The Make Believe releases first single

The Make Believe will be online today

VICKI ANDERSON

SUCCESS: Mike Lake, Tyler Vivian and Matt Andrews are The Make Believe.

Christchurch group The Make Believe will release their first single, Give It A Million, worldwide on iTunes today.

The trio, comprising Tyler Vivian, Mike Lake and Matt Andrews, made headlines after uploading a cover version of One Direction song What Makes You Beautiful to YouTube.

The song saw them singled out by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest and led to a five-album deal with United States management company Three Piece Productions.

Lake said The Make Believe's dream became a reality yesterday when they were told they would leave for Philadelphia on June 15 and record in a studio complex used by artists such as Justin Bieber and Jason Derulo.

Although their cover songs have attracted attention, Lake said they preferred to write their own material, which he described as "pop with an edge".

Give It A Million is the first song they have written together. They recorded it recently in Auckland with Jimmy Wong, keyboardist of Shotgun Alley.

"It's about us leaving our friends and family for this huge opportunity," Lake said. "We're going to give it everything we have to make them and all of our supporters proud."

He said their American associates had been "blown away" by it. After Philadelphia, they will head to New York and Los Angeles to spend three months recording before meeting record companies.

The Make Believe band will answer your questions over at the press.co.nz from 1pm today in an hour-long Live Chat. Email your questions for the lads to reporters@press.co.nz. Signed T-shirts are up for grabs.

- © Fairfax NZ News