December 10: "The more attention that we’re getting, the better we are doing our job"

There will always be comparisons, but some things about December 10 are fundamentally different to what’s come before in the lineage of boybands – a reflection perhaps of the shifting tectonics of the music industry.

There are seven of them, for a start, more than you might expect. And while most of them were raised in the UK, they’re proud of their composite heritage, with members from Irish, Brazilian, Indian, Nigerian and Jamaican backgrounds. They have the added bonus of not having to deal with the odd, tabloid-centric theatrics of the ‘90s and ‘00s.

Aged just 17-19, Cruz, Nicholas, Josh, John, Hendrik, Danny and Dublin native Séan sit down to discuss their close-knit brotherhood, the importance of representation, and the ‘lovely’ Simon...

Seán: Dia Duit!

Riccardo: Love it! Are you teaching the guys Irish?

Seán: It’s taking a while, but we are getting there!

You’re coming to Ireland soon. Are you looking forward to bringing the lads to your hometown?

Seán: I’m so buzzing to bring everybody to Dublin, and I’m buzzing to perform there. I’ve done performances with school and with choirs, but nothing like this.

You guys are from all over the place. Seán, I don’t know how you’re surviving as the only Irishman…

Seán: Terrible!

Danny: We make sure we do the accent as best we can so he feels more at home!

On a more serious note, what do you think coming from different backgrounds adds to the band?

Cruz: It adds a very unique vibe that I don’t think the world has ever seen before. It makes me feel proud to be part of this band, because we’re so unique and have so many cultures. We’ve got Mr Portugal over here [points at Nicholas]. It makes me proud because I feel like the world doesn’t know what’s coming.

John: Representation is so important. It’s great to be able to see that representation, for younger people.

Your single ‘Run My Way’ got a million streams and all of these shows have sold out. This has been in the making for a few years. What’s it like to see it all become real?

Cruz: It’s madness and we love it. All our dreams are coming true. At first I was kind of ecstatic, and that feeling is still there. It’s amazing to experience it with your best friends.

What was going through your head before you met Simon Cowell? Were you intimidated?

Danny: I wouldn’t say intimidated. I think it was nerve-wracking because of who he is, and to audition for someone who’s such a big name.

REALLY SUPPORTIVE

What’s he like?

Seán: Simon’s lovely. He’s really supportive of all of us, and he’s really involved in everything we’re doing. He’s taught us loads on how to act in the industry with people. He’s very genuine and has a lot of wisdom as well.

Josh: He always says he’s only one call away, and that is true. If we need him, we can just call him. Love you, Simon!

Is there one piece of advice he’s given that stands out?

John: He always tells us that we should treat everyone in the room with the same respect no matter who they are. He also tells us to always interact with fans. You’re nothing without fans, so it’s important for us to respect that.

What’s it been like having all these fans? Do you feel a sense of responsibility?

Danny: It goes without saying. It’s not a chore, it’s how you’re supposed to treat everyone, not just your fans. Your fans make you who you are.

Seán: Any interactions we’ve had so far have all been lovely, so it’s really nice to see what people think of ‘Run My Way’ and the show.

John: We had a meet and greet the other day, and there were so many people there. Our fans are so lovely. They’re all such positive people.

How do you feel about comparisons to other bands? I’ve seen other interviews where you’ve been compared to One Direction.

Seán: We find it quite the compliment to even get into the conversation with a band such as them, with all the success they’ve had and records they’ve broken. They’re definitely a band we can look up to. It’s quite an honour for us to get compared to them. We don’t see it as anything negative.

Do you have any other mentors in the industry apart from Simon? I know you were talking to Tom Grennan.

Danny: Yeah, we’ve got Tom Grennan, and we’re lucky to work with the producers that we do as well; they’re all pretty significant within the industry.

Hendrik: We’ve obviously got all our welfare team and stuff, so we’ve got a great team supporting us.

Cruz: They help massively, they always support us!

Seán: Tom was lovely. He had such good first-hand experience, and he could tell us to watch out and get ready for it.

Josh: He’s so down to earth as well!

SEVERAL INFLUENCES

Tell me about the whole process of making the song. How involved are you in songwriting?

Hendrik: We do have a lot of input in the songs. We can suggest if we should change a lyric or melody, and we can put our own takes on the vocals.

Seán: What’s really special about our group is that there’s seven of us. There’s several influences from several different voices. So when we go to record, it’s almost like we make seven different songs and then mash them together to make one great sound. We are really able to influence the music.

Nicolas: And also at the same time, we write our own songs, so we are looking forward to starting to incorporate that in our own discography. We can’t wait!

And how democratic would you say the process is?

Seán: It’s very democratic. If we have a picture we want to post online, we make sure everyone has given it a thumbs up. Communication is the important part, so it’s definitely fair.

Some of you are pretty accomplished musicians. How important do you think that is to the band?

John: I think it’s sort of a core thing that we have in our band and we’re really looking forward to showing off on the tour as well.
Danny: It’s an additional perk.

Are you learning more instruments?

Josh: I want Danny to teach me piano. Danny’s learning guitar and I think we’re all getting better at stuff. Cruz said he wants to learn the saxophone.

Nicolas: He’s gonna look sick with this; I want John to teach me how to play that too.

You guys are similar ages. How did you find your roles within the group?

Cruz: I would say that I probably am the most mature one in the group.

Everyone else: Ha!

Cruz: It’s kind of weird because I’m the oldest but also kind of a baby.

Nicolas: I wouldn’t say there is any difference in maturity with the 17-19 age gap in the band. We can all just talk to each other, whatever the case is. We’re all great at giving advice. It just shows how close we’ve gotten to each other.

You call each other brothers all the time. How long did it take you to build that trust with each other?

John: I think it really built up during Miami (while filming The Next Act).

Josh: Yeah, it was really fast because, obviously, you’re going through this process together almost for the show. It was all our first time being on camera all the time, and I think we were all going through it together. So it made us bond a lot faster than usual. We had no phones as well; we only had each other to speak to.

Danny: We started off as mates, then best mates, and now we’re family.

Hendrik: We didn’t have a phone and we lived together for ages and we spent so much time together.

Josh: I think what was important from the start when we first met was having to support each other through something. For example, if someone was feeling nervous about a performance, so was I. We had to help each other out with those feelings.

Nicolas: I feel like we’ve all got such different personalities, but at the root of it all, we’re so passionate about music. I had that to go off when we first met.

John: We had this one trip to Thorpe Park and I felt like we really bonded. We had so much fun on the rides.

COMES WITH THE JOB

Was anyone too scared to go on the rides?

Josh: I would have been too scared if we ended up going on Hyperia, but we didn’t.

Danny: We were more scared at Winter Wonderland!

Speaking of feeling scared, how do you guys deal with all of the attention?

Danny: It comes with the job, and the more attention that we’re getting, the better we are doing our job.

Josh: It’s great meeting the fans as well when they come up to you. I like the little kids who cry because they are so full of joy.

Seán: It’s really handy to have six other people who go through this with you. It’s not just you by yourself, so you always have people to talk to and have fun with. And even with these interviews, it’s not just one person, so it’s definitely less intimidating.

Has the attention affected your normal lives? What was it like going back into school?

John: It’s a bit of a weird one, but we just try to stay focused when we can. Some days we wake up a bit earlier to study. This is our life now.

Nicolas: It’s quite interesting because me and John are doing this and then we have to go back to school. School is just a completely different thing for me personally. It’s nice to have a duality where I’m doing what I love, but a week later, I’m doing school and exams. It brings me back to a normal life.

Do you think you’re doing a good job of staying grounded?

Nicolas: I think so. We’ve all got really supportive families who are always there to keep us grounded. We’ve got each other. We’re just taking it one day at a time.

What does success look like for December 10?

Seán: Having a really solid connection to our fanbase because, as we’ve said, they’re what makes you. So whether you have a hundred people, or a thousand, or ten thousand people, as long as we have fans, we get to keep doing what we love. There are so many factors, but that’s definitely the most important thing about it. You’ve gotta have fun as well.

• ‘Run My Way’ is out now. December Ten play multiple shows at the Academy, Dublin on February 22.