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Owl City

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"Adam Young" redirects here. For the novel with similar title, see Young Adam.
Owl City

Owl City is an American synthpop musical project by Adam Young. Young started out making music in his parents' basement in Owatonna, Minnesota, later developing a following through his MySpace page before being signed to Universal Republic.

Young's influences are disco and European electronic music. After two independent albums, Owl City gained mainstream popularity from the 2009 major label debut album Ocean Eyes, which spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit single "Fireflies". "Fireflies" topped the US and Canadian charts and became the most-downloaded song on iTunes in the US, and the album Ocean Eyes reached the top ten on the US album charts and topped the US electronic charts. Ocean Eyes also reached Amazon MP3's top 10 most downloaded album list. By December 2009, it was certified Gold in the United States. On 17 January 2010, Owl City reached the number 2 spot in the UK Top 40 Singles chart with "Fireflies".

History

Early years (2007–08)

Owl City was started by Adam Young in his parents' basement while he worked at a Coca-Cola warehouse,[1][2] turning to music as a result of his insomnia.[3] Young received much attention for songs he had uploaded to MySpace, the "viral popularity" of which would later result in his signing to Universal Republic.[3][4] In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled Of June, followed by the 2008 release of the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. Of June reached #20 on the Billboard Electronic Albums chart, and Maybe I'm Dreaming peaked on the same chart at #16.[5]

Owl City's first two records were released while Young was unsigned. In early 2009, music industry website "Crazed Hits" leaked that Owl City signed with the major label Universal Republic.[6]

Ocean Eyes (2009)

Owl City's third album Ocean Eyes was released on iTunes July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009. The album debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. Owl City has released four singles, "Hello Seattle", "Hot Air Balloon", "Strawberry Avalanche", and "Fireflies", leading up to the release of Ocean Eyes.[7]

Young is joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most noted being "The Saltwater Room." Owl City's live band consists of: Breanne Duren (background vocals/keyboards), Matthew Decker (drums), Laura Musten (violin), and Hannah Schroeder (cello). He will likely collaborate with Lights in early 2010 on his new tour in the US, Asia, Australia and Europe.[8][9]

Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen has toured and collaborated with Owl City on several tracks including in the hit single "Fireflies", where Matt can be heard as the backup vocals. Young also produced Relient K's song "Terminals". Thiessen stated that it is very likely that he and Young will produce a side project called Goodbye Dubai in the future.[10]

"Fireflies" was released as a free download on the iPod/iPhone game Tap Tap Revenge 3 by Tapulous. Prior to the July 14, 2009 internet release of Ocean Eyes, and the "Fireflies" single, Steve Hoover was hired as a director for a music video for "Fireflies". The video had an exclusive premiere on MySpace,[11] but was leaked onto Dailymotion and YouTube hours earlier. "Fireflies" became a big sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.[12]

Owl City is featured on Soundtrack 90210 with a song entitled "Sunburn", which was released on October 13, 2009.[13] Owl City has toured with The Scene Aesthetic and Brooke Waggoner.

On Monday 7 December, Owl City was shortlisted as one of the 15 acts for the BBC Sound of 2010.

Influences and contemporaries

Owl City has been stated to play within the musical genres of electronica, synthpop, emo and alternative.[14][15] Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music[16] and also lists Imogen Heap, Relient K, Boards of Canada and Armin van Buuren as influential artists.[citation needed]

Owl City has been compared to The Postal Service, with a number of publications going as far as accusing Owl City of "ripping off" the Postal Service.[1][17][18][19][20][21][22] Adam Young, while admitting to being a fan of the Postal Service and acknowledging some influence, has dismissed the comparisons.[23]

Discography

Main article: Owl City discography
Studio albums

References

  1. ^ a b Riemenschneider, Chris (2009-02-17). "Whooo's Owl City?". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  2. ^ Sisario, Ben (20 November 2009). "Adam Young, aka Owl City, Finds Pop Success". New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  3. ^ a b Frenette, Brad (2009-07-28). "Band of the Day: Owl City". The National Post. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-01-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Leahey, Andrew. "Owl City - Biography". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-01-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |CITY&sql= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "Owl City > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  6. ^ Wilhelm, Alex (2009-02-07). "Owl City signs to Universal Republic". Crazed Hits. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  7. ^ "Free Download Owl City's new track: "Hot Air Balloon"".
  8. ^ "Winter 2010 US Announced, plus debuts in Asia, Australia and Europe". 2009-10-12.
  9. ^ "Winter 2010 Tour Pre-sale Has Begun!". 2009-10-16.
  10. ^ http://www.indievisionmusic.com/2009/09/29/relient-k-4/
  11. ^ "Info On MySpace premier of Fireflies Music Video off of an Owl City Fan Website".
  12. ^ Pietroluongo, Sylvio (2009-10-29). "Owl City's "Fireflies" Lands at No. 1 on Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  13. ^ "Sunburn". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  14. ^ Leahey, Andrew. "Owl City > Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2009-11-05. He eventually combined those diversions into a blend of electronica and emo-pop, ...
  15. ^ Leahey, Andrew. "Owl City > Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2009-11-05. He eventually combined those diversions into a blend of electronica and emo-pop, ...
  16. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (2008-06-01). "Hot New Band: Owl City". Spin. Retrieved 2009-11-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Westhoff, Ben (2009-10-28). "Owl City: The Latest In A Long Line Of Rip-Offs". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  18. ^ "Owl City Pretty Much Admit Ripping Off Postal Service". Stereogum. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  19. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (2009-10-29). "Owl City hits No. 1 so the Postal Service don't have to". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-11-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Smallman, Isaiah (2009-11-12). "Owl City provides an easy listen, but what else?". The Bagpipe. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  21. ^ Cohen, Ian (2009-11-05). "Track Reviews: Owl City - "Fireflies"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  22. ^ Firecloud, Johnny (2009-11-23). "The 6 Most Shameless Rip-Off Bands In Rock". Crave Online. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  23. ^ Stanislawski, Ethan (2009-11-22). "Owl City's Adam Young: We're Not Ripping Off Postal Service, We're Just Drawn That Way". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2009-11-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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