Jon McLaughlin

All Music Guide:

Born and raised in Anderson, IN, singer/songwriter Jon McLaughlin began taking classical piano lessons at an early age. Though he lost interest in the instrument during high school and was sidelined by an accident that injured both wrists, he rediscovered his talent during senior year and began incorporating his piano skills into soulful pop music. McLaughlin enrolled in the music program at Anderson University, where he studied piano and spent his free time writing songs. Eventually, he won a school competition that allowed him to release his self-titled debut album in 2004.

A follow-up EP, Songs I Wrote and Later Recorded, came out the following year, and McLaughlin was soon given the opportunity to audition for three major labels. One such label, Island, signed him to its roster, which lead to the nationwide release of Indiana -- an album that included re-recorded versions of two songs from his first effort -- in 2007. Later that year, McLaughlin's profile received an extra boost when he contributed an Oscar-nominated song, "So Close," to the Disney film Enchanted. He also performed the song during the 2008 Academy Awards Ceremony and used the resulting momentum to drum up support for his third studio album, OK Now.

McLaughlin parted ways with Island after the release of OK Now. In 2011, he rallied with the self-released Forever If Ever. The album gained enough good word of mouth that he wound up with a contract with Razor & Tie, who added a couple of tunes to Forever If Ever and released it under the title Promising Promises.

Wikipedia:

Jon McLaughlin (born September 27, 1982) is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and pianist from Anderson, Indiana. His debut album Indiana was released on May 1, 2007, preceded by his first EP Industry, also known as Jon McL, in February 2007. His most successful song is the 2008 single "Beating My Heart", from his second album OK Now.

Early life and education [edit]

McLaughlin grew up in Anderson, Indiana, playing piano since early childhood, though he disliked the lessons, and often sought to avoid them. While attending Highland High School, McLaughlin shattered both wrists in an accident that interrupted his musical expression. Rediscovering "his muse," McLaughlin attended Anderson University to study music.

Career [edit]

McLaughlin released an independent album entitled, "Up Until Now" in 2003. This quickly led to McLaughlin becoming the first artist to sign on with the school's burgeoning record label, Orangehaus Records. The self-titled album released in 2004 to local and regional praise. He began touring, traveling throughout the Midwest and working up a grassroots following.

In 2005 McLaughlin recorded an 8-song EP, Songs I Wrote and Later Recorded, which reached the #1 spot on AwareStore.com. Touring expanded to across the country as support continued to grow for the independent artist. He also increased his fan base by playing at Timber Wolf Lake, a Young Life camp, with his first album entitled Jon McLaughlin. He caught the attention of other independent artists and began touring with artists such as Dave Barnes and Matt Wertz. In 2006 McLaughlin signed with iconic record label Island Records. Since then, McLaughlin has increased his presence at well-established musical venues and festivals such as Feeling Better Than Everfine (Cleveland, OH), Waterfest (Oshkosh, WI), Milwaukee Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI), Northwest State College Fest (Archbold, OH) and Lollapalooza (Chicago, IL). He has toured with Kelly Clarkson, O.A.R., Sister Hazel, Cowboy Mouth, Paolo Nutini, and Marc Broussard.

Major label debut [edit]

Since signing with Island Records, McLaughlin increased his public image by providing music for the NBC comedy Scrubs, episode "My Conventional Wisdom," on May 10, 2007. McLaughlin's song, "Human" was included in the episode. The same song appeared at the end of the episode "The Walk-In" of Ghost Whisperer. "Beautiful Disaster" can also be heard in the hit TV series A Little Thing Called Life in the season two episode titled "The Greatest and Worst Halloween Ever."

To date, three Hollywood-released films have included songs from McLaughlin. The song "Another Layer" appeared on the soundtrack for the motion picture Bridge to Terabithia and "Beautiful Disaster" is used in the 2007 film Georgia Rule. McLaughlin also made an on-screen appearance and performance of the song, "So Close" (written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz) in the Oscar-nominated Disney film Enchanted. The song received an Oscar nomination. This led to McLaughlin performing at the 80th Academy Awards, which he attended with his wife Amy.

Rising fame [edit]

McLaughlin opened on Kelly Clarkson's My December Tour beginning in October 2007, a role announced on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 7, 2007. He has also toured extensively with similarly styled and popular singer-songwriter, Sara Bareilles.

He recorded a trio with Jason Mraz and Van Hunt for the Randy Jackson duets-album Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1. The track title is "Something to Believe In". McLaughlin's "Human" is also heard in TV Promos for CBS series' Flashpoint.

In 2008, McLaughlin appeared as himself in the film Enchanted starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey singing "So Close", which led to a performance at the 2008 Academy Awards. In 2010, the song was used in Disney California Adventure's World of Color show.

McLaughlin's version of "Smack Into You", written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, was leaked to the internet in 2008, but did not appear on OK Now. Beyoncé eventually covered the song and it was featured on her album I Am... Sasha Fierce, re-titled as "Smash Into You".

In June 2008, McLaughlin premiered "Beating My Heart", which was released to mainstream radio on July 22, 2008, prior to being sent to Hot Adult Contemporary (Hot AC) on June 10. "Beating My Heart", first single from his second studio album OK Now, is available with the rest of the album for download on iTunes and Amazon. The song was praised by Billboard single reviews editor Chuck Taylor, who wrote that "It's high time for singer/songwriter Jon McLaughlin to earn his due." following with a description of the song as "a joyous uptempo romantic romp, featuring hook after hook, from tinkling piano to driving percussion and a start-and-stop bridge, alongside a joyous effortless vocal that soars with falsetto to the high heavens. The accompanying video is simple enough, but effectively illustrates McLaughlin's charms as a palatable sex symbol. "Heart" pumps with instantaneous hit potential, and proper promotion of it could propel the artist to superstar status."

His song "We All Need Saving" (also from OK Now) has appeared on an advertisement for the TV Show The Event.

McLaughlin co-wrote "Every Time You Lie" and "Falling Over Me" with Demi Lovato for her second album Here We Go Again. The latter was originally a duet, but the final version only featured McLaughlin's backing vocals.

McLaughlin self-financed and released his third studio album Forever If Ever on September 6, 2011. He later signed to record label Razor & Tie and re-released the album as Promising Promises on May 22, 2012, remastering all the tracks and adding three new songs. The first single from the album, "Summer is Over," featuring Sara Bareilles, was released on January 10, 2012.