Prior to 2015, X Ambassadors were a middling band trying to find their way. Despite inking a deal with Interscope Records and even writing a song with Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds, the Ithaca natives were on the right track, but still needed to find that extra magic that would register with music listeners. Then came “Renegades.” 

The song from the band’s VHS proved to be a hit both on radio and commercially. (You can hear “Renegades” on car commercials and was ranked as one of the top songs of the year by SiriusXM’s influential Alt Nation channel.) The band has zipped across the country and world performing and it’s safe to say that 2015 has been very, very kind for X Ambassadors. 

Prior to a show in Tulsa, OK, we spoke with Adam Levin and he gave us his 2015 recap that includes great moments, cringe-worthy events and everything in between.

Best Moment of 2015: Going platinum. It’s not something that was ever in the discussion at the beginning of the year. Our song “Jungle” came out last year and didn’t do what we hoped. But we’re very thankful that “Renegades” did. 

2015 Moment You'd Rather Forget: All the traveling. More specifically, we had an emergency landing which was pretty notable. There was smoke in one of the engine rooms and we had to land and have a 12-hour delay.

Worst Flight of 2015: That one. It was in late October and were flying from Philadelphia to San Francisco to be on the TNT season opener for the Warriors. We flew 30 minutes and there was smoke coming out of one of the engines, so we landed in Pittsburgh. Had a 12-hour layover, flew back to Philadelphia and then flew to San Francisco. 

Favorite Basketball Moment of 2015: I’m a Lakers fan so there haven’t been many.

Best City You pPayed in 2015: Montreaux, Switzerland. It’s amazingly beautiful. 

Worst Show of 2015: There was one in Mississippi, at Mississippi I believe, where it rained all day. It was an outdoor stage before a college football game and the power cutoff. Also, a few times during the show, Sam kept saying “What’s up Missouri!” instead of Mississippi. 

Favorite Festival of 2015: A tie between Firefly in Delaware and Osheaga in Montreal. 

Favorite New Airline Perk: We’re trying to get up to Diamond on Delta, but for now, the comfort of boarding early, pre-check and all that kind of stuff. 

Best Fan Interaction of 2015: Meeting the people from the “Renegades” video. They’re all people with disabilities who have done amazing things. It’s amazing to meet these people in-person and seeing them interact with Casey (keyboardist Casey Harris) is really cool and it’s great to do something positive. 

First Time You Heard “Renegades” on the Radio: We were getting into the car and heard the last five seconds. It was in Orange County either in March or April. 

Album You Couldn’t Stop Listening to in 2015: Compton by Dr. Dre

Favorite TV Show of 2015: Master of None

Most Played Movie/TV Show on Your Tour Bus: South Park. We have every episode on the hard drive so we watched it all day long.

Favorite South Park character From This Season: PC Principal. 

Biggest Guilty Pleasure in 2015: Taylor Swift. Everything about her.

How Did “Renegades” Success Change 2015: We’ve been a band for a while and been wanting to get our break and go to the next level. Now we’re working twice as hard to maintain where we are and to get to that next level. We’re thankful for the opportunity that it brought us, which is to tour non-stop and to continue to make music.

Sign That “Renegades” was Going to be Huge: When it went No. 1 at alternative radio and stayed there for 11 or 12 weeks.

Weirdest Thing You Ate in 2015: Escargot.

City With the Best Fans and Best Show: Montreal. The fans there for Osheaga and our headlining show were the best. It’s always fucking amazing there.

Festival You Want to Play in 2016: Glastonbury.

This Band Will be Big in 2016: The Knocks. Skylar Grey. 

Biggest Renegade of the Year: Casey Harris our keyboard player. He’s fully blind and is doing the same schedule as us and we’re never in the same place. For someone who is visually impaired, it’s difficult when we keep changing and are moving so much. He’s dealt with things really gratefully and become a source of inspiration for blind people and for people with all kinds of disabilities.