The musical duo MKTO — comprised of Tony Oller and Malcolm Kelly — rose to fame after their song “Classic” blew up. Since then, the friends-turned-collaborators have released tons of songs but also experienced some ups and downs.
In August 2021, for example, Tony revealed to fans via Twitter that he made the decision to leave the group.
“MKTO has been one hell of a ride,” the As the Bell Rings alum wrote. “But, I’m moving on from the band and excited for the future, and thank you for the amazing memories from all of you for supporting us! I love you all!”
While some fans expressed their disappointment that the duo would no longer be making music together, Tony assured them that he and Malcolm were still “closer than ever.” The former Disney star tagged his former collaborator in a. separate Twitter post and wrote, “Always my brother.”
Another group of fans are hopeful for a possible comeback in the future, as this isn’t the first time MKTO went their separate ways before getting back together. In March 2017, the boys announced via Twitter that they had taken some time apart only to reunite in June 2018.
Tony and Malcolm met in 2010 after starring on the Nickelodeon series Gigantic. After the show came to an end in 2011, the musicians formed MKTO. Their debut self-titled album was released in January 2014, which including songs like “Classic” and “Thank You.” A little over a year later, in July 2015, MKTO released the Bad Girls EP. Following their brief break in 2017, the pair came back together to drop a few singles over the years.
“It was really cool how ‘Classic’ took us from one side of the world to another, but I think we never really had too much downtime to really enjoy it,” Tony told Billboard in November 2018 of the duo’s hiatus. Malcolm added, “We really were going [for] like four years, just really ripping and running on the road without any downtime, so it was nice to go home and be with the family a bit.”
Their last song, “How Much,” was released in May 2020.
“We definitely have some records to touch up and make sure they’re ready. We’re always writing just to try to beat what we have and push ourselves,” Malcolm also told Billboard. “We’re really taking it day by day. We were going to make music [together again] regardless, but now we’re living in the moment. Who knows what’s gonna happen in 10 years, but it’s good to be back.”
Scroll through our gallery to see what MKTO is up to now!
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