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10 Years In, Who’s Bad Going Stronger Than Ever, Spreading Michael Jackson’s Music and Spirit Around the World
In 2014, Who’s Bad marks their 10th year performing as The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band. In that span, Who’s Bad has played more shows in more cities worldwide than any other tribute act related to the King of Pop.
Their first show was exactly ten years ago today. What began as a humble college experiment by University of North Carolina alum, Vamsi Tadepalli, has grown to be something bigger and more symbolic than he ever dreamed it could: “After college, we started rehearsing in my parents’ basement to prepare for local and regional shows in the Southeast. With a critical approach to the music and visuals, we put everything we had into our performances – word spread quickly, and today the band is an internationally touring act. Back then, not even in my dreams was this a possibility.”
In the last decade, Who’s Bad has cemented a legacy as the fan’s choice of Michael Jackson tributes by consistently delivering performances that thrill Michael Jackson fans and quickly win over skeptics. Their reputation is bolstered through paying close attention to each and every detail of their live show. The band scrutinizes and works on every aspect, ensuring that the show remains lively, fresh and exciting. From the costumes to the choreography to the multimedia backdrop that plays during the show, if it isn’t deemed fit for Michael, it’s not good enough for Who’s Bad.
Credit for their success can also be attributed to the collective experience of the band’s musicians. All told, they have over 150 years experience as professionals.
Who’s Bad has racked up more than 1000 shows in their first ten years of existence, for hundreds of thousands of approving fans. Their tours have brought them around the nation dozens of times, and also seen them globetrotting to several countries including Singapore, China, Germany, Romania, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Holland, Canada and the United Kingdom.
With this success has come impressive social media growth and media exposure. Recently, Who’s Bad’s Facebook page increased the number of “likes” it had by well over 100%, and the number continues to climb at a staggering pace. The band has also reach millions of people via media exposure in major outlets like BBC Radio, USA Today and CNN Chile, as well as countless articles, previews and reviews in regional and secondary media outlets.
Even with 10 years of gratifying success, the members of Who’s Bad still do it for the love of Michael Jackson and they realize what a special thing the band has become, not only to the fans, but to the musicians as well.
The next phase for Who’s Bad is to keep on doing what they do best and put another decade of thrilling fans under their belt. For this band, it’s always been about keeping Michael Jackson’s music and spirit alive and well for his millions of fans.
Check out Who’s Bad- The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band in action:
“Smooth Criminal”
“They Don’t Care About Us”
The Orange Peel is certainly one of my favorite venues in town! Hadn’t yet heard of this tribute band, but their performances certainly seem on point. It’s too bad that I missed their performance at the Orange Peel, but this February was a really hectic month. I’m hoping Who’s Bad will be able to make it back to Asheville in the near future, but it does sound like they have a schedule that could take them anywhere.