. As of 2022, the band has sold over 1 million records worldwide. The name "MKTO" is derived from the first letters of the names and surnames of the members at the time of its founding "MK" for Malcolm Kelley and "TO" for Tony Oller; it also stands for "Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts".

2010–2012: Formation

Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller met in 2010 while filming the Nickelodeon television series Gigantic, in which their characters played best friends. They later formed as a duo and came up with the name MKTO, which represents the combined initials of their names and surnames, MK for Malcolm Kelley and TO for Tony Oller. They elaborated upon the inspiration for their name, saying: "It also stands for what our album kind of is: Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts – just like the kids we were in high school".

2012–2014: MKTO

The duo signed to Columbia Records and released their debut single "Thank You×Thank You20 November 2012 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Thank You3:33" on November 12, 2012. The song's genre is a crossover between pop and hip hop. The song has attained commercial success, reaching the top ten on both the Australian and New Zealand singles charts. The song's music video was released on YouTube via Vevo on January 4, 2013, and garnered over 500,000 views within two days of being released. It now sits at over 25 million views. In the music video, Harold Perrineau, who played the father of Kelley's character on Lost, appeared as a reference to the show. MKTO released their second single, "Classic×Classic20 June 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Classic2:55" along with the music video on June 20, 2013. Classic peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the music video has since compiled over 200 million views on YouTube. The music video for their third single, "God Only Knows", was released on November 29, 2013, on YouTube and Vevo. God Only Knows peaked at number 11 in Australia and at number 19 in New Zealand. In 2013, they served as the opening for Emblem3 on their summer tour across the United States. They also served as the opening for Emblem3's #bandlife Tour and Demi Lovato's "Demi: World Tour" in 2014. Their self-titled debut album was released on January 30, 2014 in Australia and New Zealand and it was released on April 1 in North America.
In February 2014, their debut album went to #1 in Australia and #6 in New Zealand. During the summer of 2014, MKTO went on their first headlining tour, the American Dream Tour. This featured opening acts Tiffany Houghton and Action Item. The fourth single from their debut album in the United States is "American Dream" and peaked at number 40 in Australia and at number 12 in New Zealand. Despite not being singles, "Forever Until Tomorrow" reached number 23 on iTunes in Australia and "Heartbreak Holiday" reached number 30 on iTunes in Australia and number 42 in the United States.

2015–2016: Bad Girls EP

On July 22, 2015, MKTO released their first extended play Bad Girls EP, which was preceded by the June 2015 release of its lead single "Bad Girls×Bad Girls2 June 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Bad Girls3:14". The single peaked at number 80 in Australia and peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. The EP peaked at number 32 on the iTunes chart in Australia and number 50 on the iTunes chart in the United States. A double A-side single including two brand-new tracks "Hands Off My Heart/Places You Go" was premiered exclusively on Billboard on March 9, 2016. "Superstitious×Superstitious13 May 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Superstitious3:13" is the second single that was released in 2016 by the duo.

2017–present: Canceled second studio album, disbandment, return

On March 10, 2017, Oller announced on Twitter that the band had broken up. However, according to their Twitter page, they plan to release new music very soon.
On June 12, 2018, MKTO announced on Twitter that they were back together. Three days later, on June 15, the band announced they had signed a new record deal with BMG. Following the announcement, the duo released a new single titled, "How Can I Forget" in August 2018. In June 2019, they released another single, "Shoulda Known Better×Shoulda Known Better14 June 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Shoulda Known Better3:26". A third single, "Marry Those Eyes×Marry Those Eyes6 September 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Marry Those Eyes2:58" was released on September 6, 2019. "Consider Me Yours" was released on November 22, 2019. In April 2020, MKTO released a music video for Just Imagine It. They also released 3 singles, "Simple Things×Simple Things29 January 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Simple Things3:03", "Party With My Friends×Party with My Friends13 March 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Party With My Friends2:33" and "How Much×How Much14 May 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1How Much3:26". "Party With My Friends" peaked at number 85 on iTunes while "How Much" peaked at number 54 on iTunes. On August 17, 2021, Tony Oller announced via social media that he would be moving on from the band. However, months after this announcement, it appears he has returned as he frequently uploads on the MKTO YouTube channel and performed a live show for Hold on til Dawn in May 2022. In December 2024, Hold on til Dawn announced that they were reuniting MKTO for another benefit concert in Orlando. On January 26, 2025, Tony Oller and Malcolm Kelley took the stage for the first time since they disbanded in 2020.
Currently, MKTO plan to begin a new tour, with its first concert being announced for February 14, 2025, at Florida Southern College, as part of their annual Southern Takeover event.