New Radicals release first new song in 28 years for rom com Wait, I need to avoid dashes. Let me redo: New Radicals release their first new song in 28 years for a rom com

New Radicals, the duo of Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois, released their first fully original song in 28 years on Friday, August 1st. The track is called "One Night Only (Break Loose Break Free!)" and serves as the theme song for the upcoming romantic comedy One Night Only, starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner. The film, directed by Will Gluck who previously made Easy A and Anyone But You, is set in a world where sex before marriage is forbidden for the entire year except for one night. Maya Hawke, Julia Fox, Molly Ringwald, and Nicholas Braun appear in supporting roles. The film opens in the United States on August 7th and in the United Kingdom on August 28th.

The song is a piano driven pop rock track that calls to mind the band's familiar sound, complete with spoken word passages reminiscent of their only studio album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too from 1998. Alexander, Brisebois, and Nick Lashley, who is Brisebois's husband, co wrote the track. Lashley had previously collaborated with the duo on songs such as "Lost Stars," their Oscar nominated contribution to the 2013 film Begin Again.

New Radicals were a brief but memorable presence in the pop world of the late nineties. The duo broke through worldwide in 1998 with "You Get What You Give," taken from their debut and only album. Alexander disbanded the group in 1999, saying he had burned out from the touring and promotional demands that came with being a frontman. Since then he has worked primarily behind the scenes as a songwriter and producer, with major successes including Sophie Ellis Bextor's "Murder on the Dancefloor," "The Game of Love" by Santana and Michelle Branch, and the previously mentioned "Lost Stars."

A real comeback seemed unlikely for a long time, until New Radicals briefly reunited to perform during President Joe Biden's virtual inaugural parade in 2021. "You Get What You Give" held special significance for the Bidens: it was the favorite song of Biden's son Beau during his battle with cancer, and the president described that connection in his memoirs. The song was also adopted as a campaign anthem by Doug Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris. In 2024, Alexander and Brisebois released new versions of "Murder on the Dancefloor" and "The Game of Love" in support of Harris's presidential campaign.

Interest in "You Get What You Give" is also alive among younger generations. Artists including Geese, Benee, and Gus Dapperton have covered the song in recent years. Alexander called Geese, who performed it for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, "not just the coolest band in decades" but "one of the best." Alongside the new New Radicals track, the film's soundtrack also features a cover of John Paul Young's disco hit "Love Is in the Air" by King Princess, and a score medley by Este Haim and her Suncoast collaborator Christopher Stracey.