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grandson
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grandson performing in 2018
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jordan Edward Benjamin |
| Born | (1993-10-25) October 25, 1993 (age 30) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
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| Website | grandsonmusic |
Jordan Edward Benjamin[1][2] (born October 25, 1993),[3] known professionally as Grandson (stylized as grandson),[4] is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, and rapper currently signed to Fueled by Ramen. He released his major label debut EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, on June 15, 2018, and released the follow-up A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 on February 22, 2019. The initial EP featured the single "Blood // Water", which appeared on several Billboard charts in the United States and Canada. Benjamin's music focuses on modern-day issues that are less recognized by the media and public. On December 4, 2020, he released his debut studio album, Death of an Optimist, and his second album, I Love You, I'm Trying, was released on May 5, 2023.
Benjamin was born in New Jersey, United States, but when he was 3 years old his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, where his maternal relatives lived[5] (he holds dual citizenship of both countries).[6][7] He has two sisters.[8] Benjamin grew up largely in the Eglinton West area of Toronto.[6][7][9] He attended Northern Secondary School in Toronto and, after graduation, enrolled in McGill UniversityinMontreal. There, he studied education with the initial goal of becoming a teacher.[7][10] He also spent a great deal of time DJing and playing shows in Montreal while at McGill.[11] After two years, he transferred to Concordia University, another Montreal institution. He studied communications there briefly before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue a music career.[4][7]
Benjamin began releasing music under the pseudonym grandson in late 2015.[9] In 2016, he released several singles that accrued millions of streams, including "Bills", "Things Change", and "Bury Me Face Down".[6][12] In 2017, he was signed to RCA Records, and continued releasing singles, including "Best Friends" and "Kiss Bang".[4][10] He also performed at North by Northeast that year (among other festivals).[9]
In April 2018, it was announced that grandson had signed to the Fueled By Ramen record label.[13] He had also released two new singles, "Blood // Water" (a song about political corruption that would go on to appear on multiple Billboard charts) and "Thoughts & Prayers", which offered a critique of American gun laws in the wake of the shootingatMarjory Stoneman Douglas High SchoolinParkland, Florida.[6][14] He released his first EP on Fueled by Ramen, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, in June 2018.[14][15] That EP also featured the song "6:00" which discussed police brutality.[16] Also in June 2018, grandson was featured on Mike Shinoda's song "Running from My Shadow", taken from his debut album Post Traumatic; the track was released also with an accompanying music video in May 2018.[17]
Throughout 2018, grandson toured with acts like Hobo Johnson, Joywave, Nothing But Thieves,[15][16][18] Smashing Pumpkins,[19] and Young the Giant.[2][20] He also appeared on an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers in August 2018, performing "Blood // Water".[21]
In February 2019, he released a new single, "Apologize", and announced his second EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2, which was released on February 22, 2019.[7][22] In late May, grandson released a cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Maria", a song featured on the 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles.[23]
In June 2019, he won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for his song "Blood // Water",[24] while in September 2019 the singer released A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3, the final installment of the Modern Tragedy trilogy EPs;[25] the record features the lead single "Rock Bottom", which peaked at No. 38 on the Canadian Rock Chart.[26]
On September 23, 2020, Grandson announced on his Facebook page that his debut full-length album Death of an Optimist would be released on December 4, 2020. Death of an Optimist is grandson's debut album, being his first record to have a heavier tone since the release of the last a modern tragedy EP, a modern tragedy vol. 3. The album gained a lot of publicity and recognition through his social media.
He announced a new album in May 2022, and it was released in May 2023.
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [27] | ||
| Death of an Optimist |
|
7 |
| I Love You, I'm Trying |
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| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [27] | ||
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 |
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— |
| Broken Down Vol. 1 |
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— |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 |
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23 |
| No Apologies Live |
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— |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN AC [28] |
CAN Rock [29] |
CZ [30] |
LTU [31] |
US Alt [32] |
US Main [33] |
US Rock [34] | |||||
| "Bills" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "things change" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Bury Me Face Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Kiss Bang" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Best Friends" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "War" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Blood // Water" | — | 19 | — | 93 | 20 | 17 | 19 | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | |||
| "Overdose" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Thoughts & Prayers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "Apologize" | 2019 | — | 5 | — | — | 34 | 20 | —[A] |
|
A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 | |
| "Maria" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rock Sound Presents: Worship And Tributes Vol. 2 | |||
| "Despicable" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | |||
| "Rock Bottom" | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 | |||
| "Oh No!!!" (original or with Vic Mensa & Masked Wolf) |
— | — | — | — | —[B] | — | —[C] | ||||
| "Happy Pill" (with Moby Rich) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "Peaches (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with K.Flay) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Text Voter XX to 40649 Collection | ||
| "Whole Lotta (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with DREAMERS) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "How Bout Now (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with phem) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Again (Text Voter XX to 40649)" (with Zero 9:36) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Identity" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | |||
| "Riptide" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Dirty" | 50 | 6 | — | — | 10 | — | —[D] |
| |||
| "One Step Closer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Spotify Singles | |||
| "We Did It!!!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | |||
| "Zen" (with X Ambassadors and K.Flay) |
— | 9 | 48 | — | 24 | — | —[E] | Non-album single | |||
| "Rain" (with Jessie Reyez) |
2021 | — | 31 | — | — | 26 | — | 49 | The Suicide Squad (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||
| "Drop Dead" (with Kesha and Travis Barker) |
— | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "KULT" (with Steve Aoki feat. Jasiah) |
2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Eulogy" | 2023 | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | I Love You, I'm Trying | ||
| "Drones" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Something To Hide" | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt [32] | |||||||||
| "Running from My Shadow" (Mike Shinoda featuring Grandson) |
2018 | — | Post Traumatic (Deluxe Version) | ||||||
| "All in My Head" (Whethan featuring Grandson) |
2020 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||
| "Heat Seeker" (DREAMERS featuring Grandson) |
28 | ||||||||
| "Lost Cause" (KennyHoopla featuring Grandson) |
— | ||||||||
| "Cash Machine (Remix)" (Oliver Tree featuring Dillon Francis and Grandson) |
— | ||||||||
| "Hold the Line" (Tom Morello featuring Grandson) |
2021 | — | The Atlas Underground Fire | ||||||
| "Until I Come Home" (Two Feet featuring Grandson) |
— | Shape & Form | |||||||
| "GOOD MOOD" (DE'WAYNE featuring Grandson) |
2022 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||
| "CHOKE" (The Warning featuring Grandson & Zero 9:36) |
— | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Bills" | 2017 | Joe Cappa |
| "Blood // Water" | 2018 | Miggy & Morgan |
| "6:00" | Gus Black | |
| "Apologize" | 2019 | Jordan Wozy & Lucas Taggart |
| "Stigmata" | Rosco Guerrero | |
| "Rock Bottom" | Seth Michael Stern | |
| "Oh No!!!" | Galileo | |
| "Identity" | 2020 | Karl Jungquist |
| "Riptide" | ||
| "Dirty" | ||
| "Rain" (From The Suicide Squad) | 2021 | ~ |
| "Drop Dead" (ft. Kesha and Travis Barker) | Andrew Sandler | |
| "Eulogy" | 2023 | Zach Madden |
| "Drones" | Zachary Bailey | |
| "Half My Heart" |
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Winners of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize
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| English |
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| French |
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| International |
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| National |
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| Artists |
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