The band now known as Hey Violet was originally founded by Julia Pierce when she was in middle school as Red Shadow, and later Cherri Bomb. Pierce wanted to form an all-girl rock band, and sent out flyers to music stores to recruit members. Nia Lovelis was the first to respond, and would become the band's drummer. Miranda Miller soon followed, after sending an audition video of herself playing keyboard and guitar. Another girl, whose name is unknown, joined as the bassist, and this became the first incarnation of the band, going by the name Red Shadow.
Before long, the original bassist left the band due to "creative differences", though it is believed that she could've been bullied out of the band by Nia's mother, Ana Lovelis, who began to establish her influence over the band. Ana then put her other daughter, Rena Lovelis, in the band as the new bassist despite her lack of proficiency on the instrument. She also found the band their first manager, Samantha Maloney, who was best known for her work as a drummer with bands like Motley Crue and Eagles of Death Metal. This lineup of Cherri Bomb was signed to Hollywood Records, and would go on to release one EP (Stark in 2011) and a single album (This Is the End of Control in 2012)
On January 23, 2013, Cherri Bomb announced on their Facebook page that Julia has left the band. Miranda had commented that this was due to creative differences, while Julia stated on her Facebook that it wasn't her decision. Many fan accounts theorized that Julia was actually bullied out of the band by the other members and Ana Lovelis. Ana notably failed at a music career herself, and seemed to be living vicariously through her two daughters. Julia was quickly replaced by Casey Moreta, a friend of the Lovelis family, with Rena taking over on lead vocals while still handling the bass.
In 2015, Cherri Bomb changed their name to Hey Violet, adopting a more mainstream pop sound. A new bassist, Iain Shipp, was brought in with Rena now focused solely on singing. Under the name of Hey Violet, the band has released two EPs so far - I Can Feel It in 2015 and Brand New Moves in 2016. This version of the band with three females and two males playing pop-friendly music is drastically different than Julia's original vision of an all-girl band playing rock music.