Our Big Time Rush feature was originally published in our September 2022 issue. Purchase a print copy here.
After more than 10 years in the music business, you’d think that the members of Big Time Rush are exhausted from the spotlight. But for Carlos PenaVega, James Maslow, Kendall Schmidt and Logan Henderson, it’s almost exactly the opposite.
Known for the Nickelodeon television show and band with the same name, Big Time Rush became a global phenomenon that took the world by storm. From performances and nominations at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in multiple different countries to millions of followers across social media, the band’s most well-known track, “Boyfriend,” has more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone — even though the streaming service was not even a primary source for music listening when the track first debuted in 2010.
The band continued to push towards fame with global tours, hundreds of interviews, press opportunities and thousands of meet and greets until finally, it was time to take a breather and focus on family and friends. All four released solo projects — including both acting and music — and continued to stay in touch with fans through social media.
After an almost 10-year hiatus, Big Time Rush is back. Now traveling nationwide, the band is performing on the “Forever Tour,” hitting some of the country’s most iconic venues like Madison Square Garden before embarking on a trip to South America in early 2023. We spoke with the band before their show in Indianapolis, Indiana, to chat musical inspirations, their new music and more.
For PenaVega, Maslow, Schmidt and Henderson, the reunion and resurfacing of the band wasn’t by accident. In multiple interviews, the band shared how much effort it took to decide to reunite, start releasing music and eventually, tour again. However, the reunion is different than most — for the band is now independent and operating under its own management.
“[Being independent] is different in the sense that we do what we want, when we want it. I think that it has its pros and cons. And for us, the pros really outweigh the cons for us at the moment. And we’re just enjoying being in the driver’s seat of this incredible brand that we’ve been part of for 15 years,” PenaVega said.
“We’re the bosses now. It’s really strange. Someone the other day said, ‘Oh, there’s talent in the room’ and I made a joke that ‘No, your boss is in the room!’ It’s so weird. It’s our show! And you know, if we didn’t like something for the lights, we can ask for another pass at them or another version. Back in the day, it was like ‘Here are your lights, here’s your stage’ And we’d be like ‘Oh, we kind of like it,’ and they’d say ‘Great.’”
With the brand that they’ve built, expectations were high for the band to write and record new music that felt like their older catalog. But instead, their newfound independence has given shape to exploring new styles and the opportunity to collaborate and even produce tracks in other languages.
“I think that the music has grown as we have,” Maslow said. “We’re doing what feels right and what feels current as we write and create today.”
Schmidt agreed with that sentiment and said that the flexibility the band possesses is one of its best assets
“We had a lot of different sounds. So now, we’re doing the same thing. We’re just trying stuff out and we have songs that we like and we say ‘hey, let’s put it out. This is a good one,’” he said. “Or we have a collection of songs and we go, “Hey, let’s do an album or an EP.’ So it’s very much on the fly and fans are getting the real-time taste of the band.”
Writing new music has even bridged into new territories for Big Time Rush, like Spanglish music and their latest single “Dale Pa’Ya,” in collaboration with hit producer Maffio. The track debuted at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show at the end of June, where they were joined on stage by Maffio himself.
When asked about the single, Henderson explained that Big Time Rush always tries to go into the studio with an open mind.
“There were things we do now that we didn’t do in the past. Even working with producers in Miami or writing Spanglish music,” he said. “I guess just trying to explore the studio a little more and find some different sounds that we had previously not done in the past.”
But what has worked in the past and continues to work well is Big Time Rush’s chemistry on and off stage, where humor, family and their own individual tastes allow them to explore interests and be themselves.
“What I always thought made us so special is that we are four individuals. We all have different taste in music. We all have different people that inspire us. I truly believe that that’s why we were so successful back in the day,” PenaVega said. “So to many people, we were a worldwide family band. It wasn’t just one person [that they liked], it wasn’t just one daughter liking the band. If there were three daughters, they liked three of us. They loved a different member. They loved James, they loved Kendall, they loved Logan.”
With a resounding laugh, Henderson joked, “They didn’t like Carlos, so I guess they have to have another daughter.”
Schmidt, agreeing with PenaVega, said that he thinks the band’s biggest strength is that its comprised of four distinct personalities that have found a way to work really well together — primarily through humor.
“We’ve gotten in arguments and we do that still, but mostly, it’s a lot of fun and we’re just having a good time,” he said. “And I think that really translates to the music. And to our shows, I think people see that we are clearly having a good time. We’re good actors but we’re not that good at acting. We’re having a good time on stage and it’s very obvious.”
On top of their individual personalities, Big Time Rush members shared how unique their own individual music tastes are and how those individual tastes lend themselves to what they create in return.
“Between the four of us, we’re probably listening to every genre. My girlfriend’s from Oklahoma, so I’ve gotten into country in the last few years. She takes over my Spotify and I get in my car and it turns on. Honestly, I’ve become a fan,” Maslow said.
Another thing he said he loves about the genre is that very few other genres have the same storytelling abilities that country artists do. That is something he takes as an inspiration for his own songwriting process.
“I love that aspect and I try to bring some of that to our writing where it’s very grounded real story,” Maslow said. “You might have heard this concept a thousand times but this way of thinking about it feels unique and it feels fresh.”
PenaVega, on the other hand, is a big fan of musicals and worship music — something very different from the rest of the band.
“That’s kind of my world,” he said.
Henderson said that he usually goes through phases where he ends up listening to entire catalogs of artists before pivoting to a different style altogether.
“In the very beginning, whenever we made ‘Call It Like I See It’ and ‘Never Giving You Up,’ I was listening to a lot of the Beach Boys and Bee Gees and some of their older stuff,” he said. “And now that we go on tour, I’ll find something and gravitate to that sound. And luckily Spotify and Apple Music kind of give you those recommendations so I’ll just go down a black hole of all down artists and genres.”
Schmidt admitted to mostly listening to the same kind of music all the time.
“I dive into some new stuff but I’m kind of a creature of habit,” he said. “Anything that’s new that’s coming out that I’m part of writing is coming from places I’ve always loved.”
With different individual music tastes has come brand new music that has gained more traction than Big Time Rush had initially planned for. With five singles already released post-hiatus, Big Time Rush is back and bigger than ever. And to make their sound even bigger, the band’s performing across the country on the “Forever Tour” where they’re singing the songs live to thousands of people a night.
“Truthfully, the audience seems pretty keen on [the new songs]. They’re probably loudest for our older songs. We have a whole bit where it’s super throwback songs from album one, but they’re equally excited, especially some of the older fans, for our newer stuff,.” Maslow said. “Which for us is a major win. Because we didn’t know what the reception would be like, so seeing our fans singing them only a couple of days after they were released is amazing. Like ‘Honey,’ they were singing so quickly after it came out. It’s encouraging for us to want to put more music out.”
Some of the people vibing with the new music might not have even listened to the older tracks by the band, Henderson said. The earlier stuff has also gone through a transformation of its own too while being reproduced for the current tour.
“I think tour is also where we really excel, that is our bread and butter,” he said. “Whenever the four of us are together on stage, performing live for people, it is the most fun time and all of your worries kind of go out the door.”
For Big Time Rush, the people are easily the most important part of why they are on stage and they continue to make sure fans feel included, loved and special at every moment. Not only do the bands continually engage on social media, but despite a global pandemic and concerns about safety, the band’s set features a quick surprise in the middle — the members out in the audience, singing some of the fans’ most requested songs.
“I think especially after COVID-19 and being locked down for two years, being able to go out into the audience and get face to face with people, high fives and hugs, it’s just a special interaction that most people don’t think they’re going to get,” PenaVega said. “Which for us, we know it’s going to happen. We know there are two songs where we’re planning to go out into the audience, but they don’t know. But for us, going out there and seeing these girls just ‘Oh my god” and dudes being like ‘Oh you were my childhood.’ is so rewarding”
As Big Time Rush shared about the changes to their live performances, Schmidt shared one big change that fans may have noticed this year.
“We lost the trampolines, but we didn’t lose the jumping up and down,” he said. “But now we basically don’t have anything that breaks our fall, we basically removed the one cushiony part of our entire show and now it’s pure concrete and grit.”
That pure grit does result in one thing: extremely loyal Big Time Rush fans.
Across social media, Big Time Rush’s mentions are constantly filled with love and support from fans who’ve traveled across the country to multiple shows. They’ve saved hundreds of dollars, skipped weddings, met their internet friends and more just to see PenaVega, Maslow, Schmidt and Henderson perform live.
Is Big Time Rush going to last forever? They’re Just Getting Started.
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