The boy band performed their first concert in more than two years for the video.
Why Don't We is ready for their new era. ET's Denny Directo spoke to the boy band, which is made up of Jack Avery, Corbyn Besson, Zach Herron, Jonah Marais and Daniel Seavey, about their new single, "Love Back," and its accompanying music video.
In the music video, which dropped on Wednesday, the group is seen driving around Los Angeles on Vespas, and surprising fans by inviting them to the band's first concert in more than two years.
"We went around L.A. that day and surprised fans and gave them tickets to the show. They had no idea it was happening. They were told it was gonna be for a documentary about us... but they didn't know we were showing up," Marais explained. "... The [fans'] reactions you see in the video are real."
Marais said that the experience was "amazing," though it didn't come without some difficulty for Seavey.
"I thought the Vespas were safe until I like literally ate it," Seavey recalled. "Me and Corbin were fully standing on the seats of the Vespa. And I'm not even kidding, it ran out of gas while I was up like that. It starts slowing down a little and I stalled out and flew off."
It was all worth it, though, when WDW hit the stage after their years-long break.
"There was a point where it genuinely felt like we might not perform again in COVID. That was the toughest reality to face," Seavey told ET. "And so doing a show again, I don't even like know how to describe it. It's like our identity comes out most onstage."
Avery agreed, admitting he "almost cried" when they took the stage because he realized "this is what we're supposed to be doing."
"The bond between an artist or a group of artists and their fans, it's sacred and it's special," Herron added of the fans' response to their concert. "... They're our lifeline and they've literally done everything for us. We would not have this life without each and every one of those people. I'm just eternally grateful. I just want to get more music out for them. That's all they've been begging for lately."
The concert and single came after WDW accused their production company of "mental, emotional, and financial abuse." In a statement to E! News, David Loeffler, the band's co-manager, called the allegations "untrue, hurtful."
"[We] definitely have been through a lot. It's been a crazy year. It's been good to finally get the greenlight and put music out again. The fight definitely isn't over... with everything that's happening, but we're definitely making strides in a positive direction," Marais said of WDW's ongoing legal battle. "We just love seeing the fans' support. Everyone coming around and supporting us has been the best feeling in the world."
"I think we trauma bonded," Seavey added of the group. "... We were in such a crazy, tough position that we bonded through it in the weirdest way... We went through the weirdest circumstances, and [there's] this really new, healthy relationship we're working on where we can just bond in some normalcy."
Part of that normalcy came from releasing "Love Back," an important step that meant a lot to WDW.
"'Love Back' is the first song that's come out since our truth has been spoken to a certain extent. That song definitely does take even more importance in that sense, because it feels like what's hopefully the first step in the right direction," Herron explained. "For us personally and mentally, and for our fans, and even for the industry. We're not the only case of that type of stuff happening."
"For me, it's felt a little vulnerable, but also powerful, to be able to talk about that," he continued. "I just hope throughout all of this... we can provide at least a sense of hope to some extent for anybody going through rough times."
Things are only picking up from here with WDW, with Marais telling ET that the group's next single will be out "before next year."
"We've got our foot on the gas. We've got a bunch of music in the vault ready to go. We have a tour that's mostly planned," he said. "[There's] a lot of exciting stuff on the horizon."
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