Minnesota's own Owl City soars to No. 1 with 'Fireflies'

"Fireflies," recorded in his Owatonna basement, is Minnesota's first chart-topper since 1998.

By CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune

Last update: October 29, 2009 - 8:34 PM

Guess whooo has Minnesota's first No. 1 single in more than a decade (hint, hint)?

Owl City -- the musical moniker of Owatonna wiz kid Adam Young, 23 -- has taken a song he recorded in his parents' basement to the top of Billboard's Hot 100, the big kahuna of U.S. singles charts. His dreamy synth-pop track "Fireflies" is Minnesota's first national No. 1 single since 1998's "Too Close" by R&B trio Next.

Most of Owl City's success so far has been online, including a half-million song downloads. Top 40 radio stations still matter, though, and gave "Fireflies" another big boost.

"It's a hooky song, but it also has a substance to it that is really resonating with our demographics," said Rob Morris, program director at KDWB (101.3 FM), which snagged Owl City for its Dec. 6 Jingle Ball concert at Xcel Energy Center.

Young had never been onstage before February. He used home-recording gear to craft his music, which then went viral via MySpace.

"Adam is proving good music doesn't need to be full of sex and drugs," his manager, Steve Bursky, said Thursday. "To take his music from his parents' basement in Owatonna to the mainstream gives me great hope about today's music business."

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