During his sophomore year of high school, in November 1998, he and several friends from elementary school formed a punk rock band called Outline.[10] They released a self-titled EP through Lifetime Records, a friend's record label, in January 2000. Antonoff initially sang in the group until early 2000 when Eddie Wright took over on vocals.[12] With the addition of Wright, they recorded six songs which were later released[13] as 6 Song Demo in the summer.[14] They released an album, A Boy Can Dream, in July 2001 through Triple Crown Records.[13] When they were 15, Antonoff and his Outline bandmate used a DIY guide to book shows in numerous states, including Florida and Texas, and borrowed Antonoff's parents' minivan to travel in. During the tour, Outline played in venues such as anarchist bookstores, while the oldest member of the band drove because he was 18 years old. Antonoff explained in 2014: "Half the time no one would show up or the equipment would be too fucked up to play... but that's when I fell in love with touring." The band lasted until 2002.[6][10]
In 2002, Antonoff and friend Scott Irby-Ranniar formed the band Steel Train. Antonoff was the lead singer,[15] and they recruited drummer Matthias Gruber. The band then convinced two of their friends from the band Random Task, Evan Winiker and Matthew Goldman, to drop out of college to join the new band.[10] Steel Train secured a recording deal with Drive-Thru Records.[10] The group was popular on the jamband festival circuit and Antonoff has said he has applied that grassroots mentality to his future projects.[16]
Antonoff in 2012
In 2008, Nate Ruess (formerly the frontman of the Format) asked Antonoff to join him and Andrew Dost (formerly of Anathallo) in a new band, which became Fun.[17] Antonoff was already well acquainted with Ruess and Dost, as their former bands had all toured together.[17] The new band released its debut album, Aim and Ignite, in 2009.[18] Fun's second album, Some Nights (2012), produced the band's first number-one hit single, "We Are Young". The song was co-written by Antonoff with Ruess, Dost, and Jeff Bhasker.[19] Fun. then played with their musical heroes Queen in September 2013 at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, which was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Antonoff played Brian May's guitar during the rehearsal, which he described as the "most surreal experience ever."[20] The band then released a free six-song EP in December 2013, titled Before Shane Went to Bangkok: Fun. Live in the USA.[18]
Bleachers (2014–present)
Antonoff performing as an "Artist to Watch" at the MTV Video Music Awards as Bleachers in August 2014Bleachers on set for their "Modern Girl" music video, August 2023
Antonoff announced a solo project called Bleachers in February 2014.[21] Antonoff stated in June 2014 that the project had been a consideration for around 10 years, and the name was inspired by the "disconnected, darker side" of suburban youth and John Hughes movies, which were "tied to a time when big songs were great songs." The songs for the debut Bleachers album were mostly written on Antonoff's laptop computer in hotel rooms during a Fun. world tour.[6]
The Huffington Post published a positive review of Bleachers' first single, "I Wanna Get Better"—released on February 18—calling it the "catchiest song of 2014,"[22] while Time proclaimed, "[Bleachers] is more fun than Fun."[23] Antonoff revealed the intent behind the debut single in a Rolling Stone interview:
I wanted to bridge the gap between Disclosure and Arcade Fire—something both streamlined and organic... The production and songwriting is extremely over-the-top, extremely epic and unapologetic. The record is all about finding a world where you can be kind to yourself in.[21]
Antonoff told Rolling Stone that while the song may sound joyous, "it's very desperate" and, like many of the other songs on the album is about loss.[21] Antonoff worked with producers John Hill and Vince Clarke on the Bleachers studio album, as he sought to create "massive, beautiful pop songs that sound __ cool." The completed album, Strange Desire, was released in July 2014, and "I Wanna Get Better" peaked at number one on the U.S. Alternative charts during the same week. In regard to Strange Desire, Antonoff said:
It doesn't have to be one or the other... You don't have to [make] big pop songs that sound stupid and you don't have to make these fuckin' apologetic, tired droney songs that sound incredible. I really wanted both things to happen.[21]
"I Wanna Get Better" was eventually named number 18 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of 2014, with the publication describing the song as "therapy rock" that is "as fun as it is cathartic".[24] Antonoff released Bleachers' second album Gone Now on June 2, 2017. Its lead single "Don't Take the Money" peaked at number 2 on Alternative Radio.[25] On July 30, 2021, he released Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night.[26][27] Bleachers' self-titled fourth studio album was released on March 8, 2024, being preceded by the release of four singles: "Modern Girl", "Alma Mater", "Tiny Moves", and "Me Before You".[28]
Taylor Swift
In 2013, Antonoff wrote and produced the song "Sweeter than Fiction" with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, for the film One Chance. The song was written in Antonoff's New York City apartment after he and Swift shared a love of a particular snare drum sound from a Fine Young Cannibals song. They brainstormed ideas by email before starting the songwriting process.[6][29]
Swift and Antonoff wrote and produced three songs together on Swift's fifth studio album, 1989, including the single "Out of the Woods", as well as "I Wish You Would", and the bonus track "You Are in Love". 1989 was released in October 2014 and became the biggest-selling album in the U.S. that year.[30] On the deluxe version of the album, Swift explains in a voice memo that the song "I Wish You Would" originated from a guitar track that Antonoff had recorded on his smartphone. After Swift first heard it, she asked Antonoff if she could develop the idea further, and it eventually became an album track.[31] The album won Antonoff two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album in 2016.[32]
Taylor's the first person who let me produce a song. Before Taylor, everyone said: 'You're not a producer'. It took Taylor Swift to say: 'I like the way this sounds.'
In 2019, Swift and Antonoff wrote eight songs and produced eleven tracks together for Swift's seventh studio album, Lover, including the promotional single "The Archer", the title track, which served as the album's third single, and the number-one single "Cruel Summer".[38][39]
In 2020, Swift and Antonoff worked together on Swift's eighth studio album, Folklore. Along with Aaron Dessner and Swift, Antonoff serves as one of the songwriters and producers for the record, with Antonoff helping to co-produce six songs and co-write four, including the third single, "Betty".[40] Antonoff continued to collaborate with Swift on Folklore's "sister record", which is Swift's ninth studio album, Evermore, in which he co-wrote the tracks "Gold Rush" and "Ivy", and co-produced the former.[41] Both projects earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, with Folklore winning the award.
Antonoff co-produced all tracks from the standard edition of Swift's 2022 album Midnights and co-wrote eleven of the thirteen standard tracks, including the number-one single "Anti-Hero" and "Bejeweled", in which he appeared in the music video for the track.[46][47] He co-wrote six songs and co-produced seven songs on Til Dawn Edition of Midnights and co-wrote and co-produced "You're Losing Me". Midnights was a commercial success across all consumption metrics: streaming, digital sales, and physical sales. It was the biggest-selling album in the U.S. that year.[48] The album won Antonoff two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album in 2024.[49]
Antonoff was one of the songwriters and producers on Swift's 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department, co-writing ten songs and co-producing sixteen songs across the album's standard and double album editions, including the number-one single "Fortnight".[50] The album broke numerous consumption records, leading publications to opine that it "cemented Swift as the biggest pop star this century by many metrics"[51] and became the longest-leading chart topper of her career.[52]
Lorde
In 2017, Antonoff co-wrote and produced Lorde's Melodrama which was released in June. USA Today described it as "the best pop album of 2017 so far".[53]Rolling Stone praised Antonoff's production specifically, noting his use of "empty space to spectacular effect, [as] the arrangements veer from stark clarity to delirium."[53] In support of the album, Antonoff appeared in the music video for its lead single, "Green Light".[54] He then performed "Liability" alongside Lorde on Saturday Night Live.[55] The album also received a nomination for the 2018 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.[56][57] Beginning from 2018 until 2021, Antonoff co-wrote, produced, and performed on Lorde's third album Solar Power.[58]
Love, Simon
In 2018, Antonoff produced the soundtrack for the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy-drama film Love, Simon. Bleachers also contributed four songs. On working on the ground-breaking film, the first major studio picture to focus on a gay teenager, Antonoff said "I believe Love, Simon is pivotal, a major step for a new generation" and added that he was "honored" that "genius" director Greg Berlanti asked him to work on the soundtrack.[59] He also said he was "very lucky to be a part of [Love, Simon]" and "loved every moment of making this soundtrack"[60] after stating he was "beyond blown away" by the response to the film and soundtrack.[61]
Red Hearse
On June 26, 2019, Antonoff previewed a new musical project with Sam Dew and Sounwave called Red Hearse. The project was teased with the release of two singles, "Red Hearse" and "Honey". On July 22, 2019, Red Hearse made their television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "Half Love". Their debut self-titled studio album was released on August 16, 2019, via RCA Records.[62]
Lana Del Rey
Antonoff co-produced Lana Del Rey's sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell!, which was released on August 30, 2019.[63] He also co-wrote a majority of the songs on the album including the singles "Mariners Apartment Complex" and "Venice Bitch". The album received critical praise with NME's Rhian Daly noting that the "bohemian folk" sound of the record was a departure from Antonoff's "brand of crystalline euphoria."[64] Other critics noted the album's 60s inspired, psychedelic rock sound.[65] The album was nominated for Grammy Album of the Year and won NME Album of the Year in 2020. Antonoff also produced Del Rey's subsequent albums Chemtrails Over the Country Club in 2021[66] and Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd in 2023, the latter including the duet "Margaret" which Del Rey wrote about Antonoff's wife.[67][68]
Shadow of the City Festival
In 2015, Antonoff started his own music festival called Shadow of the City,[69] which raises funding for The Ally Coalition.[70] Antonoff told Rolling Stone he wanted to start the festival because, "I grew up in New Jersey and lived there for 28 years. New Jersey is part of who I am. I’ve always thought that it’s the perfect place for a festival."[71] In an interview published in the book New Jersey Fan Club, Antonoff says he wants to bring his audience closer to New Jersey as it really is. [72]
Antonoff co-wrote "Brave" with Sara Bareilles after the two were introduced by Sara Quin of the band Tegan and Sara. Bareilles said to Billboard: "We met for breakfast one day, and I was just so enamored with him and his personality ... The first day we sat down together was the day we wrote 'Brave'." Antonoff wrote the song about a friend's struggle to speak openly about his sexuality.[75] The quickly written song was released on April 23, 2013 and by the end of June, "Brave" had sold 160,000 digital copies and peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[76]
He founded The Ally Coalition circa 2014 with his sister, Rachel Antonoff. It hosts an annual benefits concert, called "The Talent Show," which has raised more than $2 million to support LGBT issues.[77] In 2015, he created a Google Play docuseries titled Thank You and Sorry, which combined scripted scenes and footage from Bleachers shows. It was released in six 15-minute episodes and included cameos from Lena Dunham, Rosie Perez, Olivia Wilde, Colin Quinn, and Jason Mantzoukas.[78][79] Also in 2015, Antonoff portrayed the character Baby Goya in the comedy-drama film Hello, My Name Is Doris.[80]
In 2022, Antonoff produced eight tracks off Florence and the Machine's fifth studio album, Dance Fever. His credits on the album include the singles "King" and "Free".[86][87] He also co-produced the 1975's fifth studio album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, and the soundtrack for the animated film, Minions: The Rise of Gru.[88][89] In 2023, he started his own record label in collaboration with Jamie Oborne.[90] The record label, called Shadow of the City, is an imprint of Oborne's label, called Dirty Hit.[91] That year, he co-produced Rob Grant's debut studio album, Lost at Sea, including the single "Hollywood Bowl" which features Grant's daughter, Lana Del Rey.[92][93]
Antonoff dated classmate Scarlett Johansson from 2001 to 2002.[118] When Antonoff first moved out of the family home near the end of 2012, he lived with his sister Rachel in New York City. Afterward, he lived with Lena Dunham, whom he was dating at the time.[6] The couple separated in December 2017.[8] As of December 2019, he lived in the same New York apartment he shared with Dunham where he had a home studio.[119]
In 2023, Antonoff married actress Margaret Qualley, after dating for a couple of years.[120]
Antonoff has spoken publicly about his struggles with depression, anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder. He claims that hearing of others' battles with depression made him feel "not better, but not alone" and "way less scared".[121] In June 2014, Antonoff said in an interview that he was seeing both a therapist and a psychopharmacologist, while also taking anti-anxiety medications. He has germophobia which was exacerbated by a bout of pneumonia that he suffered in 2011 while recording a studio album for his band Fun. His pulmonologist prescribed a daily run, but he explained that he hates it "more than anything" because it is "one of the most truly boring experiences on Earth."[6]
Music is central to Antonoff's life and he explained in June 2014:
I need a hobby, and I don't want it to be basketball ... I want it to be music. So to get away from music, I do other music. If I'm producing someone's song or writing with someone else, then doing a Bleachers song or a Fun song is an escape and it keeps me creative and it keeps me locked into what I want to do. If something's making me crazy, I need to go somewhere else and I don't want that thing to be yoga.[6]
The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at the awards, presented annually since the 1st Grammy Awards in 1959. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide, the award is presented:
to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position.
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, known professionally as Lorde, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting.
Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is a frequent collaborator of rapper Kendrick Lamar, having worked on all of his projects since his 2009 self-titled extended play. Sounwave has also worked with artists such as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kali Uchis, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, and Bleachers. He has won three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rap Album.
Bleachers is an American rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2013 by singer, producer and songwriter Jack Antonoff. Antonoff was the only permanent member of the group until 2023, when longtime touring musicians Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Evan Smith, Michael Riddleberger, and Zem Audu became official members.
Strange Desire is the debut studio album released by American indie pop act Bleachers, led by guitarist Jack Antonoff. The album was released on July 11, 2014, through RCA Records, and produced the singles "I Wanna Get Better", "Shadow" and "Rollercoaster".
"I Wanna Get Better" is the debut single by American indie pop act Bleachers, released on February 18, 2014 through RCA Records. The song is from their debut studio album Strange Desire, and was written and produced by frontman Jack Antonoff and John Hill. "I Wanna Get Better" topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, becoming the band's first number-one single, and also reached the top ten of the Hot Rock Songs chart. Its accompanying music video stars Antonoff as a therapist and was directed by his then girlfriend, actress and filmmaker Lena Dunham.
"Out of the Woods" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. With lyrics inspired by a failed relationship and the ensuing anxieties that Swift experienced, "Out of the Woods" is a synth-pop song with elements of Eurodance and indietronica and features heavy synthesizers, looping drums, and layered background vocals.
"Don't Take the Money" is a song recorded by American indie pop act Bleachers from their second studio album Gone Now (2017). Frontman Jack Antonoff co-wrote the song with New Zealand singer Lorde, while production was handled by Antonoff, Greg Kurstin and Vince Clarke. It was released on 30 March 2017, by RCA Records as the album's lead single. "Don't Take the Money" is a pop and synth-pop song with influences from 1980s music. According to Antonoff, the song's title is a phrase he uses frequently in a motivational context about meeting a future lover.
Gone Now is the second studio album by American indie pop act Bleachers, released on June 2, 2017. The album deals with themes of growing old, as well as struggling with losing people in life, told over the course of day and a lifetime. It takes inspiration from the pop sounds of the 1980s, mixed with a modern view.
Reputation is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on November 10, 2017, as her last album released with Big Machine Records. She conceived Reputation as a response to the media scrutiny on her private life and public image after her previous album, 1989 (2014), propelled her toward global stardom.
"Getaway Car" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017). It served as a single in Australia and New Zealand on September 7, 2018, to support the Australian shows of Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour (2018). Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, it is a synth-pop song with pulsing synthesizers, programmed drums, and distorted vocals. Lyrically, the song describes Swift's efforts to exit a relationship using romance with someone else, knowing the new relationship will also end briefly because its purpose was only to "get away" from the first one.
"New Year's Day" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017). Swift wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. "New Year's Day" is an acoustic ballad with a sparse arrangement incorporating recurring piano riffs and subdued guitar and synth notes. In the lyrics, the narrator spends the morning after a New Year's Eve party with a lover, and they together clean up their shared house and care for each other. Swift performed "New Year's Day" live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on November 13, 2017, and Big Machine Records released the song to US country radio as a single on November 27, 2017.
American record producer and songwriter Jack Antonoff has released four studio albums and one soundtrack under the solo project Bleachers, and 11 studio albums, collectively, among his bands: Red Hearse, fun., Steel Train, and Outline. He has also served as the co-writer or co-producer on albums by Taylor Swift, The 1975, Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine, Lorde, Kevin Abstract, Sabrina Carpenter, Clairo, The Chicks, Lana Del Rey, and St. Vincent, and has written and produced individual tracks with artists including Pink, FKA Twigs, Paramore, Sara Bareilles, Maren Morris, Troye Sivan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diana Ross, Gracie Abrams, and Sia, among many others.
"The Archer" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her seventh studio album, Lover (2019). She wrote and produced the track with Jack Antonoff, and Republic Records released it as a promotional single on July 23, 2019. The song has a 1980s-influenced minimalist, midtempo production and is a synth-pop ballad incorporating dense, echoing synthesizers and insistent kick drums. Music critics also identified elements of synthwave and dream pop. The lyrics are about Swift's acknowledgement of her past mistakes and contemplation of her identity.
"London Boy" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her seventh studio album, Lover (2019). Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Sounwave wrote the song; the first two are credited as producers while Sounwave is credited as co-producer. A reggae-influenced bubblegum pop song, "London Boy" includes a spoken-word intro by the English actor Idris Elba and contains an interpolation of the song "Cold War" by the American singer Cautious Clay, who was given a co-writing credit on the track. Inspired by Swift's experiences in London, the lyrics mention various London locations and express a Tennessean woman's infatuation with a male love interest from the city.
"August" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Swift and Jack Antonoff wrote the song, and the two produced it with Joe Alwyn.
"That's When" is a song by Taylor Swift featuring Keith Urban. It was released as part of Fearless (2021), a re-recording of Swift's second studio album Fearless (2008). She wrote the track with the Warren Brothers at age 14 and handled the production with Jack Antonoff. "That's When" is an acoustic country pop and indie folk ballad about the end and aftermath of a relationship: Swift's and Urban's characters contemplate how to reunite with one another.
"This Is Me Trying" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). It was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, and Joe Alwyn was credited as co-producer. The track is an orchestral pop, dream pop, and soft rock tune with a production featuring an organ, slow-paced beats, and horns. "This Is Me Trying" was inspired by Swift's state of mind during 2016 and 2017, when she said she was at her lowest. The narrator of "This Is Me Trying" proclaims themselves as an unwanted person who struggles with existentialism and alcoholism.
Mikey Freedom Hart is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He has worked with Bleachers, Taylor Swift, Empress Of, Dev Hynes a.k.a. Blood Orange, ASAP Rocky, Lana Del Rey, Tei Shi, and The Chicks. He has received three Grammy Award nominations, winning twice.
"I Wish You Would" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). She wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff, who developed the track from his initial sampling of the snare drums on Fine Young Cannibals' 1989 song "She Drives Me Crazy". A synth-pop and bubblegum song, "I Wish You Would" is instrumented by a staccato guitar lick, dense synths and snares, and layered vocals. The lyrics are about two ex-lovers longing for each other.
1 2 3 4 5 Leichman, Joseph. "More powerful than a locomotive..."Archived July 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , Jewish Standard, November 26, 2010. Accessed January 2, 2013. "Jack Antonoff of New Milford and Daniel Silbert of Tenafly first crossed paths in elementary school at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County in New Milford, where they also met Evan Winiker, whose family moved to Teaneck in time for him to begin the sixth grade at Schechter. . ...
↑ "1989 (Deluxe) Taylor Swift". iTunes Preview. Apple Inc. October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
