Colbie Caillat announced on Wednesday, August 12, that she and Gone West bandmate Justin Young have decided to dissolve the country-pop group. She shared the news with fans on Instagram.
She claimed that it was not an easy decision to come to, but they are confident that ending the band was a good decision. Additionally, Caillat had mentioned creative partnerships being both rewarding and difficult between friends. The 35-year-old singer thanked Gone West fans for supporting their music and coming to their shows. She also thanks their teams for their hard work and creativity, as well as for believing in the group and helping them share their music to the world. Additionally, she thanks music outlets that the band has worked with.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Colbie Caillat (@colbiecaillat) on Aug 12, 2020 at 12:15pm PDT
Gone West was formed in 2018 and was active for two years. The group had released their first album "Canyons" just a month ago in June 2020. The group has four members: Colbie Calliat, Justin Young, Jason Reeves, and Nelly Joy, with the latter two being a married couple. Calliat is a Grammy-winning folk singer, Young is an artist active in the contemporary Hawaiian music scene, Reeves is a songwriter and indie artist, and Nelly Joy is part of the country duo "the JaneDear girls".
Members Colbie Calliat and Justin Young had dated for more than ten years and had gotten engaged in 2015. In April 2020, however, the couple announced on their respective Instagram accounts that they had ended their relationship. Despite the split, they say that they will continue to be best friends and that this will not stop them from working and making music together. They both noted that it would be hard, but that this is the right choice and that this will allow both of them to move forward and gratitude. They went on to say that they are overwhelmed and thankful for the love and time they gave each other.
Colbie Calliat is an American singer-songwriter that initially rose to fame through MySpace. In 2007, she signed with Universal Republic Records and released her debut album "Coco", which included hit songs "Bubbly" and "Realize". In 2008, she released a duet with Jason Mraz called "Lucky", which snagged the two a Grammy award.
In 2009, she released her second album "Breakthrough", which topped the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album was subsequently nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards. She won a Grammy that year for her background vocals and for writing lyrics for Taylor Swift's album "Fearless".
Throughout her career, Caillat has sold over six million albums worldwide and ten million albums. In 2009, Billboard Magazine named her as one of the top 100 best-selling artists of the 2010s.
Calliat was active with Gone West since the group's inception. In 2019, the group released their first extended play "Tide", which reached number 17 on the Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, number 17 on Country Albums Sales, and number 74 on the Top Current Albums chart. Their single "What Could've Been" was released that same year and was praised for being a "crisp yet plaintive ballad" by music critic Luke Levenson, and was complimented for the voices blending together naturally.
Gone West fans will definitely miss the group!
