What happened to LMFAO?
The bulk of the club scene of the early 2010s was undeniably influenced by the electro-pop duo, LMFAO, but it’s been over a decade since these party rockers have brought the house down.
LMFAO — which stands for “Laughing My Freaking Ass Off” — is composed of the uncle-nephew duo, Stefan and Skyler Gordy, who are better known by their aliases, RedFoo and Sky Blu. The two are from a strong musical family, as RedFoo is the youngest son of Berry Gordy, who founded the legendary record label, Motown Records, while Sky Blu is Berry Gordy’s grandson.
They were signed to Interscope records sometime in the early 2000s, and their debut songs “I’m in Miami Bitch”, and “Shots”, immediately became smash hits in 2008, and were heavily played in clubs worldwide. Following the success of those singles, RedFoo and Sky Blu released their first album, Party Rocking in 2009.
Despite their debut album initially making considerable waves, the duo had no idea what would be coming their way with their follow-up. Their sophomore album, titled Sorry for Party Rocking, didn’t require any real apologies, as the album achieved worldwide commercial success, undoubtedly attributed to the success of its hit lead single, “Party Rock Anthem”.
The single took the world by storm, earning LMFAO the number one spot in over a dozen countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia, Denmark, and many more. It also reached the top five spots in multiple other countries and became a club staple, as no club or rave was complete without this song booming over the speakers several times. “Party Rock Anthem” has also achieved the rare diamond certification, with over 10 million units sold, thus cementing the duo’s status as the EDM kings of the early 2010s.
Their next single off the album, “Champagne Showers”, may not have performed as well as “Party Rock Anthem”, but the duo’s third single, “Sexy and I Know It” — a confident, and bass-heavy banger — awarded LMFAO their second summit atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Amidst the commercial success of their music, they were also making pop-culture waves with their songs being featured in a few hit reality shows. Their song “Get Crazy” had been MTV’s pick for the theme of their hit show Jersey Shore years before.
Hiatus and breakup rumors
Regardless of their immense fame and success, things came to a screeching halt in 2012 though when the duo decided to go on an indefinite hiatus. Per reports from Billboard, RedFoo had explained how they had eased out of wanting to make music, and did not want to force it moving forward.
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.
When rumors of a breakup and family squabble arose, Sky Blu shut them down in an interview with MTV News, indicating it was “always love” between the two partners, and attributing the hiatus to the pair wanting to focus on their individual projects.
Well, you know, first of all, we’re not breaking up. 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.” Well, you know, we’ve been working as LMFAO for so long and you know we’ve been working on a lot of other projects as well. And so I feel like our creative paths, we need to kind of realize these projects we’ve been working on.
Despite these reassurances, it’s been a decade now since the duo has released music together. So what exactly have they been up to?
Is LMFAO still making music?
Sky Blu — who now goes by “8ky 6lu” — has released two projects since the hiatus- his debut album Rebel Music in 2013 and his sophomore album, Fxck Yeah: Chaos to Consciousness, in 2016.
RedFoo also ventured into solo music with his debut album, Party Rock Mansion, which he released in 2016. He made appearances on both the U.S and Australian versions of singing competition The X Factor, and was a contestant on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars.
As solo artists, the two have yet to replicate the heights and success of their work as LMFAO. The two stars however remain active on social media and are following each other, which serves to erase some doubt of any familial tension between them. They are both still committed to their music and their fanbases, but as the duo’s hiatus remains indefinite, fans should probably not hold their breath for a reunion anytime soon.