Why Don’t We

Why Don't We, shortened to wdw, was an American boy band consisting of Jack Avery, Corbyn Besson, Zach Herron, Jonah Marais and Daniel Seavey. They formed in 2016 and released two studio albums and six extended plays. Because of a lawsuit, the group took a hiatus and cancelled their tour in 2022, and eventually lost the rights to the group name in February 2025, marking the official end of the group. The band originally formed on September 27, 2016, after having all met in Los Angeles, California a year prior. On October 20, 2016, the group released their debut single "Taking You", a track from their debut EP, Only the Beginning, which was released on November 25 of the same year. They embarked on their first headlining tour, the "Taking You Tour", the next year. Their second EP, Something Different, was released on April 21, 2017. Following the release of their second EP, they embarked on the "Something Different Tour", their second headlining tour. The group's third EP, Why Don't We Just, was released on June 2, 2017. In September 2017, the band signed with Atlantic Records. That same month, Invitation, their fourth EP, was released. On November 23, 2017, they released their fifth EP, A Why Don't We Christmas. In 2018, in support of the Invitation EP, they headlined the "Invitation Tour". Additionally, the band has appeared in several vlogs of YouTuber Logan Paul. On August 31, 2018, they released their first album, 8 Letters. The record debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200, and was preceded by three singles: "Hooked", "Talk", and "8 Letters". In March 2019, they embarked on the "8 Letters Tour". Why Don't We released a new song each month (except September) in 2019. On January 16, they released "Big Plans", and a music video was released three days later. The song received a gold certification from the RIAA in April 2020. On Valentine's Day, the group released "Cold In LA", along with a music video two days later. On March 20, 2019, they released the humorous song "I Don't Belong in This Club" featuring American rapper Macklemore. It was certified gold by the RIAA in August 2020. On April 20, the group released "Don't Change", which was featured on the soundtrack album of the animated film UglyDolls. In May, the group unveiled their fifth song of the year, "Unbelievable". In June, they released "Come To Brazil", inspired by fans frequently asking them to visit the country. On July 26, the band released the song "I Still Do". On August 23, they released "What Am I", penned by Ed Sheeran, who previously wrote "Trust Fund Baby". The song was certified gold by the RIAA in June of the following year. On October 25, they released "Mad At You". The following month, the group released the Christmas song "With You This Christmas". On December 30, the group released their eleventh and final song of 2019, "Chills". The group then took a nine-month break shortly after the music video release. On September 29, 2020, the band released "Fallin' (Adrenaline)", the lead single from their second album, The Good Times and the Bad Ones. It debuted at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, their first ever entry. Their second single from the album, "Lotus Inn", was released on December 4, 2020. They starred in a YouTube documentary titled 30 Days With, which showed the last stages of development and behind the scenes content of their then-upcoming album for 30 days. Their third single from the album, "Slow Down", was released on December 17, 2020. On January 15, 2021, The Good Times and The Bad Ones released. The album was largely self-produced, though it also features the productions of Travis Barker, Skrillex, and Timbaland. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making it their highest entry on the chart. The band released the single "Love Back" on October 6, 2021. The band then released a cover of Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" in December that same year. In January 2022, they released their next single in collaboration with Jonas Blue: "Don't Wake Me Up", followed by "Let Me Down Easy (Lie)" in April, “Just Friends” on May 13, and “How Do You Love Somebody” on May 31. The band's North American tour, The Good Times Only Tour, was scheduled to commence in June 2022, but was canceled due to the litigation between Why Don't We manager Randy Phillips and former manager David Loeffler. The band rescheduled the tour with new dates beginning in July. However, on July 6, the band announced that due to ongoing legal battles with their former management, they would be cancelling the tour and taking a hiatus. After four years of legal battles, a trial was finally held in February 2025. Concluding on February 27, it ended with a mixed verdict. The members (excluding Daniel) would only need to pay a dollar each for breach of contract, but they lost the rights to the Why Don't We name and brand to Signature. With this verdict, the band officially ended. The band has cited Justin Bieber as their main musical inspiration, in addition to 5 Seconds of Summer, Boyz II Men, The Beatles, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Childish Gambino, Jon Bellion, Post Malone, Frank Ocean and CNCO. Jack Robert Avery (born July 1, 1999) was born in Burbank, California, but raised in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Avery released a solo single titled "Liar" in 2016 and was part of the meet-and-greet tour "Impact", of which members Zach Herron and Corbyn Besson were also part.[full citation needed] He also starred in a short film called Fearless Five.[full citation needed] On April 22, 2019, Avery's former girlfriend, Gabriela Gonzalez, gave birth to their daughter. Avery released his first solo song, "Please Don't Go", on June 27, 2025. He then released a second single, titled APHRODITE, on September 12, 2025, followed by Take the Wheel on November 21st, 2025, and XOXOX on February 6th, 2026. On May 19, 2026, Avery's former partner, Gabriela Lauren Gonzalez (born September 6, 2001), a social media influencer, along with her father, Francisco Gonzalez (born December 23, 1966), and another former boyfriend of Gabriela, Kai Faron Cordrey (born October 13, 1999), were formally charged with conspiring to commit homicide. The allegations pertain to an attempted murder plot orchestrated during a custody dispute over Gonzalez's and Avery's currently seven-year-old daughter, which occurred from 2020 to 2021. Gonzalez is alleged to have recruited her father and Cordrey to engage a hitman via the dark web. Each individual has been charged with one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder. Corbyn Matthew Besson (born November 25, 1998) was born in Dallas, Texas, but raised in Virginia. Besson went to high school in Centreville, Virginia. Besson's cousins are Dutch girl group Ogene. Before cofounding Why Don't We, he had a following on YouNow and released a solo single titled "The Only One" to iTunes in 2014. His other acoustic single, "Marathon", was also released on the platform. After Why Don't We went on hiatus, Besson released two singles on his own: "Love Me Better", a song originally recorded and written by Why Don't We, on February 7, 2024, and "Like That" (featuring Armani White) on April 12, 2024. On August 2, 2024, Besson released the song "Panic", a collaboration with Swedish duo NOTD. They released a piano version of the song titled "Panic (After Hours)" on September 13, 2024. Besson released the single "Don't Run" along with a music video on October 2, 2024. On September 9, 2025, Besson announced he would be collaborating on the single "Blink" with K-pop idol and Twice member Tzuyu. On January 16th, 2026, Besson released his debut EP Head First. Zachary Dean Herron (born May 27, 2001), the youngest member of the group, was raised in Dallas, Texas. Growing up, he sang in the choir. Before Why Don't We, Herron covered songs on YouTube and also produced two singles himself: "Timelapse" and "Why". Herron released his first solo single