Meet The Future X, your next big obsession.
Discovered on TikTok by Simon Fuller, the new musical group effortlessly combines the incredible vocals of singers Angie Green, Luke Brown and Maci Wood with the powerful stage presence of performers Sasha Marie, Tray Taylor, Jayna Hughes and Drew Venegas to create a new kind of supergroup.
Their name, The Future X, not only represents a new generation, but also comes from the idea of ‘X' being an undetermined variable, a placeholder for the group's vision of the future that they want to create through their music.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Luke explains why the group's first single, titled "This Kind of Love," is "a real kick in the door" moment that will put their message of love and acceptance on bold display.
"It's basically about how the love that we share—the love that we show the world—is not to be judged," he says. "It's not to be looked at differently. You can say what you want about it, but we're going to believe in our love and we're gonna show the world that."
Despite living together for only two weeks in their home in Malibu, the group is quickly becoming like family as they grow, train and continuously learn new things from one another while working on their Elf Cosmetics collaboration and preparing for their live performances coming in March.
Read on for E! News' chat with the group about their music—and how much they all love Doja Cat—below.
E! News: What does it mean to represent the next generation of music—and music discovery?
Angie Green: This is the first time that anything like this has ever been done, so it means a lot to us to represent both sides of dance and singing combined into one. I can't wait to see how the world accepts it because we've really been working hard on this whole project and can't wait to release music. It's just going to be amazing.
E!: Luke, what can tell us about this upcoming single? What can we expect?
Luke Brown: This upcoming single is groundbreaking because it's a very inclusive song. The title is "This Kind of Love" and it's basically about how the love that we share—the love that we show the world—is not to be judged. It's not to be looked at differently. You can say what you want about it, but we're going to believe in our love and we're gonna show the world that. We just feel like it's gonna be a real kick in the door and be like, ‘Hey, this is us. This is who we are.'
E!: Do you remember first time you all met?
Sasha Marie: That was the last day of our audition process, so all of it was honestly very surreal meeting and knowing it was us and we were in a group. All of us honestly got the dream.
E!: Angie, you worked with Simon Fuller on Nickelodeon's California Dreaming. How did the character of Nina prepare you for this opportunity?
AG: The Nickelodeon project was my first time being in front of a camera. I got to film my first music video, which actually happened on my birthday. When I did that, I realized that this is all I wanted to do in my life. I want to sing, I want to be in music videos, I want to show the world my talents and now that I get to do it with a family, it just doesn't get any better.
E!: Maci, your idols include Adele and Christina Aguilera. Do you try to channel them when singing?
Maci Wood: I like to believe that you can learn something from each individual artist, whether that be a dancer, singer, anything. Those two in particular, I love that they have such an incredible story as well. I really think that's very inspirational. It drives me every day to be a better performer.
E!: Jayna, how has your Filipino heritage influenced your work as a dancer?
Jayna Hughes: Being able to not only share my dancing out here, but also connect with all my family back home in the Philippines has been super amazing. I just love being able to connect both worlds. It's been super amazing just being able to share who I am.
E!: You are all living together in Malibu. What is that like?
LB: It was definitely a big change, just being in a humongous house where I have to walk 10 minutes to get to the other side of it! That is very surreal to me. I would find myself just laughing or crying, thinking, ‘Where am I? What is this? It doesn't feel real.' But I love it here. I've always wanted to move to LA, that's always been a big dream of mine.
E!: You're all fans of Doja Cat. Tray, what do you find most inspiring about her?
Tray Taylor: I literally had a plan to visit every audition this year. I was gonna fly to every city for open call because I wanted to dance for her so bad. I don't regret joining this group because this is my path, but I love Doja. She's been like a big inspiration to me for a long time, since like mid/early high school.
MW: She definitely feels that connection because she's posted him on her Instagram!
E!: No way!
TT: Yes. So, she knows I exist. We're getting married.
JH: I think it's her performance presence that for sure captivates all of us. Not only is she an amazing artist—even her dancing is amazing—but her presence on stage just is so captivating.
E!: Drew, you grew up playing sports before switching to dance. Tell us about that transition.
Drew Venegas: I always enjoyed sports, but I've never really had an outlet where I was able to express myself fully until I got introduced to dance in high school. I transferred my sophomore year to a different school and they had a dance team. All it took was for me to watch them at a rally; the crowd was going crazy for them and I was like, ‘Whoa, I want to do that. I want to be right there.' Once I found that, it definitely changed my life. I've never been more passionate and able to express myself more than I have now.
E!: We have some big Rihanna fans in this group too. Sasha, how are you feeling about the baby news?
LB: Oh my god. We are happy for her! Most definitely happy!
AG: That is going to be the most beautiful baby in existence.
SM: I know. A$AP Rocky and Rihanna? But Drake must be upset.
E!: What have you learned from being a part of The Future X thus far?
JH: I am the youngest. I'm still in high school, so it's been a change just moving away from home. But having [the other members] here has been insanely comforting because I'm able to just look at them as my older brothers and sisters. This is a new home, it's a family, and I'm so happy to have them because each and every one of them—all of our one-on-one talks—they have all helped inspire me to be a better person.
E!: Drew, what about as the oldest member of the group?
DV: I'm a big brother and I treat them like they're my siblings. It's always something, whether it's learning how to cook from Angie, learning how to play video games from Luke, learning how to just be a better person because Maci is so calm and collected. Tray being so funny just being himself. And then Jayna, she's so smart and so young. I think everyone just has so much to share with me and I've learned so much.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.