I first heard of Before You Exit in December of 2011 when Allstar Weekend announced that BYE would be opening for them on the All The Way tour. I had never heard of them before then, and when I looked them up my initial response was “eh, okay” followed by a Kanye shrug. It’s hard to remember their performance because, well, it was just that – forgettable. It wasn’t a bad performance, but I wasn’t blown away enough to remember it a little over a year later.
Nevertheless, the band has definitely come a long way since the All The Way tour, including an image change that brought little brother Toby into the spotlight. For the fans, it was hard to get used to the adjustment, but change is always a little bit difficult and it takes some getting used to.
Recently, this musical trio of brothers put out a new cover on their YouTube channel of Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man”. I am always pleasantly surprised by how talented these 3 truly are.
It’s clear that Riley (17) has the stronger of the three voices. My favorite thing in the world is when you see an artist who is truly passionate about what they do, and Riley definitely shows it. His energy throughout the entire song never fades and I’m really impressed by his vocals – those dreamy high notes really do melt your heart.
Connor (19) is seen playing the piano and singing harmony along with a few shining solo moments. Similar to Riley, you can clearly see the passion he has by his vigorous piano playing.
Then comes the youngest McDonough, Toby (15), seen perched on a stool, guitar in hand and SnapBack on head. I’ve always thought he hid behind his brothers, mostly because of age and nerves, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear his voice was nothing short of wonderful – similar to chocolate, but not really. Although, it still seems like he has a little bit of growing to do vocally.
Overall, I was really impressed with the cover – these three are all incredibly talented and I’m really excited to see where they go from here! (Also, can we take a second to talk about that hair? Catch me, I’m swooning.)
You can check out Before you Exit’s cover below and find many other incredible covers on their YouTube channel, here.
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