Gorillaz are a hugely successful animated band that was created by Damon Albarn (from the British band Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (who co-created the comic book Tank Girl) back in 1998. The band consists of four members: 2-D (keys, vocals), Murdoc Niccals (bass), Russel Hobbs (drums), and Noodle (guitars). The band is actually made up of dozens of different artists who have pieced together the songs on their albums, but these artists hide behind the mask of the four fictional Gorillaz characters.

The fictional Gorillaz are seen on the covers of their albums, in the music videos, and in all advertising materials for the band, essentially forming a mask for the various artists. Gorillaz started off small, with Damon and Jamie working on their new project in their London flat (Damon did the vocals while Jamie did the artwork). In 2000, the band's first song, "Tomorrow Comes Today" was released as an EP. The song generated a lot of buzz, and people started wondering who the masterminds of this cartoon band were. When Clint Eastwood, Gorillaz's first single, came out on March 5th, 2001, the band was immediately thrust onto the global stage. The band's self-titled debut album was released the same month, followed by three more singles. G-Sides, a collection of the band's B-sides, was released at the end of 2001 in Japan, and early 2002 elsewhere, with Laika Come Home, a dub remix of Gorillaz by the band Spacemonkeyz, being released shortly afterwards.

As 2002 came to a close, the compilation DVD Phase One: Celebrity Takedown was released. At the end of 2004, a second album was announced: Demon Days, featuring singles such as "Feel Good Inc." and "DARE," was released on May 11th, 2005. Though many of the collaborators from Gorillaz didn't return, the four fictional band members stayed the same. In September of 2006, Jamie Hewlett stated in a magazine interview that Gorillaz' journey wasn't over yet, but that they were done putting out music. A month later, a second compilation DVD titled Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades was released, with an illustrated autobiography of the band's four animated members, titled Rise of the Ogre, being released around the same time.

After some time away from the spotlight, a documentary film about the behind-the-scenes aspects of Gorillaz was released online in April of 2009, followed by a DVD release in June of the same year. The next year brought the release of Gorillaz' third album, Plastic Beach, which Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn had consequently been working on since 2007. After the album's March release, Gorillaz headed to the Coachella music festival the next month, as they pushed their way back into the spotlight. Since their formation in the late 90's, Gorillaz has gone from the creative but simple idea of two men to a globally successful musical group with lasting appeal and popularity.