Adam Young | |
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![]() Young performing at the Bowery Ballroom in 2009 | |
Born | Adam Randal Young July 5, 1986 Ottumwa, Iowa, US |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2002–present |
Spouse | Abbey Olmsted (m. 2022) |
Musical career | |
Origin | Owatonna, Minnesota, US [2] |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) |
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Member of | Owl City |
Formerly of | |
Website | ayoungscores |
Signature | |
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Adam Randal Young (born July 5, 1986) [7] is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the founder and sole member of electronica project Owl City. [6] Outside of Owl City, Young has recorded music under different musical projects, most notably Port Blue and Sky Sailing. [8] In addition to these works, Young was part of the electronica band Swimming With Dolphins and post-rock band Windsor Airlift. [9] [10]
Young has also collaborated with numerous musical artists such as Paul van Dyk, Chicane, Armin van Buuren, Schiller and Switchfoot. Young has composed music for brands such as Apple and Disney.
Young was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States on July 5, 1986. [2] [7] He was raised in Owatonna, Minnesota. [2] He is the son of Joan Young and Randy Young. [11] [12] He graduated from Owatonna Senior High School and then found work at a Coca-Cola shipping warehouse. [11] [13] He later worked as a UPS truck driver working night shifts. [14] He attended a community college for a general arts degree. [15] He began composing melodies in his head while working, which he would then record in his studio in his parents' basement. [13] [16]
Young began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to MySpace, where he started to attract favorable attention for his music. [6] He released his debut studio album, Maybe I'm Dreaming independently on March 17, 2008. [17] In February 2009, he signed with Universal Republic. [18] His second studio album, Ocean Eyes , was released on July 14, 2009, and spawned three singles, most notably "Fireflies". [19] The song peaked at number one for two non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. [20] [21] On June 14, 2011, he released his third studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful . [22] His fourth studio album, The Midsummer Station , was released on August 17, 2012. [23] The album's lead single, "Good Time" featuring Carly Rae Jepsen, peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. [24] He composed the song "When Can I See You Again?" on Disney's Wreck-It Ralph in 2012. [25] He released his fifth studio album, Mobile Orchestra on July 10, 2015, which was his last album released under Republic Records before parting ways with the label in 2016. [26] He subsequently released his next two albums, Cinematic (2018) and Coco Moon (2023) independently. [27] [28]
In 2002, Young formed a pop-punk band with his childhood friends Anthony and Andy Johnson. [10] Young was the group's drummer [29] and they released their debut EP, The Basement on April 25, 2003. [30] The group would perform shows at local churches, [11] as well as competing in the Steele County's Battle of the Bands competition in 2003. [31] He has been credited on several releases with the band, most notably: Selections for a Fallen Soldier Vol. 2, Ocean City Park, Hotels and Beneath the Crystal Waves. [32] Young departed the band in 2009 to focus on Owl City. [33]
Sky Sailing is a musical project created by Adam Young and began in 2006. [34] Young wrote and recorded Sky Sailing's songs while he was still a metalworker living with his parents. [34] Young recorded songs for An Airplane Carried Me to Bed in the summer of 2007 before Owl City broke out into the mainstream. [35] Once Ocean Eyes became a commercial success in 2009, Young announced that he would re-launch the Sky Sailing project in 2010. [36] Young called the project, "darker, moodier, and much more organic" than Owl City and is a lot more acoustic. [37] [34] Upon his return to Sky Sailing, Young uploaded two tracks on MySpace, "Brielle" and "I Live Alone". [38] On July 13, 2010, he released his debut album An Airplane Carried Me to Bed and was one of the most-downloaded new albums on the week it was released. [39] [34] The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 30. [40]
In 2006, Young formed an instrumental and ambient music project called Port Blue. He describes these electronic-based songs as, "dreamscapes." [3] He released his debut album, The Airship, on September 13, 2007. [41] It was then followed up by his EP, The Albatross, on January 10, 2008. [42] He released his second EP, The Pacific in 2013 on his SoundCloud page. [3] The musical project was inspired by Saxon Shore, Unwed Sailor, Helios, Boards of Canada and The Album Leaf. [43]
Young formed an electronica band along with Austin Tofte in 2008 called Swimming With Dolphins. [44] They released their debut EP, Ambient Blue on September 2, 2008. [9] Young produced the EP and it was the only release he was featured on. [45] He left the band in 2009 to focus on Owl City. [46]
On December 18, 2015, Young announced that he would be focusing on a new project titled "Adam Young Scores". [47] During each month of 2016, he composed and recorded a score based on a subject of his choice, which is something he had wanted to accomplish for a long time. [48] Young stated he was originally inspired by the music from Disney films that made him want to create scores of his own. [48] In reflection of this discussion, each song, 10 scores, were all based on historical events that impacted Adam Young in some manner over the time of his entire career as a musical artist and personal lifetime. [48] On February 1, 2016, the first score, Apollo 11 , which is based on the Apollo 11 mission, was released on Young's "Adam Young Scores" website. [49] He released his second score, RMS Titanic on March 1, 2016, which is based on the sinking of the Titanic. [50] His third score, The Spirit of St. Louis, was released on April 1, 2016 and is about Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. [51] The Ascent of Everest was released on May 1, 2016, as Young's fourth score. The score is based on the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition and stated that the success of the expedition inspired him to create the score. [52] On June 1, 2016, he released his fifth score, Omaha Beach. [53] He released his sixth score, Miracle in the Andes on July 1, 2016. [54] On August 1, 2016, he released his seventh score, Project Excelsior. [55] He released his eighth score, Corduroy Road on September 1, 2016 and is based on the American Civil War. [56] On October 1, 2016, he released his ninth score, Voyager 1 which is based on the first Voyager program launched by NASA in 1977. [57] He released his tenth score, Mount Rushmore on November 1, 2016 and was inspired by the carved sculptures of four US presidents in Mount Rushmore. [58] The Endurance was released on December 1, 2016 as the eleventh and final score. It is based on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914. [59]
Young recorded music under the name Insect Airport. [8] He has also done multiple screamo projects such as Aquarium and Novel, [60] as well as played drums for a band called Isle. [61] Young has experimented with comedy rap projects such as Charlton Heston and the Blast Beats, the Wellington Giggle-Bomb Experience and Apes with Guns. [10] In 2004, he formed an electronic project called The Atlantic with Andy and Tony Johnson and released the album, I'll Set Out on an Ocean Voyage. [62] In 2015, Young released an album titled, Mr. Wolf Is Dead, under the name Color Therapy. [63] Other lesser known projects Young has created include, Dolphin Park, Keehar, The Grizzly and Seagull Orchestra. [64] [65]
Young was featured on the single "Middledistancerunner" by English electronic musician Chicane and was released on July 30, 2010. [66] He also worked with Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called "Youtopia" which was released as a single on November 28, 2011. [67] In 2012, he was featured on the single "Eternity" by Paul van Dyk. [68] In 2013, Young worked with Apple in creating some of their ringtones and system alerts on the iOS 7. [69] In 2015, Young co-wrote and co-produced the single "Mr. Heartache" by Sekai no Owari which appeared on their fourth studio album, Lip . [70] In 2018, Didrick released the single "Ready to Fly" which featured guest vocals from Young. [71] Young sang a cover of "Gone" by Switchfoot and was released on September 15, 2023, on the deluxe edition of The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) . [72]
Young has experimented with different genres of music. [73] His music under Owl City has been described as dancepop, [5] electronica and synthpop. [15] Comparisons have been made to the Postal Service for its combination of fuzzy synths and ironic lyrics. [74] Young also incorporates faith into his music, [75] as well as experimenting with EDM. [76] Young stated he was inspired by dance music and listens to a lot of trance DJs. [77] He cites early influence from Dashboard Confessional. [14] He also took inspiration from movie soundtracks and film scores [78] which later inspired him to create scores of his own in 2016. [48] He cited the 2003 film Finding Nemo as what inspired him to make music. [78] Lyrically, he takes inspiration from reading the dictionary which allows him to "dream up an entire scenario or 'world' around it." [37]
His side project Sky Sailing has been described as acoustic with fewer electronic elements compared to Owl City. [34] He has also created instrumental and ambient music projects such as Port Blue and Color Therapy, with the former being influenced from bands like Unwed Sailor, Boards of Canada and Hammock. [15] He played pop punk music with the band Windsor Airlift before they shifted their sound to post-rock. [10] His music under the names Aquarium and Novel were described as screamo. [60]
Young's album Ocean Eyes was nominated for Top Dance/Electronic Album of the Year at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. [79] "When Can I See You Again?", a song he composed for the 2012 film Wreck It Ralph , was nominated for Best Original Song at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards in 2012. [80] He was a recipient for the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production in 2013. [81]
Young is a devout Christian and has stated that his faith is the only thing more important to him than music. [82] He still lives in Owatonna, Minnesota. [83] [84] He describes himself as introverted and believes he has symptoms of Asperger syndrome. However, he has not been officially diagnosed. [85] [86] Young enjoys photography and considers himself to be an amateur photographer. [87] On June 3, 2022, Young married a photographer named Abbey Olmsted in his hometown. [1]
as Owl City
Adam Young Scores
as Port Blue
as Sky Sailing
as Color Therapy
with Windsor Airlift
Other appearances
Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Middledistancerunner" | 2010 | Chicane | Giants | Guest vocals | [66] |
"Youtopia" | Armin van Buuren | Mirage | Guest vocals, songwriter | [88] | |
"Eternity" | 2012 | Paul van Dyk | Evolution | Additional production, composer, guest vocals | [89] |
"Blinding Light" | Switchfoot | Vice Re-Verses | Remixing | [90] | |
— | Dispatch | Circles Around the Sun | Additional drum programming, mixing, production | [91] | |
"Alive" | Schiller | Sonne | Guest vocals | [92] | |
"If I Fall Down" | Outasight | Nights Like These | Producer | [93] | |
"Mr. Heartache" | 2015 | Sekai no Owari | Lip | Songwriter, producer | [70] |
"Ready to Fly" | 2018 | Didrick | Non-album single | Guest vocals | [71] |
"Gone" | 2023 | Switchfoot | The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) | Guest vocals | [72] |
Matthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-born American musician known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released eight full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that peaked in the top twenty on the Billboard 200. Outside of his work with Relient K, Thiessen leads a side project called Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes, which released its debut album Wind Up Bird in 2018. In 2009, he co-produced and collaborated on Owl City's album Ocean Eyes.
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Owl City developed a following on the social networking site Myspace, like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, before signing with Universal Republic Records, now Republic Records, in 2008.
Ocean Eyes is the second studio album by American electronica project Owl City, released on July 14, 2009, by Universal Republic Records. It features a photograph of the Burj Al Arab as its album artwork. A vinyl edition was released, followed by a deluxe edition available on January 26, 2010. The deluxe edition incorporates four new tracks, including a remix of "Hello Seattle". The album contains guest vocals by Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen on the songs "Fireflies", "Cave In", "The Bird and the Worm", and "Tidal Wave".
Breanne Elizabeth Dürenberger, better known by her stage name Breanne Düren, is an American musician best known for her work with electronic music project Owl City and her own solo work.
"Fireflies" is the debut single from American electronica project Owl City's album Ocean Eyes. Frontman Adam Young wrote the track about seeing fireflies in his hometown of Owatonna, Minnesota while he was awake with insomnia. Matt Thiessen produced the song and provided guest vocals. The song is built around a "bleepy" synthline and includes lyrics about insomnia, fireflies and summer.
Maybe I'm Dreaming is the debut studio album by American electronica project Owl City, released on March 17, 2008. Despite having been self-released and not recorded by any major producer, it managed to reach the top 20 of the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
Of June is the first EP by American electronic music project Owl City. It was uploaded by Adam Young to his Myspace page on August 29, 2007. The EP was released digitally on December 16, 2008.
"Vanilla Twilight" is a song by American electronica act Owl City. The song was released on January 26, 2010 as the second single from his second studio album Ocean Eyes. "Vanilla Twilight" attained chart placement prior to the release date, following the success of Owl City's previous single "Fireflies".
The discography of American electronica project Owl City consists of seven studio albums, eight extended plays, twenty-six singles, and twenty-five music videos. Owl City issued his debut release, the extended play Of June, in September 2007; it peaked at number 15 on the United States Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. His debut studio album Maybe I'm Dreaming followed in December 2008, peaking at number 13 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Following the success of Of June and Maybe I'm Dreaming, Young signed to Universal Republic Records in late 2008. His second studio album and major-label debut, Ocean Eyes, was released in July 2009. "Fireflies", the album's lead single, became an international success, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a top ten hit in several other countries. In correlation with the success of "Fireflies", Ocean Eyes peaked at number eight on the US Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). An additional two singles were released from the album: "Vanilla Twilight" and "Umbrella Beach".
An Airplane Carried Me to Bed is the first and only album by Sky Sailing, a project by Adam Young. The album comprises some of his early recordings from before he started Owl City. It was released digitally on July 13, 2010, before it was released physically on July 27, 2010 via Universal Republic.
Windsor Airlift is an American ambient post-rock band formed by brothers Andy Johnson and Tony Johnson, and Adam Young. The band, to date, has released eight studio albums, eight extended plays, one live album, and six singles.
All Things Bright and Beautiful is the third studio album by the American electronica project Owl City. It was released on June 14, 2011, by Universal Republic Records. Despite receiving mixed critical reviews, it became a commercial success, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Shooting Star is the second extended play by American electronica project Owl City, released on iTunes and other media outlets on May 15, 2012, through Universal Republic. The extended play consists of four new songs that would also be on Young's subsequent album, The Midsummer Station. Mark Hoppus, vocalist for Blink-182 is featured on the song "Dementia".
The Midsummer Station is the fourth studio album by American electronica project Owl City. It was released on August 17, 2012, by Universal Republic Records. The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 selling 30,000 copies in its first week. In support of the album, Owl City went on the Midsummer Station World Tour.
"Good Time" is a song by American electronica project Owl City and Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on June 26, 2012, as the lead single from Owl City's album The Midsummer Station and was used as the second single from Jepsen's second studio album, Kiss. "Good Time" was written by Matt Thiessen, Brian Lee, and Adam Young of Owl City. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with critics describing it as a "summer anthem".
Swimming With Dolphins is an American electronica band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 2008 by Austin Tofte and Owl City frontman Adam Young. The name of the band was derived, according to Tofte, from "some old Jacques Cousteau documentaries from the 80s". The group is fronted by Tofte, while Young performed synths and programming for the act and additionally served as the producer of the group.
Ultraviolet is the fourth extended play by American electronica project Owl City, released digitally on June 27, 2014, through Republic Records. The EP's lead single, "Beautiful Times", which features violinist Lindsey Stirling, was released on April 8, 2014.
Cinematic is the sixth studio album by Owl City. It was released independently via Sky Harbor on June 1, 2018. The album debuted at number 115 on the Billboard 200. Upon the albums release, Young released three "reels" EPs that would include some songs on the album.
"New York City" is a song by American electronica act Owl City. It was released from his sixth studio album, Cinematic on March 9, 2018 as the fourth and final single.
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