OK Go

For OK Go, the magic—and the fun—is in the details. While the indie-pop quartet had been building up their career in Chicago since 1998, it wasn’t until they released the carefully choreographed, low-budget video for “Here It Goes Again” in 2006 that the world at large discovered their undeniable charms. Prior to hopping on those treadmills for that single-shot game changer, OK Go played and toured hard, earning a stint as the house band for the public radio program This American Life before releasing their 2002 self-titled debut album. The tight power-pop collection came loaded with frontman Damian Kulash’s punk-y, falsetto-laced sneers and the type of meticulous hooks that would soon bring the band viral stardom with 2005’s Oh No and its aforementioned hit single. With more ears (and eyes) on their work, they continued to nurture that creative energy with funky guitar-pop gems and groovy dance-rock thrillers on 2010’s Of the Blue Colour of the Sky and 2014’s Hungry Ghosts. More cleverly crafted videos—including the zero-gravity mind-bender for 2014’s “Upside Down & Inside Out”—helped further cement OK Go’s reputation as one of the 21st century’s most inventive concept bands.