Biography

Formed in 2011 by brothers Beau, Jai, and Luke Brooks and friends Daniel Sahyounie and James Yammouni in Melbourne, Australia, the teens names themselves the Janoskians -- which stands for "Just Another Name of Silly Kids In Another Nation" -- and started posting videos to YouTube. Becoming a viral internet hit with their gross-out comedy, prank, and stunt videos -- akin to that of Jackass and TV shows Punk'd and Candid Camera -- the group gained a considerable teen following in their native Australia. Signing a recording deal with Sony Music in 2012 saw the boys release their debut single "Set This World on Fire," which peaked at number 19 in the Australian charts. At the end of that year the group also filmed a special eight-part web series for MTV Australia. With their popularity growing, the troupe headed to the U.S. in 2013, while also releasing their second single "Best Friends." With meet and greets scheduled, the turnout from fans far exceeded what they'd expected -- with many events being shut down by local police due to overcrowding -- and at the beginning of 2014 a meet up in Times Square attracted an estimated 20,000 fans with police eventually having to shut off part of 7th Avenue. In mid-2014 the troupe announced the Got Cake world tour, which was preceded by their third single "Real Girls Eat Cake." A Janoskians feature was also announced during this period by Lionsgate. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi