The Lonely Island

The Lonely Island is a American comedy troupe composed of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone best known for their comedic music. The group is originally from Berkley, California, but is currently based in New York City. The group broke out due to their collective work on Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2011.

History
The three met each other in junior high school, Schaffer and Taccone met each other in Spanish class and later included Samberg. Each had plans to pursue the arts following their graduation from Berkley High School but they split since they were attending different colleges. Following college, the trio regrouped in Berkley to decide their future. Their two options were either stay in Berkley and begin making short films or move to Los Angeles to get "real jobs". After they created their website, then host short films. They named themselves "The Lonely Island", after the apartment they shared. Their roommate was also a musician, which led to them making comedic rap songs. Their videos were produced with borrowed equipment and were edited on a PowerMac. In December 2001, they produced a pilot for a television series titled The Lonely Island; the first episode, "White Power!", involved the three becoming addicted to teeth whitening products. The video gained the trio agents, and was notable for a scene in which they mug an elderly woman. In 2003, they produced a second pilot for a Lonely Island series; the film premiered at the Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles, the cable network’s proving ground for new talent. The network purchased the series, but further scripts did not move forward. They became involved with Super Midnight Movie Club, a club hosted by screenwriters Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab, which evolved into Channel 101, non-profit monthly short film festival. Their first submission, Ignition TV Buzz Countdown, was voted back after its premiere, but ended after two episodes. Their second Channel 101 series, The 'Bu, is a parody of Fox's The O.C., and was enormously successful at the screenings, running for eight episodes.

Career
After being mentioned to by former Saturday Night Live cast member, Jimmy Fallon after having a writing job for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, his praise for them led to the trio to audition. Samberg made to the cast a featured player then turned into a repertory player until he left the show in 2012, while Schaffer and Taccone went to become writers for the show as well. While on the show, the group went on to create a short rap song "Lazy Sunday" (which featured fellow SNL cast member, Chris Parnell) which went viral on the internet, also becoming one of YouTube's first. After the success of "Lazy Sunday", the group released their next viral video, "Dick in a Box" (featuring Justin Timberlake) which won the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In 2009, the group released their debut studio album Incredibad, which they recorded in a LA home for over three months. The first single they recorded for the record was "Jizz in my Pants" which would become their first platinum-selling single. Soon after, they released "I'm On A Boat" which featured T-Pain, the single went double platinum and earning them their first Grammy nomination. Incredibad went on to sell 250,000 records in 2009, making it the year's eighth best-selling hip-hop album. Along with their music success, the group released their first theatrical film titled Hot Rod, which starred Samberg and Taccone while Schaffer directed the film. In 2011, the group released their second album, Turtleneck & Chain on May 10, 2011 which was supported by singles such as "The Creep (featuring Nicki Minaj and John Waters), "We're Back", "I Just Had Sex (featuring Akon)", and "Jack Sparrow (featuring Michael Bolton). Turtleneck and Chain was nominated for both a Emmy and Grammy for "Best Comedy Album". After all three left SNL, in 2013, they released their third studio album with Republic Records, The Wack Album on June 7, 2013 which was supported by singles such as "YOLO (featuring Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar), "Spring Break Anthem", "Diaper Money", and "Go Kindergarten (featuring Robyn)". The group also recorded a song for "The LEGO Movie" titled "Everything is Awesome" featuring Tegan & Sara, which they also performed at the 87th Academy Awards and was nominated for "Best Original Song". In 2016, the trio released their second feature film, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping which was also produced by Judd Apatow on June 3, 2016. In the same year, the trio created a sketch-comedy television series for FOX alongside Paul Scheer titled Party Over Here which premiered on March 12, 2016 but was cancelled after one season. The three are also executive producers for the Freeform original series Alone Together.

Members

 * Andy Samberg
 * Akiva Schaffer
 * Jorma Taccone

Discography

 * Incredibad (2009)
 * Turtleneck & Chain (2011)
 * The Wack Album (2013)
 * Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2016)

Filmography

 * Hot Rod (2006)
 * Neighbors (2014)
 * Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)