The Lonely Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Lonely Island
From left to right: Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone
Background information
Origin	Berkeley, California
Genres	Hip hop, comedy
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Universal Republic
Associated acts	Atomix (DJ from Carbondale Illinois)
Members	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone

The Lonely Island is a funny American group made up of three friends. These friends are Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer. They grew up in Berkeley, California. Now, they live and work in New York City.

This group is famous for their funny songs and videos. Many of their songs became popular on Saturday Night Live. Some of their well-known songs include "I'm On A Boat", "Like a Boss", and "Lazy Sunday". They have released three music albums: Incredibad, Turtleneck and Chain, and The Wack Album.

How The Lonely Island Started

The three members of The Lonely Island, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, all grew up together. They met when they were in junior high school in Berkeley, California. They were good friends from a young age.

Later, the three friends moved to Los Angeles to start their careers. They shared an apartment there. They decided to call their apartment "The Lonely Island." This name then became the name of their comedy group.

Their Time on Saturday Night Live

As the group became more known, they got a big chance. They were asked to write jokes for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Jimmy Fallon was the host of the show that year. He was very impressed with their funny ideas.

Jimmy Fallon then told Lorne Michaels about them. Lorne Michaels is the main producer of Saturday Night Live (SNL). He agreed to meet with the group. This meeting led to a big step in their careers.

Andy Samberg tried out to be a performer on SNL. He was the only one of the three who had also done stand-up comedy. He was chosen to join the cast. Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone were asked to join the writing team. They all started working on SNL in 2005.

What Are SNL Digital Shorts?

Since joining SNL, The Lonely Island has created many popular skits. They are most famous for their "SNL Digital Shorts." These are short, pre-filmed comedy videos. They often include funny songs and celebrity guests.

The Digital Shorts quickly became a very popular part of the show. They helped SNL reach a new audience. Many of their hit songs, like "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box," were first shown as Digital Shorts.

The MacGruber Skits

The group also created a popular skit called "MacGruber." In these skits, Will Forte plays the main character, MacGruber. He is a funny copy of the hero MacGyver. MacGruber and his helpers, often Kristen Wiig and a guest host, are trapped. They are usually in a room with a bomb about to explode.

MacGruber tries to stop the bomb by asking for simple items. But he always gets distracted by his personal problems. Because of this, he runs out of time. Every skit ends with the bomb exploding. Jorma Taccone directed almost all of these funny skits.

Their First Album: Incredibad

The Lonely Island released their first music album called Incredibad. It came out on February 10, 2009. The album was released by Universal Republic Records. Many of the songs on Incredibad were first shown as SNL Digital Shorts.

The Incredibad album also came with a DVD. This DVD included some of their popular digital shorts. Many famous artists worked with them on this album. These artists included T-Pain, Norah Jones, Jack Black, and Justin Timberlake.

Images for kids

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  The three comedians first met in Berkeley, California.

See also

In Spanish: The Lonely Island para niños