Manalapan’s Nick Mara Breaks into Music Stardom with PRETTYMUCH



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Performing at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards and garnering over 215 million global streams on Spotify are only a few of the accomplishments Manalapan native Nick Mara has achieved with his band PRETTYMUCH.
In just a year after Simon Cowell and Syco Music’s former president, Sonny Takhar, formed PRETTYMUCH, the music group performed their newly released single Would You Mind at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards and at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. Mara and the band’s other members, Austin Porter, Brandon Arreaga, Zion Kuwonu and Edwin Honoret, now live in Los Angeles, California, where they work on their recordings and practice their dancing skills for these high-profile performances. The hard work certainly paid off with the band releasing an EP and their fun-in-the-sun single Summer on You this past year.
“Success doesn’t come easy,” Mara said. “You have to believe in yourself, you have to love what you do and you should never get too comfortable. This journey has already been the greatest experience of my life and will con- tinue to be because I love what I do.”
The 20-year-old singer and dancer has embraced hard work for years, previously competing with the famous dance group ICONic Boyz on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew in 2011, as well as appearing as a dancer on the television shows Shake It Up and Saturday Night Live.
Along with his impressive resume, many of his favorite memories these past two years were with PRETTYMUCH. “I think my proudest moments have to be when we were nominated for a VMA, when we performed on James Corden’s show and when we performed in Toronto in the pouring rain. Despite the bad weather, we still put on a great show for the fans. That was just a surreal moment and a moment I will hold with me forever.”
Now, Mara and the rest of PRETTYMUCH are preparing for their nationwide tour, “The Funktion Tour.”
The band’s music style can best be described as Urban Pop, according to Mara. However, the band likes to dabble in styles outside their own. “We like to think outside the box and not limit ourselves to one specific genre,” he said.
Interested in checking out PRETTYMUCH’s music or seeing them perform? PRETTYMUCH will be performing locally in New York City at the Irving Plaza on November 4, 2018. You can check out their website at https://www.prettymuch.com.
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Photo: Carol Rosegg
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