‘Catch of the Day’ – Love & Theft – “Candyland” [AUDIO]

Today we turn our focus to a duo who started out as a trio, and whose most successful single went to #1 in 2011. A group who feature a member that Taylor Swift not only "crushed on", but who she felt was song-worthy as they served as her opening act.

Love & Theft were formed in 2006 by Brian Bandas, Stephen Barker Liles, and Eric Gunderson, who alternated lead vocals. The trio signed with Lyric Street Records in 2008, assigned to the subsidiary label Carolwood Records and immediately were sent on tour as Taylor Swift's opening act. While on tour Liles wrote the song "Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong", which was recorded by Martina McBride for her 2009 album Shine. It was also on this tour that Taylor Swift developed a bit of a crush on Liles, and wrote the song "Hey Stephen", which appeared on her 2008 album Fearless. And to Liles' credit, it was one of the few songs Swift wrote about a crush that didn't end badly.

The group released its debut album World Wide Open in 2009. The album featured their debut single "Runaway", which was co-written by Liles and Canaan Smith. The

single peaked at #10 on the Billboard Country Singles chart, shortly before Carolwood was consolidated with the parent label Lyric Street. The album's second single, "Don't Wake Me" was released in December, peaking at #25. Many see the single's lack of success as a direct failure of Lyric Street, whose difficulties culminated a few months later when the label was closed by parent company Disney, leaving the group without both a recording contract, and a label to support the album they had just released.

In 2011, Bandas left the group, leaving Liles and Gunderson to carry on as a duo. Still without a record deal, but that didn't last for long.

Soon after Bandas' departure, Liles and Gunderson signed with RCA Nashville, and immediately went to work on their second album. The self-titled project would be released in July of 2012, and featured the lead single "Angel Eyes", which was released ahead of the album, in November of 2011. The song would become the group's first (and so far only) #1 single, topping the charts for one week. Two more single followed from the album, but neither managed to crack the top-30.

In 2014 the duo released the single "Night That You'll Never Forget", as the lead for their third album. But creative differences with Sony Music Nashville (who had taken the group's contract as part of a merger with RCA), led to the album being shelved, with the songs on the album listed as "untouchable" by Sony for five years, unless the group agreed to pay $13,000 per song. The project included a version of "Ain't Going Out Like That" that was recorded by Reba McEntire in 2015. Undaunted, Liles and Gunderson moved forward, releasing the self-produced Whiskey On My Breath in 2015. The only single, the title track was released in February, and peaked at #25.

In March of this year, Love & Theft signed with Curb Records, and back into the studio they headed. The first single from their as yet unnamed first project for Curb is in our spotlight today. Love & Theft and "Candyland" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.