Gallant
Christopher Joseph Gallant III
November 14, 1991
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
Vocals
2013–present
Early life and education[edit]
Gallant was born in Washington, D.C. When he was in elementary school, he and his family moved to Columbia, Maryland, where he attended Atholton High School. He started recording songs during middle school. He was influenced by R&B artists and then later alternative rock while growing up.[3]
In 2013, he graduated from New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study[4] where he studied music.[5][6]
Musical career[edit]
2013–2015: Early career and Zebra EP[edit]
In the fall of 2013, Gallant moved to Los Angeles, California, to work on a career in music.[6]
In 2014, he self-released his debut EP, Zebra, which he describes as "a sonic diary about dealing with the aftermath of New York".[5]
In 2015, his single, "Weight in Gold", was played by Zane Lowe on Beats1's first air date in June 2015.[7] The same year Gallant toured with Sufjan Stevens on his North American tour, where he performed 18 shows throughout the country.[8]
Following the debut of "Weight in Gold" and a North American tour with Sufjan Stevens, Gallant was named one of 15 artists that Spotify believed were destined to "breakout" in 2016.[9]
He is also featured in Zhu's (another Mind of a Genius Records artist) "Testarossa Music" from the Genesis Series EP.[10] Gallant was also announced as the opener for Zhu's "Neon City" tour, spanning April and May in venues throughout America, beginning with Coachella.[11]
On February 5, 2016, Gallant and Jhené Aiko released their first collaborative song, "Skipping Stones." The track was produced by Adrian Younge and co-produced by Stint (a frequent producer for Gallant), and features Gallant's signature falsetto style with specks of bold vocals and Jhené's signature soothing, a cappella-esque vocals. The song is licensed under Red Bull Media House and featured in its Red Bull Sound Select collection along with the B-side "Borderline".[12]
Gallant performed both weekends of Coachella in 2016, which Billboard named the number one moment of the entire festival.[13] Weekend one included a surprise appearance from Seal, where the pair performed Seal's song "Crazy" and Gallant's song "Weight in Gold". The following weekend, included a surprise appearance from Jhené Aiko where the pair performed their collaboration "Skipping Stones".[14]
In the Room[edit]
On January 6, 2016, Gallant debuted the first episode of his new series In the Room with Sufjan Stevens. The pair performed Stevens' song "Blue Bucket of Gold".[15] Gallant partnered with Spotify for the second episode, which featured Seal and premiered on March 9, 2016. Gallant and Seal performed Gallant's hit song "Weight in Gold". At the end of the episode, Seal claimed that he was Gallant's biggest fan.[16] For the third episode, Gallant covered Janet Jackson's "I Get Lonely" with Jack Garratt.[17] Gallant's next collaboration was with John Legend, on Legend's song "Overload"[18] Gallant's next collaborations were with Andra Day and Dua Lipa for the fifth and sixth episodes respectively.
Gallant described the In the Room series as "an ongoing collaborative project – a chance to both pay tribute to and create something special with the artists that have inspired me the most".[19]