The bulk of the club scene in 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. So it’s no surprise the dynamic duo was a big hit with several chart toppers, yet then almost as quickly as they had come onto the scene — they were gone. So where did they go p, and more importantly, where are they today?
LMFAO’s biggest hits
The duo known as LMFAO 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. Their unique electronica style and strong bass-filled backbeat made them club favorites and they found their way into many a DJ set 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, many feared they would be a one-hit, or one album, wonder. Even the duo had no idea what would be coming their way with their follow-up album, titled Sorry for Party Rocking. Trust us, it did not 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 dropped and the world has never quite been the same since. It earned 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 scene staple, as no rave was complete without this song booming over the extra loudspeakers. “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.
While LMFAO sat on top of the charts, and world, they decided to strike while the iron was hot. Their next single off the album, “Champagne Showers,” may not have performed quite 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. They even performed to great acclaim during Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show.
Did LMFAO breakup?
Regardless of their immense fame and success, things came to a screeching halt in 2012 when the duo decided to go on an indefinite hiatus. Yet fans wanted to know, with so many chart-toppers — what gives? What could cause one of the 2000s’s hottest groups to suddenly go silent? Well, 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.” It seemed LMFAO had simply run its course.
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. He elaborated saying “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.”
It turns out the dynamic duo simply had other life goals and projects they wanted to pursue as opposed to being the “kings of electronica” forever. Yet despite these reassurances, it’s been a decade now since the duo has released music together. So what exactly have they been up to?
Where is LMFAO now?
Sky Blu, who now goes by “8ky 6lu,” has released two projects since the hiatus. His debut album Rebel Music came out in 2013 and his follow-up 30-song hip hop album, Fxck Yeah: Chaos to Consciousness, in 2016. They were met with limited success, however, in comparison to his LMFAO releases. His social media is currently filled with his travel adventures, his fur family, and his latest tattoo acquisitions. His Instagram has been quiet since April of this year, however, so any projects or performances he is currently working on, remain behind the scenes at least for the time being. He continues to pursue his solo music career.
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 the singing competition The X Factor and was a contestant on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars He dated tennis pro Victoria Azarenka for several years and became a vegan in 2017, a cause very dear to his heart and one he publicly endorses. His most recent hit “Long Live Party Rock,” a collaboration with Dainjazone made number two on Apple’s Top 40 US Dance Hits, eventually working its way up to number one and leading to two additional remixes that are also doing well.
While the dynamic duo are both still highly recognizable and continue to make music, as solo artists, they have yet to replicate the heights and success of their work as LMFAO. The two stars however remain active on the music scene and are following each other on social media, 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.