AWOLNATION’s “Sail” vindicates Aaron Bruno’s parents in long journey to Diamond status
Last year, AWOLNATION‘s breakout single, “Sail,” was certified Diamond by the RIAA.
Originally released in 2010 to little fanfare, “Sail” would eventually debut on the Billboard Hot 100 a year later before hitting its peak at number 17 in 2013. All told, it spent a total of 79 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, third-longest time in the chart’s history. Its long road to success made “Sail” a so-called “sleeper hit,” a fitting term for a song frontman Aaron Bruno slept on a bit himself.
“It didn’t sound like a single to me,” Bruno tells ABC Audio. “It just sounded like something I was proud of, that was it.”
Bruno is, of course, “very grateful” for what “Sail” has become — “It still remains like an out-of-body experience,” he says — but he’s perhaps most happy for his parents.
“[Now] they [don’t] have to feel like they maybe made the wrong decision as parents by encouraging me to continue on this insane path,” he laughs.
As a staple of his live set, Bruno’s now performed “Sail” too many times to count, and he continues to be happy to add to that number.
“Evey time we play it I enjoy playing it, still, thank god,” Bruno says. He’s particularly glad “Sail” has become AWOLNATION’s go-to live song, instead of maybe some other songs off his debut record.
“I’ve often thought what it would’ve been like to have to play one of the safer-sounding songs for the rest of my life, and that would’ve been kind of a drag,” Bruno says. “So I’m very grateful that, of all those songs, one of the weirdest ones remains mandatory to play.”
AWOLNATION’s next release, a covers compilation titled My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers & Me, arrives May 6.
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