Good Kid

Good Kid was formed in 2015 as a hobby while all of its members were studying primarily computer science at the University of Toronto.^[1][2] Good Kid's first song, "Nomu", was released on October 13, 2015^[1][2] and garnered initial attention from users of Reddit.^[3] It introduced the band's mascot, Nomu Kid, who was named after the song. Nomu Kid was created by artist Gabriel Altrows, who has continued to work with the band since.^[2] Their first EP, titled Good Kid, released on June 15, 2018.^[1]

In 2020, the band released their second EP, Good Kid 2.^[2] Its lead track, "Down With the King", was based on Donkey Kong Country; the lyrics describe the singer being stuck on the game and calling their friend for help.^[2][4] Following the release of Good Kid 2, Good Kid launched an alternate reality game on social media to promote a tie-in browser game called Ghost King's Revenge. The premise was that their mascot, Nomu Kid, had gone missing, and was captured by the antagonist of the game.^[4] Ghost King's Revenge featured a soundtrack consisting of both original music and chiptune arrangements of every Good Kid song featured on Good Kid and Good Kid 2.^[2]

By mid-2021, Good Kid had experienced a surge of popularity with the Fortnite community. Fortnite streamers on sites like Twitch and YouTube would often play Good Kid music in their streams, introducing it to their viewers. This extended to high-profile players such as Bugha and members of the esports organization FaZe Clan. The band members began participating in these streams, retweeting Fortnite montages that included their music.^[4] Fortnite players campaigned for Good Kid music to be added to the in-game radio.^[2][4] In response, Epic Games asked Good Kid to send in two of their songs for inclusion. Epic Games settled on "Witches", which was added that June, to positive reception by the band. Their song "Orbit" would also be added in late October of that same year.^[4] "No Time to Explain" would also be added in late 2022.^{[5][non-primary source needed]} By September 2022, Good Kid was selling out shows across the United States and had over 425,000 monthly Spotify listeners.^[6]

In response to controversy over DMCA claims, and the number of people including their music in streams, Good Kid said it would not issue takedowns against streamers.^[4][7] According to Tsafatinos, this reaction came from the band's observation that most streamers were young people who "just wanna play the music that they like on stream", and likely did not know about the DMCA system.^[4] A separate interview in 2024 with Tsafatinos later clarified that data showed that it was more financially viable for Good Kid to allow others to freely use their music on YouTube than if they were to monetize it through YouTube's Content ID system.^[8]

In 2023, the band performed a sold-out tour across the UK and Europe alongside Lovejoy.^[9] On June 20, 2023, Portugal. The Man announced Good Kid as a special guest for their Canadian tour running from November 6 to November 18.^[10]

In 2024, Good Kid was nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2024 Juno Awards.^[1][11] On March 27, the band released Good Kid 4, releasing singles for the EP including Bubbly, Break, and a cover of From the Start by Laufey.^[12] In August, the band also played at Lollapalooza.^[1][3] Following Lollapalooza, the band went on another tour in the UK and Europe.^[9][3]

In 2025, the artwork for the band's EP Good Kid 4 by Gabriel Altrows was nominated at the 2025 Juno Awards for Album Artwork of the Year.^[13][12] That same year, Good Kid announced their debut album, Can We Hang Out Sometime?, setting its release for April 3rd 2026.^[14] On December 6, 2025, Good Kid performed at The Streamer Awards.^[15]

The band has cited Bloc Party and Two Door Cinema Club as influences.^[1] Bassist Michael Kozakov has stated in an interview that the band pairs their indie rock with influences from other rock genres, namely punk rock and J-rock. He also described the band as "incredibly open to anything new".^[9] The band has also taken influence from video games, internet culture, geek culture, anime, and manga as sources of inspiration for their songs.^[8][9]

Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star has described the band's music as "hyperactive, Tokyo Police Club-esque power pop."^[2] Individual songs have also been compared to the work of Panic! at the Disco and The Strokes.^[3] Frosst's vocals have been compared to that of Kele Okereke.^[1]

The band's music contains elements of storytelling and has developed a complex lore with a large set of characters. This has been attributed to artwork created by Gabriel Altrows in tandem with the band's music.^[2][9] Rayner also noted that the band de-emphasizes personal stories in their work,^[2] though Tsafatinos has stated that the song "Mimi's Delivery Service" was based on his girlfriend.^[a][8]

• Nick Frosst — lead vocals
• Jonathon Kereliuk — drums
• Michael Kozakov — bass
• David Wood — guitar
• Jacob Tsafatinos — guitar

All members of the band are employed as programmers outside of the band, continuing work remotely while on tour. Frosst is a co-founder of Cohere, an artificial intelligence company oriented towards businesses.^[1][3] In July 2024, Tsaftinos was reported by The Canadian Press to be a software engineer for Uber, although Tsaftinos later stated he quit.^[16][3] Kozakov has stated he works in AI.^[9]