Tyler Glenn
| Tyler Glenn | |
|---|---|
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Glenn performing at the 2012 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Bash | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tyler Aaron Glenn |
| Born | November 28, 1983 |
| Origin |
Temecula, California United States |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards |
| Associated acts | Neon Trees, Afrojack, Santana |
Tyler Aaron Glenn (born November 28, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the American rock band Neon Trees and as a solo artist.
Biography
As a teenager, Glenn attended Chaparral High School in Temecula, California.[1] He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though he does not believe.[2] After high school, he served a Mormon mission in Nebraska.[3]
Neon Trees' origins lay in Southern California in 2004 after Glenn's father suggested he play music with guitarist Chris Allen, the son of one of Glenn's father's friends.[2] In 2005, they moved to Provo, Utah and formally founded Neon Trees, adding bassist Branden Campbell and drummer/backing vocalist Elaine Doty (who is now Elaine Bradley) in 2007.[4] The band became well known in the music scene around Provo and Salt Lake City.
In 2007, Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. (drummer for The Killers), who knew Campbell from a previous band, saw Neon Trees playing at a small venue in Las Vegas and was impressed. As such, in 2008, The Killers invited the band to open for them during their North American tour.
Neon Trees released their first full-length album, Habits, in 2010. One song from that album, "Animal", which Glenn co-wrote, hit number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. A second song co-written by Glenn, "Everybody Talks" from their 2011 album Picture Show, was also a top 10 hit in 2012.
In 2014, Glenn was featured as lead vocalist on "Born to Run," a song on Afrojack's debut studio album, Forget the World.
In 2015, Glenn joined the holiday music supergroup Band Of Merrymakers for their album Welcome to Our Christmas Party.
On April 28, 2016, Glenn released his debut single as a solo artist, the electro pop single "Trash." The video for the song was premiered on Rolling Stone the next day. In the video, Glenn is seen drinking from a bottle of alcohol, spitting on an altered image of Joseph Smith, making the LDS church's temple tokens with his hands, and painting a red 'X' on his face. The video immediately generated controversy among Mormons, many of whom found it offensive.[5]
Glenn is currently working on a solo album, set to be released in fall 2016.[6]
Personal life
In the April 10, 2014 issue of Rolling Stone, Glenn came out as gay, and discussed keeping his sexuality a secret throughout his life. Glenn says he's known he was gay since he was a young child, but kept his sexuality a secret – until now. "I had my crushes on guys throughout high school, but it was never an overwhelming thing until my twenties," he admits. "Then I'd be dating girls and in love with my straight friend and it was the worst feeling in the world," he said to Rolling Stone.
With respect to his Mormon faith, Glenn stated in a 2012 interview: "The way I was raised and being a questioner, and getting a lot of my curiosities out early with drugs and alcohol, I think it’s helped me maintain a more even keel where I’m not out of control."[7] It has been widely reported that Glenn and the other members of Neon Trees do not drink alcohol or use other drugs.[8] The LDS Church has had a longstanding policy that makes same-sex marriage grounds for apostasy. With same-sex parent families in mind the church recently announced they will prohibit children of same-sex married couples from being baptized until those children are 18 years of age. This announcement led Glenn to research the history of the church and he concluded that he no longer believed it was true and no longer self-identifies as Mormon, though he has not resigned.[9]
Songwriting credits
| Year | Artist | Song | Co-written with | U.S. peak position | U.K. peak position |
| 2009 | Neon Trees | "Animal" | Tim Pagnotta, Chris Allen, Branden Campbell, Elaine Bradley | 13[10] | 40[11] |
| 2010 | Neon Trees | "1983" | – | – | |
| 2010 | Neon Trees | "Your Surrender" | S*A*M and Sluggo | – | — |
| 2011 | Neon Trees | "Everybody Talks" | Tim Pagnotta | 6[12] | – |
| 2012 | Kaskade ft. Neon Trees | "Lessons in Love" | Ryan Raddon, John B. Hancock, Finn Bogi Bjarnson, Chris Allen, Branden Campbell, Elaine Bradley | – | — |
| 2014 | Neon Trees | "Sleeping with a Friend" | Tim Pagnotta | - | - |
Discography
Neon Trees
- Studio albums
- Habits (2010)
- Picture Show (2012)
- Pop Psychology (2014)
Featured artist
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Born To Run" | 2014 | Afrojack | Forget The World |
| "Ender" | Cory Layton | Ender | |
| "Wild" | 2015 | Santana | Non-album single |
References
- ↑ "Tyler Glenn High School Yearbook Photo, fanpop.com
- 1 2 Doyle, Patrick (July 29, 2010). "Artist of the Week: Neon Trees". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
- ↑ Pat Reavy, "Provo-based Neon Trees serve it up ‘Animal’ style", Deseret News, Oct. 28, 2010.
- ↑ Clayton Perry, "Interview: Tyler Glenn (of Neon Trees)", Seattle PI, Apr. 26, 2011
- ↑ Spanos, Brittany (April 29, 2016). "Watch Neon Trees' Tyler Glenn Slam Mormon Church in New Solo Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ↑ Hatch, Heidi. "Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees explains anger towards LDS church in new video". KUTV.com. KUTV. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ↑ Bryan Reesman, "Interview with Tyler Glenn from Neon Trees: Retroactive Bliss", The Aquarian Weekly, May 2, 2012
- ↑ See, e.g., Francesca Tay, "When the Neon Lights Go Down…", theurbanwire.com, July 28, 2011
- ↑ Mormon Stories: Tyler Glenn
- ↑ Billboard.com
- ↑ Official Chart Company
- ↑ Billboard.com
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tyler Glenn. |
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