Artist · chart history
The Academy Is...
Band Chicago United States Active 2003–2011 Chicago rock band
The Academy Is... formed in 2003 in Chicago, United States and was active until 2011. The Academy Is... has 4 chart appearances on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations on RockLists, spanning 2006–2007. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “We've Got a Big Mess (Live)”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #59. The station that charted The Academy Is... most often is Q101 (Chicago, IL), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2007.
The Academy Is... came out of Chicago in 2003 and landed on Fueled by Ramen's Decaydance imprint in 2004, with a sound that sits somewhere between pop-punk, emo and indie rock. William Beckett's voice sits at the center of it all, bright, yearning and theatrical, with Adam Siska on bass, Mike Carden on guitar and Andy Mrotek on drums.
Their 2005 debut, Almost Here, carried "Slow Down", a jittery, hook-stuffed rush with guitars that never stop churning. Santi followed in 2007 with "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands", a punchier, more swaggering record with Michael Guy Chislett now on guitar, and Fast Times at Barrington High came a year later.
The band went on hiatus in 2011. On May 11, 2022, they announced a full reunion along with a set at that year's Riot Fest, and in March 2026 they put out Almost There, their first album in 18 years.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Academy Is... on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | We've Got a Big Mess (Live) | 1 | #59 | – | 2007 | |
| 2 | We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands | 1 | #69 | – | 2007 | |
| 3 | Slow Down | 2 | #77 | – | 2006 |
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.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 59 | We've Got a Big Mess (Live) | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2007 |
| 2007 | 69 | We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands | CHOI Top 101 Songs of 2007 |
| 2006 | 77 | Slow Down | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2006 |
| 2006 | 94 | Slow Down | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006 |
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