New Radicals Release First Original Song in 28 Years
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- New Radicals released "One Night Only (Break Loose Break Free!)" — the Gregg Alexander-fronted band's first new original song since their 1998 album "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too," which included "You Get What You Give"
- The track appears on the soundtrack for the rom-com film "One Night Only," described as "about searching for love on the least romantic night of the year," due out August 7
- The soundtrack also features King Princess' cover of the disco hit "Love Is in the Air" and a preview of Este Haim's film score
- Gregg Alexander disbanded New Radicals in 1999 after their debut album but continued writing hits behind the scenes, co-writing "Murder on the Dancefloor" for Sophie Ellis-Bextor, "The Game of Love" for Santana and Michelle Branch, and the Oscar-nominated "Lost Stars" for Adam Levine
- New Radicals reunited in 2021 to perform at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration parade, then released rerecorded versions of "Lost Stars" and "Murder on the Dancefloor" under the New Radicals name in 2024
Why it matters: The release marks Alexander's first original output under the New Radicals banner in nearly three decades, ending a run where he built a prolific career as an anonymous hitmaker — writing "Murder on the Dancefloor" and the Oscar-nominated "Lost Stars" while the band itself stayed dormant from 1999 until the 2021 Biden inauguration reunion.
