# Hey Violet
**Hey Violet** is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2008 as the all-female hard rock band Cherri Bomb and renamed Hey Violet in February 2015.[1](https://www.liverate.com/artists/hey-violet) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) After the rename the group moved from guitar-driven hard rock toward synth-based pop, signed to 5 Seconds of Summer's Hi or Hey Records, and became known for the 2016 single "Guys My Age" and the 2017 debut album *From the Outside*.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed in Los Angeles in 2008 as the hard rock band Cherri Bomb; renamed Hey Violet on February 18, 2015[1](https://www.liverate.com/artists/hey-violet) |
| Members | Bassist/lead vocalist Rena Lovelis, drummer/vocalist Nia Lovelis, guitarist Casey Moreta, and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Miranda Miller; bassist Iain Shipp became a full member in September 2016[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) |
| Label | Hi or Hey Records, the Capitol subsidiary founded by 5 Seconds of Summer; Hey Violet was its first signing[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) • [4](https://www.musicconnection.com/pdf/completeissue/mcnov2015.pdf) |
| Debut album | *From the Outside*, released June 16, 2017 (41:27) on Capitol/Virgin EMI, with production by Julian Bunetta[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/from-the-outside-mw0003045457) |
| Chart peaks | *From the Outside* peaked at No. 110 on the Billboard 200; "Guys My Age" reached No. 68 on the Hot 100 and No. 20 at pop radio[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html) • [6](https://stereogum.com/1946309/hey-violet-when-going-pop-goes-right/franchises/the-week-in-pop) |
| Streaming | "Guys My Age" had been streamed more than 35 million times on Spotify by December 2017[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html) |
| Current lineup | Rena Lovelis (lead vocals), Nia Lovelis (drums), and Casey Moreta (guitar), releasing new music through Hopeless Records[7](https://heyviolet.bandcamp.com/) |
## Cherri Bomb and the renaming
The band began as Cherri Bomb, a hard rock group of four young teens: Julia Pierce on lead vocals and lead guitar, Miranda Miller on rhythm guitar, keyboards, and vocals, Rena Lovelis on bass and vocals, and Nia Lovelis on drums and vocals.[8](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/72808/Hey-Violet-I-Can-Feel-It/) As Cherri Bomb, the group released an album on Disney's Hollywood Records in 2012 and opened for acts including [Foo Fighters](https://www.edgepedia.org/foo-fighters), My Chemical Romance, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Bush, while also securing a placement on the *Avengers* soundtrack.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/14/new-band-of-the-week-hey-violet)
Pierce left in early 2013; whether she quit or was fired depends on who is telling the story.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html) Rena Lovelis moved to lead vocals, and guitarist Casey Moreta joined as a temporary member in March 2013 and stayed on.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) AllMusic dates the Hey Violet name itself to 2015 in Los Angeles, while other profiles trace the band's start to the 2008 founding of Cherri Bomb.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) • [10](https://www.ladygunn.com/music/interview-hey-violet/)
## Hi or Hey Records and the shift to pop
Hey Violet signed to Hi or Hey Records, the label 5 Seconds of Summer established in association with [Capitol Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-records), and was the first band on its roster.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) • [4](https://www.musicconnection.com/pdf/completeissue/mcnov2015.pdf) A friend of the band had suggested Hey Violet to the 5 Seconds of Summer camp, which had been looking for a female-fronted group.[11](https://vindyarchives.com/news/2015/aug/20/hey-violet-catches-ear-of--seconds/) The band toured with 5 Seconds of Summer through May, June, and July 2015 in support of its debut EP, *I Can Feel It*, released in mid-July 2015.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) The EP kept much of the old band's pop-punk energy; the single "This Is Why" collected 1.1 million global views for its music video after being posted to YouTube in March 2015.[12](https://manuals.plus/m/3b213c94ed2666a798da57cc748f454dbd736067bfcb098314dd677412b07f4b.pdf)
The poppier *Brand New Moves* EP followed in 2016 and produced the hit "Guys My Age."[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) Rena Lovelis described the change in direction as deliberate experimentation: "We came from guitar-driven songs and thought, 'How do we do this?' So we looked at the Weeknd and 21 Pilots, who have insanely good, catchy melodies," adding that [Katy Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/katy-perry) was a big influence early in the change, along with [Cyndi Lauper](https://www.edgepedia.org/cyndi-lauper).[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/14/new-band-of-the-week-hey-violet) Bassist Iain Shipp, previously a touring member, was added as a full-fledged member in September 2016, shortly after the EP's release.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430)
## From the Outside
*From the Outside*, released on June 16, 2017, was the band's first full-length album as Hey Violet, recorded at Enemy Dojo in [Calabasas, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/calabasas-california), and Sarm Music Village in London, with production by [Julian Bunetta](https://www.edgepedia.org/julian-bunetta), the songwriter and producer known for his work with [One Direction](https://www.edgepedia.org/one-direction).[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/from-the-outside-mw0003045457) • [13](https://www.nylon.com/articles/hey-violet-profile-interview) The band had begun working with Bunetta a year and a half before the record came out, writing at his Malibu studio about whatever was on their minds.[13](https://www.nylon.com/articles/hey-violet-profile-interview) The 12-track album took its title from the song "Where Have You Been (All My Night)"; Lovelis explained that the title meant looking at your life, and the different perspectives of your love life, from the outside.[13](https://www.nylon.com/articles/hey-violet-profile-interview)
The album ranged widely across late-2010s pop styles. Reviewers heard trap-tinged beats on "Guys My Age," tropical pop and EDM elements on "Break My Heart," Chvrches-style synthpop on "My Consequence" and "Where Have You Been (All My Night)," and a return to pumped-up rock riffs on the kiss-off songs "Fuqboi" and "This Is Me Breaking Up with You."[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/from-the-outside-mw0003045457) • [6](https://stereogum.com/1946309/hey-violet-when-going-pop-goes-right/franchises/the-week-in-pop) The Los Angeles Times highlighted the album's writing about the expectations placed on young women, singling out the outsider anthem "O.D.D." and the breakup remembrance "Hoodie."[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html)
__Commercially, the record underperformed.__ It peaked at No. 110 on the Billboard 200, and "Guys My Age" stopped at No. 68 on the Hot 100, despite more than 35 million Spotify streams by December 2017.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html) [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) critic suggested that confusion about the band's origin, including Pierce's 2013 departure and the gradual addition of new members, had left a residue of suspicion that the group was engineered by its handlers; Miranda Miller's departure in August 2017, a few weeks after the paper's interview with the band, only bolstered those suspicions.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html)
## Later years
In early 2019 the band issued the single "Better by Myself."[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430) It later released the independent EPs *Problems* and *Bloom* and signed a new record deal with [Hopeless Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/hopeless-records).[14](https://thehoneypop.com/2023/10/18/interview-hey-violet-i-should-call-my-friends/) By that point the group was a trio of Rena Lovelis, Nia Lovelis, and Casey Moreta, described on the band's Bandcamp page as making "powerful, immaculately crafted alt-pop songs."[7](https://heyviolet.bandcamp.com/) The band's releases on the page include the album *AFTERTASTE* and the single "Bittersweet," released September 27, 2024.[7](https://heyviolet.bandcamp.com/) • [1](https://www.liverate.com/artists/hey-violet)
## References
1. [Hey Violet: Live Tour & Concert Review Consensus, LiveRate](https://www.liverate.com/artists/hey-violet)
2. [Hey Violet Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hey-violet-mn0003417430)
3. [Why didn't Hey Violet happen in 2017?, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hey-violet-overlooked-20171221-story.html)
4. [5 Seconds of Summer on founding Hi or Hey Records, Music Connection (November 2015)](https://www.musicconnection.com/pdf/completeissue/mcnov2015.pdf)
5. [From the Outside review and credits, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/from-the-outside-mw0003045457)
6. [Hey Violet: When Going Pop Goes Right, Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/1946309/hey-violet-when-going-pop-goes-right/franchises/the-week-in-pop)
7. [Hey Violet official Bandcamp page](https://heyviolet.bandcamp.com/)
8. [Hey Violet: I Can Feel It review, Sputnikmusic](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/72808/Hey-Violet-I-Can-Feel-It/)
9. [New band of the week: Hey Violet (No 128), The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/14/new-band-of-the-week-hey-violet)
10. [Interview: Hey Violet, LADYGUNN](https://www.ladygunn.com/music/interview-hey-violet/)
11. [Hey Violet catches ear of 5 Seconds, Vindy Archives](https://vindyarchives.com/news/2015/aug/20/hey-violet-catches-ear-of--seconds/)
12. [MS MR, Hey Violet Bloom, Billboard issue via downmagaz](https://manuals.plus/m/3b213c94ed2666a798da57cc748f454dbd736067bfcb098314dd677412b07f4b.pdf)
13. [Hey Violet Make Outsider Pop, Have A Surprising One Direction Connection, Nylon](https://www.nylon.com/articles/hey-violet-profile-interview)
14. [Interview: Hey Violet, The Honey POP](https://thehoneypop.com/2023/10/18/interview-hey-violet-i-should-call-my-friends/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Rock bands › Pop rock and power pop bands › 2000s and later pop rock*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license