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Simply Three

Simply Three turns violin, cello and upright bass into pop and rock covers, cinematic originals and music videos, with Julz, Zack Clark and Nick Villalobos.

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Simply Three’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.

Known for

Overview

Founded: 2010, by Nicholas “Nick” Villalobos and Zack Clark
Instruments: Violin, cello and upright bass
Current trio: Julian “Julz” Nguyen, Zack Clark and Nick Villalobos
Breakout: Viral string covers including “Demons” and “Counting Stars”

Mini bio

How it started.

Nick Villalobos and Zack Clark met in 2001 at the Arizona All-State Orchestra Festival as high school freshmen. They also played in the Phoenix Youth Symphony. They founded Simply Three in 2010, building a sound around bass, cello and violin that could move between classical playing and the pop music they loved.

Finding their audience.

Music videos helped the trio reach listeners far beyond the concert hall. Their Imagine Dragons cover “Demons” drew more than 200,000 views in a couple of days, according to LDS Living’s feature. OneRepublic praised their “Counting Stars” arrangement. Glen McDaniel joined in 2014; the current lineup features violinist Julian “Julz” Nguyen alongside Zack and Nick.

Beyond covers.

Their catalog also makes room for original writing, including the albums Undefined and Better Days. “Rain” grew from a cello idea Zack had while watching House. All Amazed explored hymn arrangements, while newer videos such as “Magnolia” bring electric strings into pop-punk territory.

Creditschronological, newest first

2026MagnoliaWriters, performers and producers; drums by Jake Gillespie
2022All AmazedPerformers · Shadow Mountain Records
2020Better DaysOriginal album · Simply Three Records
2018Bohemian RhapsodyFeatured artists with William Joseph
2017RainCo-writers with Peter Costa; performers and producers

Quotes

We each knew at that time that we wanted to be involved in music for the rest of our lives.Nick Villalobos, Central Florida Lifestyle

Recalling his early friendship with Zack Clark: https://www.centralfloridalifestyle.com/orlando-local-stories/simply-three-dont-miss-the-simply-amazing-string-trio-at-judsons-live/amp/

Trivia

“Counting Stars” was their first video filmed outside Arizona. They shot it while visiting New York for a performance.
The opening cello figure in “Rain” reminded them of raindrops, which helped give the song its name.
“Magnolia” was originally written by Julz for his niece, Magnolia.