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Nate Ruess

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Nate Ruess
Ruess at a radio show in August 2012
Ruess at a radio show in August 2012
Background information
Birth nameNathaniel Joseph Ruess[1]
Born (1982-02-26) February 26, 1982 (age 42)[2]
Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
OriginGlendale, Arizona, U.S.
GenresIndie rock, indie pop, alternative rock, power pop
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2000–present
LabelsFueled By Ramen

Nathaniel Joseph "Nate" Ruess (born February 26, 1982) is an American indie/indie rock singer-songwriter from Arizona. Ruess was the singer for The Format and is currently the lead vocalist of Fun.[3]

Early life

Ruess was born February 26, 1982 in Iowa City, Iowa. He is the younger of two children. His sister, Elizabeth, is one year older.[4]

In 1986, his family moved to a farm in Glendale, Arizona, due to repeated bouts of pneumonia Ruess faced as a child.[5] This is alluded to in Fun's song "The Gambler" from their debut album, Aim and Ignite. Ruess remained in Arizona throughout his childhood.

His uncle, John Ruess, was a performer on Broadway.

Ruess attended Deer Valley High School and graduated in 2000.[6] He joined punk bands in high school (Nevergonnascore, This Past Year) and upon graduation chose to pursue music. In an interview with American Songwriter Ruess states, "I'm not one to take lessons, so I decided that the only way I was going to learn how to sing, if what they were saying was true, was to go in my car and put on any sort of music from a vocalist that might be really hard to mimic, turn it on as loud as possible and try to hit all those notes".[7] He took a job in a law firm as a way to support himself while he pursued his musical ambitions.[8]

Circa 1998, Ruess was the vocalist for Nevergonnascore releasing an EP, The Byron Sessions. The band played regularly at the Nile Theater in Mesa, Arizona.

In 2001, at the age of 19, he launched the band The Format with his longtime best friend, Sam Means. The Format was his first musical endeavor to gain widespread attention.

Career

2001–2008: The Format

After forming in 2001, The Format released a demo, titled EP, which generated local interest and led to the band being signed to Elektra Records in 2002. They released their first studio album, Interventions + Lullabies, on October 21, 2003, leading to more local mainstream success. The band's fanbase began to grow. The Format released their second EP, Snails, with Atlantic Records in April 2005. However, while working on their second album, Dog Problems, they were dropped from Atlantic. They eventually created their own label, The Vanity Label, and released the album on July 11, 2006. On February 4, 2008, Ruess announced through the band's blog that The Format would not be making another album.

We have just put out word that we will not be making a new Format album. Please understand this was a tough decision and we're both upset about it. While we accept there will be false speculation as to why, understand that Sam and I remain extremely close and in fact are still passing the Twin Peaks box set back and forth in an attempt to figure out who REALLY killed Laura Palmer. We also want to thank everyone with and within the Format, particularly Mike, Don, and Marko, whom without, none of this would have ever even been fully realized. We both suggest you support their musical talents and whatever they decide to do. And lastly we want to thank the fans who made this the best 5 years of our lives.[9]

2008–present: Fun.

Ruess performing with Fun in March 2010

Immediately after the split of The Format, Ruess contacted Jack Antonoff of Steel Train and Andrew Dost, formerly of Anathallo, to form a new band called Fun. They released their first demo, 'Benson Hedges' through Spin's September 20, 2009 article.[10] Four months after releasing their first single, "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)" through Myspace on April 6, 2009, Fun released their first studio album, entitled Aim and Ignite. Despite receiving generally positive reviews, the album was not a commercial success, peaking at 71 on the Billboard 200.

The band supported Jack's Mannequin on tour in both 2008 and 2010, and Paramore in 2010. On August 4, 2010, they announced that they had been signed to the Fueled by Ramen label.

On May 17, 2011, the band was featured on Panic! at the Disco's single "C'mon". They also opened for Panic! at the Disco during their 2011 Vices & Virtues Tour.

Their second album, Some Nights, was released on February 21, 2012 and featured production by Jeff Bhasker. The album's first single, "We Are Young", which features guest singer Janelle Monáe, was released September 20, 2011. The song was covered on Glee in December 2011 and featured in Spanish on a Taco Bell commercial during the Super Bowl in February 2012, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 8, 2012. The album has become a big success throughout the world, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. The album's title song, "Some Nights", reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number 1 on the Alternative Songs chart.

Ruess performing in Tucson, Arizona in March 2012.

On June 10, 2012, they played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.

On July 9, 2012, they played at Scottish music festival T in the Park in Balado, United Kingdom. On August 4, 2012, Fun played in Chicago, at Lollapalooza.

November 3, 2012, Fun performed "Carry On" and "Some Nights" on Saturday Night Live in New York City.

On February 10, 2013, Ruess, and the rest of the band, won a Grammy for their song "We Are Young". At receiving the Grammy, Ruess commented "I don't know what I was thinking writing the chorus for this song. If this is in HD, everyone can see our faces and we are not very young. We've been doing this for 12 years and I just got to say we could not do this without the help of all the fans that we've had keeping us afloat for the last 12 years."[11] Fun also won the Grammy for "Best New Artist."[12]

Ruess features on the track "Only Love" on Anthony Green's second solo album, Beautiful Things.

Ruess is also featured on Pink's latest album, The Truth About Love, in the song Just Give Me a Reason.[13] The song began as a simple songwriting session with Pink. She decided the song needed another side to it and subsequently a male part was written. While at first reluctant, with Pink encouraging him, he decided to participate in the duet.[14] The song eventually topped the US Billboard Hot 100 becoming his first number-one single as a solo artist and second overall.

He also co-wrote "Die Young", the lead single from Ke$ha's second studio album, Warrior.[15][16]

Discography

See also: Fun discography

Guest appearances

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[17] 		AUS AUT CAN
[18] 		FRA
[19] 		GER IRL NLD NZ
[20] 		UK
[21]
"Only Love"[22]
(Anthony Green featuring Nate Ruess) 		2012 — — — — — — — — — — Beautiful Things
"Just Give Me a Reason"[23]
(P!nk featuring Nate Ruess) 		1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 2 The Truth About Love
"—" denotes songs which were not released in that country or failed to chart.

References

  1. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (2012). "Fun". Rolling Stone: 30. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on-this-day/february-26/
  3. ^ Escudero, Nicki (June 16, 2011). "Former Format Singer Nate Ruess Wants to Have fun. in Arizona". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  4. ^ Masley, Ed (February 9, 2013). "How Nate Ruess of Fun. went from Glendale to Grammys", The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  5. ^ Lawler, Joe. "fun. having fun at the top", Des Moines Register, Iowa, 7 April 2012. Retrieved on 5 March 2013.
  6. ^ O'Connor, Christopher. "Adjusting to Format". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "fun.:Everyday Anthems". fun.:Everyday Anthems. American Songwriter. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  8. ^ Interview & Show Preview: fun. @ Showbox SoDo Friday, 6/24, Back Beat Seattle, 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  9. ^ News post, titled "Important." The Format's official website. Accessed February 4, 2008.
  10. ^ "Members of the Format, Steel Train, Anathallo unite as Fun", Spin, 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  11. ^ "Fun. Take Song Of The Year Grammy For 'We Are Young'".
  12. ^ "Best New Artist Winner at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards". http://www.grammy.com. Retrieved February 12, 2013. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Just Give Me A Reason". {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  14. ^ "The Truth About Love - Track by Track Commentary". {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  15. ^ "Ke$ha 'Die Young' Hits Airwaves, Party Anthem Boasts Stripped, 'Hippie Rock' Sound". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  16. ^ Kaufman, Gil. "Ke$ha's Down-And-Dirty Party Anthem 'Die Young' Leaks". Viacom. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  17. ^ "Chart Search Results - Bubbling Under Hot 100 2012-10-06". Billboard.biz. Retrieved October 26, 2012.[dead link]
  18. ^ "Chart Search Results - Canadian Hot 100 2012-10-06". Billboard.biz. Retrieved October 26, 2012.[dead link]
  19. ^ "Classements - P!nk feat. Nate Ruess - Just Give Me a Reason". Lescharts.com / Hung Medien. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  20. ^ a b "NZ Top 40: Singles Chart - 13 May 2013". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  21. ^ "Pink UK discography". ChartStats. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  22. ^ Cameron Matthews (January 11, 2012). "Anthony Green Is in the Collaborative Spirit on 'Only Love' -- Song Premiere". Spinner. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  23. ^ Elysa Gardner (September 17, 2012). "Pink takes tough stance in 'Truth About Love". USA Today. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  24. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Database". Recording Industry Association of America.
  25. ^ "Australian Singles Chart: 29/04/2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  26. ^ "Music Canada: Pink (Just Give Me a Reason)". Music Canada. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  27. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Pink)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

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