Sorry not sorry for party rocking! No one captured the sound of the early 2010s quite like LMFAO.
With hedonistic yet harmless anthems to partying like “Shots,” “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sexy and I Know It,” the duo’s brand of electronic-influenced hip-hop provided the soundtrack inside clubs the world over at the turn of the decade. But nearly 10 years after their last hit, LMFAO are more like A.W.O.L. and M.I.A. these days…
So, whatever happened to LMFAO? Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about your favorite pair of one-time party rockers.
But First: Who Were LMFAO?
In case you were living under a sound-proof rock at the start of 2011, LMFAO were comprised of the sometimes-rapping, sometimes-singing DJ duo of RedFoo and Sky Blu — otherwise known, respectively, as Stephen and Skyler Gordy.
They Had Ties to Motown…
Notice a strong family resemblance between the pair? You’re not wrong. But the Gordys aren’t twins, or even siblings. Redfoo and Sky Blu are actually paternal uncle and nephew to one another. That’s right — there’s even an 11-year age difference between the two. And if that last name rings any bells, it’s because thee musicians are part of a rich dynasty within the music industry: they’re son and grandson to legendary Motown Records founder Berry Gordy.
LMFAO’s Biggest Hits
After being signed to Interscope Records by industry heavyweight Jimmy Iovine in the mid-2000s, LMFAO dropped their debut single “I’m in Miami Bitch” in August 2008. Their follow-up “Shots” featured a guest spot by Lil Jon and became an instant club-banger for the moment it came time to buy a round. The pair’s debut album, Party Rocking, followed in July 2009.
However, it wasn’t until the duo dropped their sophomore album Sorry for Party Rocking two years later, in 2011, that they reached the height of their success — largely thanks to the inescapable smash hit “Party Rock Anthem,” which gave LMFAO their first No. 1 hit and topped the charts in more than a dozen countries. (Featuring future G.R.L. member and almost-Pussycat Doll Lauren Bennett and producer GoonRock, the song remains the best-selling single of all time in Australia.)
Somewhat inexplicably, the album’s second single, the Natalia Kills-assisted “Champagne Showers”, failed to chart in the U.S., but its follow-up, “Sexy and I Know It,” brought the group straight back to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Eventually, the guys spent eight non-consecutive weeks reigning the chart from the summer of 2011 through early 2012.
Success From the Jersey Shore to the Super Bowl…
“Party’s here!” LMFAO had much more than radio success, though. Long before they had the entire world doing the party rock shuffle, their song “Get Crazy” was chosen by MTV as the perfect theme for a then-new, little show the network was launching called Jersey Shore.
For six seasons — plus four seasons and counting of the current Jersey Shore: Family Vacation reboot, fans heard the duo’s song as our favorite self-proclaimed guidos and meatballs introduced themselves with taglines like, “All right, we got a situation,” and “I’m the sweetest b—h you’ll ever meet.”
At the height of their fame, RedFoo and Sky Blu even performed on the biggest stage of the world, making an appearance during Madonna’s 2012 halftime show during Super Bowl XLVI. On stage, they ran through two of their biggest hits interpolated with Her Madgesty’s smash single, “Music.”
Why Did LMFAO Go on Hiatus?
And just like that, LMFAO pulled the plug at their apex.
In September 2012, the duo announced they’d be going their separate ways musically and put the group on an indefinite hiatus.
“I feel like we’ve been doing this for so long, five or six years. And we’re kind of like saying, well, let’s just do what’s natural and just kind of explore that, instead of like forcing it all the time” RedFoo said in a statement to an Australian news outlet.
“All the music that I’m going to make is always going to be LMFAO-ish … I love all the topics that we talk about. I was really passionate about bringing party music to the world, so I will always be making some kind of party music,” he added.
Confusingly, the band then walked back their statement, telling MTV News the split would be temporary in order for each of them to pursue solo projects. “Well, you know, first of all, we’re not breaking up,” Sky Blu said at the time. “I know that for sure. We’re family and stuff, so it’s always love … It’s interesting because somebody will say one thing [and] it’s just like high school, then all of a sudden [it’s], ‘They’re breaking up. They’re fighting.'” However, that indefinite hiatus has now lasted the better of a decade.
So, What Have They Been Up to Since?
Following their hiatus, the uncle and nephew have each moved on to other things. RedFoo — a former day trader — eventually released his debut solo album Party Rock Mansion in May 2016. Throughout the years, he also made appearances on both The X Factor‘s U.S. and Australia iterations, and became the first eliminated celebrity on Season 20 of Dancing with the Stars. Other fun facts: he also spent several years in the immediate wake of LMFAO’s success dating tennis pro Victoria Azarenka, and reportedly became a vegan in 2017.
Sky Blu, on the other hand, has stuck almost exclusively to music — though nothing in his solo catalog has yet to reach the stratospheric heights of LMFAO’s biggest hits. Both his debut solo album and sophomore effort — 2013’s Rebel Music and 2016’s Fxck Yeah: Chaos To Consciousness, respectively — failed to register much of an impact beyond his first solo single “Pop Bottles” peaking at No. 25 on Billboard‘s Dance Club Songs chart back in 2013.
Both Gordys remain active on social media, though. In June, RedFoo posted a sweet Father’s Day tribute to his music mogul dad. Sky Blu, meanwhile, appears to have rebranded to the alter ego FxckYeah under the handle @8ky, although he hasn’t posted on Instagram since August 2020. (And don’t worry, they’re both following each other.)