Walk the Moon is an American pop rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2008 while a student at Kenyon College and went through several member changes before finally coming together with current members Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman, and Eli Maiman in 2010. The band's name is derived from the song "Walking on the Moon" by The Police. The group independently released their debut album, I Want! I Want!, in November 2010, receiving airplay for the track "Anna Sun" on multiple Alternative radio stations. In February 2011, Walk the Moon signed with Mick Management. They signed to RCA Records and released their first major label album, their second overall, the self-titled Walk the Moon, in June 2012. It is composed of many of their original tracks from I Want! I Want! as well as new tracks that were written specifically for the album and were meant to reflect the kind of energy the band produced in their live shows. In December 2014, the band released their second major-label studio album, Talking Is Hard. This album includes their biggest hit to date, "Shut Up and Dance," which has so far charted at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 1 on Billboard's Rock Songs chart and Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

SPIN Magazine described them as a "poppy, art-rock quartet". They were also deemed a Nylon Magazine Band Crush for their "swirly pop beats, infectious guitar riffs, and loud, sing-a-long choruses."