Artist · chart history
Capital Cities
Band Los Angeles United States Formed 2009
Capital Cities formed in 2009 in Los Angeles, United States. Capital Cities has 38 chart appearances on 37 radio countdowns from 22 stations on RockLists, spanning 2012–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Safe and Sound”, which appears on 32 lists and was voted number one once. In total the artist has topped 1 countdown. The station that charted Capital Cities most often is 94.3 WCYY (Portland, ME), with 5 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2013.
Capital Cities are a Los Angeles pop duo, Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, who both sing and play keyboards, with Merchant adding guitar. Their music is bright, retro-leaning synth-pop that sounds like it was built for a sunny afternoon drive.
"Safe and Sound" is the one that made them: a gleaming, hand-clapping tune with a big synth hook you can't shake, and it topped the US alternative chart. It became their only top ten single, and it ended up everywhere, from a German Vodafone commercial and a Mazda 3 ad to the film One Small Hitch and an Air New Zealand in-flight safety video. "Kangaroo Court" followed as a single in March 2012.
Their debut album, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery, came out on June 4, 2013, through Capitol Records in partnership with Lazy Hooks, and it carried the upbeat "One Minute More".
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Capital Cities on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Safe and Sound | 32 | #1 | 1 | 2013 | |
| 2 | One Minute More | 3 | #25 | – | 2014 | |
| 3 | Kangaroo Court | 1 | #32 | – | 2013 | |
| 4 | Vowels | 2 | #49 | – | 2016 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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