Owl City
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Owl City developed a following on the social networking site MySpace, like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, before signing with Universal Republic Records, now Republic Records, in 2008.
Owl City
After two independent releases, Owl City gained mainstream popularity with its 2009 major-label debut album, Ocean Eyes, which includes the Diamond certified single "Fireflies". The album was certified 2× Platinum in the United States, with "Fireflies" being certified Diamond in January 2023.
In June 2011, Owl City released its third studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, which was followed by The Midsummer Station in August 2012. Owl City has recorded songs for several animated films, including Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Wreck-It Ralph, The Croods and The Smurfs 2.[2] Owl City also has released several charting singles, most notably "Good Time" and "Fireflies".
History
2007–2009: early years, Of June and Maybe I'm Dreaming
Adam Young has previously attributed the name Owl City to the 1962 short film An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge[3] among other various answers.[4][5][6]
Suffering from insomnia while working loading Coca-Cola trucks, Young began to compose music,[7][8][9] recording with a C-1 Behringer Microphone.[10] Among the software that he began with was Reason from Propellerhead.[10][11] He began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to MySpace.[9][12] "Hello Seattle" was the first track written for Owl City, which also inspired the project.[13] After receiving favorable attention for his music,[14] he began receiving emails from major record labels in the spring of 2008.[15] His manager Steve Bursky later highlighted the significance of Young's engaging online manner in building his following saying: "People feel like they know him, like they've got a direct connection to him because of how he approaches his connection with them online."[14] Through a deal with the digital aggregator CD Baby, he then started making the songs available for sale through iTunes.[14] In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled Of June, followed by the 2008 release of the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. Of June reached No. 15 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and Maybe I'm Dreaming peaked on the same chart at No. 13.[16] The song, "The Technicolor Phase" from his debut album, was featured in the soundtrack of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.[17]
In February 2009, Owl City signed with Universal Republic.[18] He played his first show to a sold-out crowd at the Varsity Theater in Minnesota.[7] He continued to perform shows from May to June 2009.[15] In May, Owl City performed at the 2009 Bamboozle festival.[19]
2009–2010: Ocean Eyes
Ocean Eyes, Owl City's major label debut, was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009.[20] The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart for four weeks.[21][16] By April 2010, it was certified Platinum in the United States.[22] The album was mostly recorded in his parents' basement, before Young got his own place and finished it up there.[23] Owl City released his debut single, "Fireflies" on July 14, 2009.[24] The song became a commercial success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.[25] Internationally, the song also topped the charts in Ireland, Australia, Denmark and Holland.[26] "Fireflies" was featured as iTunes' "Single of the Week" and garnered 650,000 downloads.[20] A music video for the song premiered in 2009 and was directed by Steve Hoover.[27] "Fireflies" also reached the No. 1 spot in the UK and was the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the country.[26][28] "Vanilla Twilight" was released on January 26, 2010 as the second single from the album.[29] The song debuted at No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, the same week "Fireflies" hit No. 1.[30] The song eventually peaked at No. 72 on the chart.[31] The music video for "Vanilla Twilight" was released on March 22, 2010 and features a cameo appearance from Shaquille O'Neal.[32] The album's third and final single, "Umbrella Beach" was released on May 16, 2010 and peaked at No. 110 on the UK Singles Chart.[33]
Young was joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most notable example of which is "The Saltwater Room".[34] The track "Sunburn", is featured on Soundtrack 90210 which was released on October 13, 2009.[35] The song "Hello Seattle" found commercial success peaking at number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA.[36][37] In the fall of 2009, Owl City embarked on a headlining tour that began in October to November.[20] He continued to tour in early 2010 to support the album.[38] Owl City has toured with The Scene Aesthetic, Lights, John Mayer, Maroon 5,[39] Brooke Waggoner and Relient K.[20]
Musical styles and influences
Owl City's music is described as indietronica and synth-pop and is often described as belonging to the electronic music genre.[162][23] Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music,[163][164] as well as instrumental genres such as drone, ambient,[165] and post-rock.[166] He cites his biggest influences as Johnathon Ford of Unwed Sailor and Thomas Newman. As he is a vocal Christian, Young also incorporates his faith into some of his music.[167][168] Young's faith is evident on the album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, especially in the song "Galaxies". Explaining why the faith-filled song was added to the mix he said, "I feel like, if I were ever to hide the fact that that's what's so important to me, it would be a crime that I should probably be put in jail for."[169]
Owl City also has been compared to the Postal Service, often critically, for his combination of fuzzy synths, ironic lyrics, and use of female guest singers.[4] Pitchfork goes to say that "the surprise No. 1 single in the country, Owl City's 'Fireflies', jacks the Postal Service in such a bald-faced, obvious manner that getting into specifics feels redundant at best and tacky at worst."[170] In response to the suggestion that his work is derivative, Young suggested in a 2009 interview with The New York Times that Ocean Eyes is perhaps the "next chapter" after the Postal Service: "The Postal Service released a record in 2003, and that was it. There was really nothing to compare it to until someone else came along and wrote the next chapter. Maybe that's this record. Maybe that's this band."[8]
Headlining