Tones And I

Toni Watson, known professionally as Tones and I, broke internationally with “Dance Monkey,” the 2019 single that reached number one in more than 30 countries, including Australia. In 2019 and 2020, it spent 24 weeks at the top of the Australian singles chart, surpassing Bing Crosby’s 22-week Australian record for “White Christmas” in 1943. By June 2023, ARIA had certified the song 19 times platinum for shipments exceeding 1,330,000 units.

Watson is from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and later moved to Byron Bay, New South Wales, to pursue music. She uploaded her first song, “Johnny Run Away,” in February 2019 and soon opened for Norwegian singer AURORA. Her debut EP, The Kids Are Coming, arrived on 30 August 2019 and included “Dance Monkey.” The EP peaked at number three in Australia and reached the top 10 in several other countries.

At the 2019 ARIA Music Awards, Tones and I was the ceremony’s most awarded artist, taking home four awards from eight nominations. Her debut album, Welcome to the Madhouse, was released through Bad Batch on 16 July 2021 and entered the ARIA Albums Chart at number one. Its lead single, “Fly Away,” reached number four in Australia, number 10 in Ireland, and number 11 in both the United Kingdom and Denmark. In February 2024, “Dance Monkey” made her the first female artist to pass three billion streams for a single song on Spotify.