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It’s not every day you get to experience such a live TikTok. Throughout our intimate shoot with Laundry Day, the now viral boy band spontaneously breaks out into song — Jude, 22, will lead with an ambitious, crooner-like melody. The other members (Henry, Henry P., and Sawyer, all 23) will follow. It could be a song that was playing over the speaker or a random burst of inspiration.

Seemingly, it’s what they do to pass the time in between shots — or simply a subconscious thing they do to connect and periodically check in with one another. Within the past couple years, it’s also what’s brought the group a massive amount of added success through their TikTok videos where they basically do the exact same thing as we witnessed during our shoot.

“I think that’s where the success comes from,” Henry says. “People can really see, with their own two eyes, that this isn’t manufactured.” Through their organic videos, Laundry Day has gotten to play at Madison Square Garden and open up for Ed Sheeran. Their DM’s are flooded with the likes of Drake and Justin Bieber. Just a few weeks ago, the boys actually hung out with the latter in New York. “It started with us writing, ‘Justin, we need you,’ just as a joke. Then a day later, he was like, ‘I need you too,’ with a kissy face.”

With this recent added attention, it can be easy to forget that Laundry Day has been making music for nearly a decade now. Having met in high school in Hell’s Kitchen, the members immediately found chemistry within one another and formed the band pretty naturally. “We actually love each other, we’re actually friends and we actually do this shit together.” Though the band’s goal is to be as big as those mainstream boy bands like One Direction and NSYNC, the difference is in their bond.

It all goes back to their apartment, though, where the boys film most of their singing videos and just have fun as a group of friends. “At first, we tried to be really mysterious, but the only way it really worked for us was by showcasing more.” Once Laundry Day got over the fear of being ‘cringe’ online, that fear completely disappeared — because what they were putting out was just them.

“The moment we stopped caring about what we were supposed to be, our brand came to life,” Jude says. And that brand, more than anything, is authenticity. Their TikToks, their music, even their friendships — they’re all extensions of the same thing: a genuine love for what they do and who they do it with.

Now, as they navigate a wave of viral fame, Laundry Day isn’t changing their formula. They’re still making music how they always have — together, in a way that feels right to them. Whether it’s a new album, a surprise collaboration or another spontaneous viral moment, one thing is clear: they’re doing it on their own terms. And if that inspires a new generation of bands to do the same? Even better.

PAPER caught up with Laundry Day on the roof of an apartment in Bedstuy to talk about their massive success, getting out of their comfort zone and favorite boy bands of all time.

How do you guys balance being known as comedians, but also serious musicians?

Jude: We always knew that we needed a thing that people could attach to so they could get into the music. It feels like with every big artist, you know who they are and then the music is a deeper version of that. So it’s become a way for people to know the name Laundry Day, and then whatever comes next is just deeper and deeper into the world. Sawyer, your fly is down.

Sawyer: Oh!

Jude: But before we got into it and were consistent with it, we would sit around and be frustrated like a lot of artists are. We’d be like, “Fuck, I don’t wanna make TikToks. I just wanna make music and put it out and for it to blow up.” We got over that angst and just decided, if we’re gonna be artists now it means that we have to be on TikTok and be big on TikTok. Once we got over that hump and figured out our voice in it, it became so natural.

It’s a cliché where it’s like, Artists back in the day didn’t need this stuff. Thom Yorke and Radiohead weren’t promoting In Rainbows on TikTok. But if they were our age right now, they would. When people our age say that shit and are like, “I wish I lived in a different era,” they literally sound like our parents complaining about music. Like, you got to be of the times, yeah? As soon as we, for lack of a better phrase, locked in and just fucking did it, it all fed itself. We came into our own and saw what it means to be an artist in this era at the best of our ability.

Henry: I was thinking about this the other day. It’s actually become this really beautiful thing. Another question we get asked a lot is, “What are you guys like when you’re not filming the TikToks?” And the great part about us is that when the TikToks happen, it’s literally us just hanging out and then somebody decides to film it. That’s exactly who we are.

That’s why it works.

Henry: And that’s why it works. The people we’ve gotten to meet and the experiences we’ve had because of that success. The fact that we’re now sort of known for being ourselves is actually kind of a beautiful thing. It’s only helped people understand our music better, allowed us to play bigger shows, and make songs with people we never thought we’d make songs with. It all feeds itself. But the fact that what brought us a little more success was just us being ourselves is pretty beautiful.

Jude: Yeah, there was a video that did really well recently that I’m thinking of where it’s Sawyer and I on his couch singing “Rude” by Magic! — and literally, it’s the first take [Henry P.] filmed of us and we’re mid-laughter. It wasn’t even proper or staged at all, even less so than some of our other ones. And it did really well because it feels like it caught a moment, which is so fun and rewarding. We can put that right out, not even think about it, and just go for it.

Then the other thing that’s crazy too is as we started growing online, we realized how small the internet can be. When you get these views, it’s coming from all over the world, and all of a sudden, we’re getting followed by celebrities that at one point felt like deities in your mind. Like, they’re right on your phone, and you realize all of them are just scrolling TikTok and reels too.

They all got finstas.

Jude: Exactly. And if they don’t know directly, someone’s putting them onto it, you know? So it’s just crazy. The other day, on a whim, we DM’d Justin Bieber being like, “Yo, what’s up?” And he responded. We were tripping out about it, but he was in New York. So we ended up hanging out with him.

We DM’d him before we even knew he was in New York, and then he coincidentally came to New York like a few days later. We were like, “Yo, you should come to New York,” and he didn’t respond at first. We thought, Oh, fuck. We got a little over eager. He saw it, but left it on seen.

Henry: We were like, “Fuck.”

Jude: It started with us writing, “Justin, we need you,” as a joke. And then a day later, he was like, “I need you too,” with a kiss face. We were like, Holy shit, this is insane. Then we were just fucking around at that point. We just put, “Come to New York, bro, even though it’s brick,” trying to be cool. And then he left it on seen. Next day, we’re hanging out and we get a response from him like, “I’m gonna be in New York tomorrow,” and we saw him the next day.

I feel like we’re missing a boy band right now in mainstream American music. And a girl group. Like, what happened to the mainstream girl groups and boy bands that aren’t K-pop? You guys are the modern version of that.

Jude: That’s what we’re going for. I mean, we started making music about eight years ago, at the beginning of the bedroom pop era, when everyone was able to make music in their bedrooms for the first time at a high quality, with all the accessible gear and apps. So that’s when you get artists like Steve Lacy or Clairo, making songs by themselves in their rooms — hence the name.

And we always stood out during that time because we actually wanted to make music together. Even though we were doing it in our rooms, we did it together. But I feel like a lot of people in our peer group, or around the world, our age in high school at that time, were able to make music by themselves. Which is maybe part of a bigger, sociological thing — everyone spending more time alone, being on their phones. So being in a band is more unique than it’s ever been because people are less social, literally and musically.

So we always defied that. And as we were coming up, it felt like we were the only band around. We looked up to Brockhampton, who don’t even exist anymore, but they were the closest thing to that. And now, eight years later, we’re still feeling like we’re the only band. And it’s so cool because people comment, “Yo, this makes me want to start a band.” And if that’s what happens, that’d be incredible.

Henry: I also think, in terms of the term “boy band,” we have our own interpretation of it. When you think of the most famous boy bands — One Direction, NSYNC, those types of groups — it feels a bit disingenuous. And that’s not a knock to them, it’s just like, you know so clearly the origin story of One Direction.

They were literally put together.

Henry: They were literally put together. Our version of a boy band is that we’re just a group of dudes in a band. But this time, we actually love each other, we’re actually friends and we actually do this shit together. We enjoy it. It was our choice to be the four of us, as opposed to this thing that feels marketed. And that’s where the success from social media comes in — people can really see, with their own two eyes, that this isn’t manufactured. We really do love each other. And so, I hope in our quest to reinvent the boy band, we have a more genuine approach than some of the other ones that have had success.

Jude: Yeah, I think we love the idea of a “boy band,” but we’d also say we’re a rock band too. I remember when we were starting in high school, idolizing The 1975 — we still do. I remember Matty Healy saying he didn’t like the phrase “rock band” or didn’t think rock was cool. And maybe he’d think differently now, but I remember completely disagreeing with that. I was just like, “No, we can make rock cool. People want to see bands.”

And there’s also this joke where people see us making music and they’re like, “This is what white boys are supposed to make.” And that’s kind of fun too, like, we’re just being kids in a band. It’s always been like that since bands existed. It feels cool to be in line with all that. Of course, we aspire to be a One Direction-type band in our own right, but it’s just as much that as it is The Clash or the Ramones. We’re just a band-band too.

Sawyer: You also have to find what works for you as an artist. Referencing things is one thing, but people are also going to throw references at you that either you know really well or you don’t, which is always fun to explore. But then you’ve got to ask, “How am I going to use all of these to make something that feels genuine to me?”

I think that goes back to our TikTok and social media presence. At first, we were trying to do it in a way that felt like the right way — like, how you’re supposed to promote your stuff or take yourself seriously.

Henry: Yeah, we were doing the whole, “Is this the song of the summer?” type of posts. Just following the formula.

Sawyer: And again, that works for certain people or certain artists, but it’s all about finding what works for you. That’s why [the PAPER shoot] today was really fun. Because what works really well for us on social media is just being ourselves — hanging out, being chill. Now that we’ve seen a little bit of success, it was fun to come here, put on different clothes that fit differently and try new things. Because that’s what life’s about. You have to put yourself out of your comfort zone to make that your new comfort zone.

Henry: It was cool to see the stuff they pulled for us. Like, they obviously know who we are.

Jude: Yankees hats.

Henry: Yeah, exactly. There were Yankees hats. And nothing really matched, but it matched in its own unique way. I think a different band could do this shoot and they’d have their own identity. But it’s cool to see that our identity is clear enough that even when we’re doing something as professional as this, the clothes still reflect who we are.

Yeah, they knew.

Jude: That’s another thing — artists sit around saying, “I don’t know who I am. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be.” And we’re a testament to the fact that the moment we stopped caring about that, our brand came to life. We could just be ourselves and the brand comes second to being who we are.

If any artist out there is reading this, that’s something you need to know: You can’t try to be something first and then make that who you are.

Sawyer: Yeah, and to add to that, you have to really incorporate the people who are coming to see your shows and interacting with your content. You have to make things for them too. At first, we tried to be really mysterious — like, a band should be this enigmatic thing that makes people really care about you. But the only way it really worked for us was by showcasing more. If we gave more rather than less, people interacted with it in a way we didn’t even initially intend. It wasn’t about being super mysterious and putting our music at the forefront — it was about getting people in the door, making them recognize our faces and bringing them into our world.

Jude: We sometimes walk around New York every day, and people come up to us saying, “Yo, you’re so funny.” Or the other day, I was walking down the street and someone literally just goes, “Yo, sing a song, bro.” Like, I don’t even know what he meant, just sing anything. And then there was this time a drunk dude came up to me and was like, “Yo, you gotta drop that song,” and he starts singing it — and it wasn’t even our song. It was a song we covered on TikTok. And that was cool to me because, like we’ve been saying, the barrier of entry became so much thinner. But at the same time, the iceberg got deeper.

We know we have core, core fans. We just put out a song, called “Other Side of the World,” and we decided to do this thing to incorporate fans from all over the world. We did a group Zoom call. I don’t know how many people were on it — it wasn’t crazy — but it was the core, core fans, the ones who wanted to talk to us personally. We brought people on, unmuted them one at a time, and they’d ask us a question. It was just so wholesome. And that’s so different from the two million people who might watch a random video of ours and never even know that we make music.

Who’s your favorite pop boy band? Like mainstream pop? Each of you. I’ll say NSYNC to start.

Jude: I mean, strictly pop boy band? I grew up on Big Time Rush. That was my first inspiration for wanting to be a musician — them and Justin Bieber. And, by the way, to have interacted with Kendall from Big Time Rush, that’s crazy. And then, I’d also look at The Beatles as a boy band. They were kind of the original boy band. So, I mean, it’s not that crazy of a statement to say we look up to them too.

Sawyer: That’s a really good question. I think my favorite was probably NSYNC. But then, defining what a boy band is— I really did love Big Time Rush as well. The first song I learned was a Beatles song. And this doesn’t really count, but in terms of the rock-band-boy-band thing, Jimi Hendrix Experience was one of my favorite first albums. They weren’t a boy band, they were a rock band for sure. But their style, their vibe as a three-piece, was really inspiring to me. But I guess if we’re going classic, it’s gotta be NSYNC.

Henry: As far as boy bands go, The Warblers really have a special place in my heart. And going along with the theme of rock bands as boy bands — where each member has their own personality, their own face, their own style, but it comes together to be one really colorful thing — I’d say Red Hot Chili Peppers. To me, they were the coolest. But for an actual boy band? The Warblers.

Henry P: I don’t know if I have a favorite traditional boy band. I’m a big Justin Timberlake fan, but I’m not gonna steal Sawyer’s answer. For the same reason Henry said Chili Peppers, I’m gonna say Beastie Boys. They were sort of a boy band in the way we’re trying to be a boy band. They knew who they were and they made themselves that before they did anything else. That’s why everybody loved them — because they were so unapologetically themselves. And they were able to switch it up halfway through their career and start playing instruments on stage, and nobody doubted it because they were like, “Yeah, this is what we expect from you guys.”

Henry: I was just gonna say really quick, the idea of a boy band is usually so squeaky clean, and that’s just not us.

Jude: Yeah, I don’t even think it’s the same thing anymore. That’s kind of become more of a K-pop thing, which is great, and obviously it’s massive. But I don’t know where exactly boy bands died in the US. At some point, they did — probably with One Direction — because they took it to the craziest heights. But like anything else in pop music, it comes and goes. K-pop is huge, but that’s its own thing, and maybe it’s more of the evolution of that squeaky-clean image.

We’re having a really fun time taking all these random influences and turning them into whatever we want them to be. We’ve put out music over the past year that’s all very different, and we love that about it too. We’re working on an album right now and we’ve been talking about, “Do we need to make this more concise, or do we just make it everything we want it to be?” And the likelihood is we end up doing the latter, because we have so many things we like to do, and so many different songs we’re working on, coming from all different directions. That sounds like Beastie Boys, but then this one sounds like a One Direction ballad. It’s everything and we love that.

You guys are such a close friend group. Could we go around and say one word that describes the person next to you? Just one word that sums them up?

Jude: I want to pick a really good one [for Sawyer]: gifted. Just natural talent. It’s always been that way and it hasn’t changed.

Sawyer: Henry Pearl, I’m gonna say: fearless. Because he does so many amazing things and so many new amazing things. He learns them and masters them so quickly. He takes them on fearlessly.

Henry P: I’d say for Henry: tasteful. Like, it’s never too much with him. He knows exactly the right amount — like, he knows the right amount of salt to put on your fries. You know what I mean? Sort of, that’s a weird example.

Henry: I’ll take it, I’ll take it. For Jude, I’m gonna go with: devoted. I’ve never met someone more devoted to their work, their family, their friends, their loved ones. When he has something on his mind, he gets it done. I like the one-word thing.

The idea of a boy band is usually so squeaky clean, and that’s just not us.

Photography and styling: Kiernan “Knives” Francis

Styling assistants: Jaylon “Patrice” Simon, Lou Salazar Castillo

Video assistants: Santana Jiménez, Chase Williams

Location supervisor: Santana Jiménez

Production coordinator: Ava Perman