Grandson (musician)
Grandson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) grandson performing in Las Vegas, NV on June 7, 2019. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jordan Edward Benjamin |
| Born | 25 October 1993 New Jersey |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument(s) | vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | grandsonmusic |
Jordan Edward Benjamin,[1][2] known professionally as Grandson,[3] is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and musician currently signed to Fueled by Ramen and RCA Records. He released his major label debut EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, on June 15, 2018, and released the follow-up A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 on February 22, 2019. The initial EP featured the single "Blood // Water", which appeared on several Billboard charts in the United States and Canada. Benjamin's music focuses on modern-day issues that are less recognized by the media and public. On December 4th, 2020, he released an album named Death of an Optimist.
Early life and education
Benjamin was born in New Jersey, United States but his family moved to Toronto, Ontario when he was 3 years old (he holds dual citizenship of both countries).[4][5] He has two sisters.[6] Benjamin grew up largely in the Eglinton West area of Toronto.[4][5][7] He attended Northern Secondary School in Toronto and, after graduation, enrolled in McGill University in Montreal. There, he studied education with the initial goal of becoming a teacher.[5][8] He also spent a great deal of time DJing and playing shows in Montreal while at McGill.[9] After two years, he transferred to Concordia University, another Montreal institution. He studied communications there briefly before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue a music career.[3][5]
Career
Benjamin began releasing music under the pseudonym Grandson, stylized as grandson, in late 2015.[7] In 2016, he released several singles that accrued millions of streams, including "Bills", "Things Change", and "Bury Me Face Down".[4][10] In 2017, he was signed to RCA Records, and continued releasing singles, including "Best Friends" and "Kiss Bang".[3][8] He also performed at North by Northeast that year (among other festivals).[7]
In April 2018, it was announced that grandson had signed to the Fueled By Ramen record label.[11] He had also released two new singles, "Blood // Water" (a song about political corruption that would go on to appear on multiple Billboard charts) and "Thoughts & Prayers", which offered a critique of American gun laws in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.[4][12] He released his first EP on Fueled by Ramen, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, in June 2018.[12][13] That EP also featured the song "6:00" which discussed police brutality.[14] Also in June 2018, grandson was featured on Mike Shinoda's song "Running from My Shadow", taken from his debut album Post Traumatic; the track was released also with an accompanying music video in May 2018.[15]
Throughout 2018, grandson toured with acts like Hobo Johnson, Joywave, Nothing But Thieves,[13][14][16] Smashing Pumpkins,[17] and Young the Giant.[2][18] He also appeared on an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers in August 2018, performing "Blood // Water".[19]
In February 2019, he released a new single, "Apologize", and announced his second EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2, which was released on 22 February 2019.[5][20] In late May, grandson released a cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Maria", a song featured on the 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles.[21]
In June 2019, he won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for his song "Blood // Water",[22] while in September 2019 the singer released A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3, the final installment of the Modern Tragedy trilogy EPs;[23] the record features the lead single "Rock Bottom", which peaked at No. 38 on the Canadian Rock Chart.[24]
On September 23, 2020, grandson announced on his Facebook page that his debut full-length album Death of an Optimist would be released on December 4, 2020. Death of an Optimist is grandson’s debut album, being his first record to have a heavier tone since the release of the last a modern tragedy EP, a modern tragedy vol. 3. The album gained a lot of publicity and recognition through his social media.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [25] | ||
| Death of an Optimist |
|
7 |
EPs
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [25] | ||
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 |
|
— |
| Broken Down Vol. 1 |
|
— |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 |
|
23 |
| No Apologies Live |
|
— |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 |
|
— |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Rock [26] |
US Alt [27] |
US Rock [28] |
US Main [29] | ||||||
| "Bills" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "Bury Me Face Down" | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Kiss Bang" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Best Friends" | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "War" (Cover / Bob Marley and the Wailers) | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Blood // Water" | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | ||||
| "Overdose" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Thoughts & Prayers" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
| "Apologize" | 2019 | 5 | 34 | — | 20 | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 | |||
| "Maria" (Cover / Rage Against the Machine) | — | — | — | — | Rock Sound Presents: Worship And Tributes Vol. 2 | ||||
| "Despicable" | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | ||||
| "Rock Bottom" | 26 | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 | ||||
| "Oh No!!!" | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Happy Pill" (with Moby Rich) | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
| "Peaches (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with K.Flay) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | Text Voter XX to 40649 Collection | |||
| "Whole Lotta (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with DREAMERS) | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "How Bout Now (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with phem) | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Again (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with Zero 9:36) | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Identity" | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | ||||
| "Riptide" | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Dirty" | 13 | 13 | — | — | |||||
| "One Step Closer" (Cover / Linkin Park) | — | — | — | — | Spotify Singles | ||||
| "We Did It!!!" | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | ||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
As Featured Artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Rock [26] |
US Alt [27] |
Alt Airplay |
Rock Airplay | ||||||
| "Running From My Shadow" by Mike Shinoda (feat. grandson) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | Post Traumatic (Deluxe Version)" | |||
| "All In My Head" by Whethan (feat. grandson) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "Heat Seeker" by DREAMERS (feat. grandson) | — | — | 30 | — | |||||
| "Zen" by X Ambassadors (feat. K.Flay and grandson) | 9 | — | 24 | 46 | |||||
| "Lost Cause" by KennyHoopla (feat. grandson) | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Cash Machine (Remix)" by Oliver Tree (feat. Dillon Francis and grandson) | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Bills" | 2017 | Joe Cappa |
| "Blood // Water" | 2018 | Miggy & Morgan |
| "6:00" | Gus Black | |
| "Apologize" | 2019 | Jordan Wozy & Lucas Taggart |
| "Stigmata" | Rosco Guerrero | |
| "Rock Bottom" | Seth Michael Stern | |
| "Oh No!!!" | Galileo | |
| "Identity" | 2020 | Karl Jungquist |
| "Riptide" | ||
| "Dirty" |
References
- ^ Molloy, Alexandra (15 October 2018). "Let's talk about Grandson, and no, I'm not talking about your grandkid". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b Kernan, Patrick (23 October 2018). "Young the Giant, other alt rock acts to play show at Kirby Center in January". The Weekender. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c "The musician, the movement: grandson". Lupinore. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d Newman, Melinda (4 April 2018). "Grandson Signs With Fueled By Ramen Following His Powerful Post-Parkland Theme, 'Thoughts & Prayers'". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Pelletier, Jeff (14 February 2019). "Grandson turns rage into inclusive blend of rock". The Charlatan. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Holiday, Megan (29 October 2018). "Grandson Talks Origins + How His Song "Overdose" Helped Solidify What He Does". KROQ. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Moshenski-Dubov, George (13 July 2017). "Grandson goes beyond the melody". The Varsity. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b Butz-Weidner, Benjamin (6 March 2017). "Meet Grandson: The McGill Drop-Out Making it in the Music Business, Involved with the Recent Naked Trump Statues". The Bull & Bear. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Eff, Billy (18 May 2018). "grandson n'a pas besoin de vos prières ou de vos pensées". Vice (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Twardzik, Tom (31 January 2018). "New artist GRANDSON is at the front of rock and roll's evolution". Pop Dust. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "Grandson Signs With Fueled By Ramen Following His Powerful Post-Parkland Theme, 'Thoughts & Prayers,'". Billboard.com. 4 April 2018.
- ^ a b Darus, Alex (4 June 2018). "Grandson announces politically charged EP, drops music video for "Blood // Water"". Alternative Press. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b White, Logan (5 June 2018). "grandson announces new EP 'modern tragedy vol.1' and releases new song "Blood // Water"". Substream. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b Weatherby, Taylor (28 September 2018). "Grandson Tackles Police Brutality Controversy With Intense '6:00' Video: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (25 May 2018). "Mike Shinoda Drops Gritty Video for 'Running From My Shadow' Featuring Grandson: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ Moshenski-Dubov, George (17 June 2018). "In conversation with grandson". The Varsity. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Scott, Kate (26 December 2018). "The Nights We Stole Christmas w/Muse, Smashing Pumpkins, and more!". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ Kamaraj, Chandana (5 December 2018). "Young the Giant Hits Home with Audience, Produces More Mature Album". The University Times. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (16 August 2018). "Grandson Rages Against The Corporate Machine During Intense 'Blood//Water' Performance on 'Late Night': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Taylor, Sam (5 February 2019). "grandson has announced a new EP, 'a modern tragedy vol. 2'". Upset. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Chad Childers (31 May 2019). "Grandson Unleashes Cover of Rage Against the Machine's 'Maria'". Loudwire. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Politically Charged 'Blood // Water' Wins SOCAN Songwriting Prize". FYI Music News, 24 June 2019.
- ^ "grandson Has Announced A New EP, a modern tragedy vol. 3". Kerrang!. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Grandson Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Grandson – Chart History – Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Grandson – Chart History – Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ "Grandson – Chart History – Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ "Grandson – Chart History – Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2019.