Are you a fan of Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Troye Sivan and Taylor Swift? All of these artists have one thing in common: they are frequent collaborators with Jack Antonoff. Let’s dive into what we need to know about Jack Antonoff’s prolific career.
Jack Antonoff has humble New Jersey beginnings. He grew up in Bergen County, and eventually began to transition to the New York City lifestyle when he began high school at the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan. Oddly enough, he was high school sweethearts with actress Scarlet Johannson.
Next, Antonoff became a member of the band fun. We are all overly familiar with their classics “We Are Young”, “Carry on” and my personal favorite, “Some Nights.”
With this band, he was able to enhance his career through audibly combining techno beats with the simple classic rock feel he so cherishes, considering that Jack Antonoff states some of his inspirations are the classic tunes of Bruce Springsteen and the rhythm of everyday life.
Following his departure from fun., he started the solo adventure called Bleachers. With Bleachers, his main single was “I Want to Get Better,” which received much deserved praise.
With “I Want to Get Better,” he said in a Rolling Stone article, “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.”
With this, I think that Antonoff combined his experiences in fun. and Bleachers to guide his ability to be an amazing music producer for other artists. Antonoff became more of a household name when he started collaborating with Taylor Swift for her studio album “1989.”
“1989” gained critical success for its more pop-focused songs, compared to the country twang that Swift’s music formerly focused on. “1989” won the Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album in 2016, which solidified a beautiful, professional relationship between Swift and Antonoff.
They went on to collaborate on Swift’s albums “reputation,” “Lover,” “folklore” and “evermore.” With “folklore,” they won Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammys, and Antonoff was able to perform on stage with Swift.
With Lorde, Antonoff co-wrote and produced “Melodrama,” which was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2018 Grammys. With the production of “Melodrama,” it is also rumored that Lorde and Antonoff had a love affair that was the inspiration for the album, making it extra emotional for the two.
Lorde and Antonoff also collaborated for the 2021 album “Solar Power,” which has marked Lorde’s lyrical transition from more grunge to indie music.
Another key musical relationship Antonoff has is with Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey’s album “Norman Fucking Rockwell” was a success, but unfortunately not mainstream enough to win Album of the Year at the 62nd Grammy Awards.
This relationship shows the diversity Antonoff is able to work with, as all three previously mentioned artists have different styles and different fan bases. Yet, Antonoff is able to work with them all and make amazing and award-winning albums.
I think that Antonoff is a producer we should all continue to watch out for, as he truly is one of the greats. Ultimately, his ability to be authentic to the song is what makes him a force to be reckoned with. I’ll be most excited to see his work with Taylor Swift’s upcoming re-recorded albums.