DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018. DNCE's music is mainly dance-rock, dance-pop, pop rock, and funk-pop. The band signed with Republic Records, who released their debut single, "Cake by the Ocean", which was released on September 18, 2015. The song reached the top 10 on several charts, including on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number nine. Their debut extended play (EP), Swaay, was released on October 23, 2015. Their self-titled debut studio album was released on November 18, 2016. Their second EP, People to People, was released on June 15, 2018. They were also nominated for Favorite New Artist for the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards and Best Song to Lip Sync and Best Anthem for the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards. The group performed at the 2017 Fashion Meets Music Festival. In February 2022, DNCE returned after their hiatus with a collaboration with Kygo titled "Dancing Feet".
Lead singer Joe Jonas originally rose to fame as a member of the band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers, Nick and Kevin. Both guitarist JinJoo Lee and drummer Jack Lawless were, for varying tenures, a part of the Jonas Brothers' live backing band, playing guitar and drums respectively. The idea for DNCE first came about while Jonas and Lawless were living together, although the project was put on hold due to the duo's respective busy schedules. Jonas, Lawless, and Lee officially came together to form DNCE in 2015. Though work on music had already begun, the group struggled to find a fourth member to fit into the band. Jonas began working with American singer-songwriter Justin Tranter for DNCE's music. This led to the friendship of Jonas and bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle, the now-former bassist in Tranter's band, Semi Precious Weapons. Ultimately, Whittle was added as a full-time member of the band. The group named themselves DNCE, which lyrically spoke of being too drunk to spell the word "dance". Jonas later added that the group decided on the name as it described the "imperfect awesome[ness] of the four of [them] together." Lee later added that "much like the spelling of the word, you don't have to be a perfect dancer to dance in life."
The group began performing secret shows in New York City to rehearse for their upcoming tour and promotional performances. DNCE made an official Instagram account in September 2015 and Jonas later posted a teaser video for the band on his account, tagging the band's official page, on September 10, 2015. The band released their debut single, "Cake by the Ocean", on September 18, 2015. Though starting out slow, the song managed to reach the top 10 across several charts, including a number nine peak on the Billboard Hot 100. The band released their debut extended play, Swaay, on October 23, 2015. The band embarked on a 14-date tour in November 2015, known as the Greatest Tour Ever. All 14 scheduled dates for the tour sold out. The tour received critical praise, and featured unreleased songs as well as covers of older classics.

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