"It's been one of the most fulfilling years ever. It's difficult to comprehend how much has happened but there's been a lot of bucket list ticking."
South Arcade are the BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire Act of the Year, capping off a successful 2025 that saw the pop punk band play more than 100 shows, including the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals.
They also signed a deal with Atlantic Records and have had more than 50 million streams on Spotify.
"It's been wild - we've been all over non-stop but wouldn't change anything for the world," lead singer Harmony Cavelle says.
The Oxford four-piece follow in the footsteps of previous Acts of the Year such as Stornoway, Glass Animals, Willie J Healey, Artemas, and this year's Brit Awards rising star nominee Elmiene.
Drummer Cody Jones describes the band as "living, breathing examples of imposter syndrome".
He adds: "Just like today - you've definitely got the name wrong."
South Arcade formed when childhood friends Cavelle and guitarist Harry Winks recruited university mates Jones and bassist Ollie Green.
They decided to move in together and wrote a huge bundle of songs, making their BBC Introducing debut in 2022.
With their love of artists like Linkin Park, Hard-Fi, Avril Lavigne, and No Doubt, they were a huge hit with social media audiences keen on 90s and early 2000s culture, perfectly chiming with the growing Y2K core movement.
They have since released two EPs, including November's PLAY!
But the live arena is where they proved themselves a force to be reckoned with, and their recent 22-date headline US tour cemented their popularity across the Atlantic.
"In April it was our first ever time in America, I didn't even think anyone out there would know us and we were the first of four in a set of bands, so it was like trying to find your feet," Cavelle explains.
"So to go back this time and have all those crowds there for us and know all the words... is scary stuff but really cool."
Jones describes the American fans as "incredible".
"From the first note they were so down to go crazy, but they were also the loveliest people in the world," he says.
"I love their enthusiasm."
But playing Reading and Leeds set a new "benchmark", Cavelle says.
"It does feel weird watching it back because when you're in the moment it's all over so quickly.
"You're in a dreamlike there-but-not-there state, but don't worry, I couldn't avoid it, because I'd be in my room and then downstairs I could hear my Dad playing the iPlayer and I'm like, 'oh no'."
The band's rise also saw South Arcade leave their day jobs, which means Jones will no longer be a regular sight at his local Nando's, or Cavelle on the counter at Oxford's HMV.
"I'd be scanning things and putting them in someone's shopping bag, and they'd go 'Wait, are you...?'" Cavelle recalls.
It means the band can commit full time to working on new material, but when talk of an album comes up, Cavelle admits while she's "excited" at the thought, "you get that one shot of doing your first album".
"So we're finding our feet with the EPs, scooping up as many newbies as we can, and then we'll go 'here you go'."