Background
Who did Some Nights want as their producer?
Some Nights
Fun signed to Fueled by Ramen in late 2010. Lead vocalist Nate Ruess, who had apprehensions about joining a major label in the past, recalled the switch being "very, very easy" for the group, stating that both parties approached it as if they "knew what were getting into with each other." The transition was in the works with the label for almost nine months, when the head of the label reached out to the band. Ruess was flattered that employed workers for the label would buy their own tickets to Fun. shows and "talk about us with the passion you'd generally reserve for an artist you're working with." After lengthy discussions within the band, the band decided to give the label a try. Ruess recalls that he was listening to "so much hip-hop" during the production that it became a big influence for him. The band felt inspired and gradually began working on new songs, each carrying an obvious hip-hop influence. Consciously, the band began working in the hip-hop factor and realized they wanted a hip-hop producer. After scanning the liner notes of his other hip-hop records, Ruess noticed that Jeff Bhasker was one of the most common names. Bhasker was preoccupied at the time working with Beyoncé but Ruess was persistent in meeting with him.