Willpower

San Francisco's Hey Willpower began as Imperial Teen bassist Will Schwartz's homage to the hip-hop, urban, and dance-pop he grew up with, such as L'Trimm and Janet and Michael Jackson's singles. The original incarnation of the band included the Aislers Set's Amy Linton, but she was too busy with her main band to spend a lot of time with Hey Willpower. A mutual friend introduced Schwartz to Tussle's Tomo Yasuda, and the pair were soon practicing and recording furiously. In 2005, their self-titled EP introduced their dancefloor-savvy sound; appropriately, the group's live show also included a troupe of dancers. The Hundredaire single — a witty tribute to André 3000's "Millionaire" — arrived in 2007, as did the Dance EP. Later that year, Hey Willpower's debut album, P.D.A., was released in Europe; Tomlab released it in the U.S. in early 2008.