All You Need to Know; Tones and I
Tones and I, just about everybody and anybody knows her. And that goes to show what a huge splash she made on the music scene with her infectious track, ‘Dance Monkey’.
Toni Watson, fondly known as Tones and I, has made quite the name for herself in the music industry. And boy, she ain’t no one hit wonder. More recently, she put out her track, ‘Ur So F**king Cool,’ which once again took the charts by storm. But this time around, Watson’s making headlines for a very different reason. The young star recently took to Instagram to put out this message: “Last time I checked you didn’t need to be “pretty” to write a good song. And it will be a cold day in hell when I join the club of women that have only gotten somewhere because of what they look like. Thanks.”
Oof, preach queen, preach. Her message got us thinking: you might know Tones and I for her music, but there’s so much more to the gal. And we’re here to help you get to know the star just a tad bit better.
Photo Credit: Tones and I Official Instagram/ Getty Images
1. At the tender age of 7, Watson’s family discovered the little one’s talent. “We were all just singing a song and my aunty was like ‘oh guys, she can actually hold a note,'” Watson recalled.
2. Tones and I initially started busking in Melbourne before she created a YouTube page and posted a cappella covers.
3. According to Tones and I, ‘Dance Monkey’ was “Written alone in a dark closet in not much more than 30 minutes.”
4. Oh and here’s the kicker: ‘Dance Monkey’ just notched yet another win. It just reached a new multi-platinum tier in the country.
5. And yet, the rise to fame was in no way easy. Toni Watson was forced to sleep in her van for many days: “When I was busking, when I was sneaking into hostels so I could park my van up and sleep in it, I had the best time of my life.”
6. Long before ‘Dance Monkey’ was born, Tones and I had worked in her manager’s studio and recorded a song titled ‘Johnny Run Away’ – this was the tune that put her on the map.
7. If you were curious, here’s the inspiration behind the track: ‘Johnny’ is about my best friend who was telling me the story of how he came out at a young age to a disapproving father,” Watson recalled. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
8. Since we’re on the topic, Tones and I drew inspiration for ‘Dance Monkey’ from her busking days. People want you to keep going on and on and on, Watson put this down as one of the many pressures of live performances. (Photo by Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images)
9. Toni Watson made her American television debut on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ to perform “Dance Monkey.” The audience even gave her a standing ovation for it.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
10. Despite the whirlwind of fame she’s received, somethings never change – “I’m going to do surprise spots. I’ll go back to Byron Bay to do a surprise busk — I’ll give clues on my Instagram as to where it is, but it’ll be random places.” (Photo by Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images)
By: Nina Karun
