Founded by friends David Whelan (vocals/guitar), Ed Porter (guitar/vocals), Conor O'Donohoe (keyboards/vocals), and Callum McAdam (drums), who write as a group, Wild Youth came together in Dublin in 2016. They released their debut single, "All or Nothing" in mid-2017. A minor viral hit, it led to opening slots for Zara Larsson and Niall Horan in Ireland. After meeting the Script's Danny O’Donoghue at the 2FM Xmas Ball in late 2017, they headed to London to record, with members of the Script acting as co-writers and co-producers. The single "Can't Move On" followed in mid-2018 and garnered hundreds of thousands of streams by the end of the year. It also charted in Ireland, reaching number 59 on their Top 100. In the meantime, Wild Youth toured Europe in support of Kodaline. "Making Me Dance" soon returned the group to the singles chart, and their debut EP, The Last Goodbye, reached Ireland's Top Five in early 2019.