Greg Wells facts for kids

Greg Wells CM is a talented Canadian music producer, songwriter, and musician. He also mixes music, making sure it sounds great. He was born in 1968.

Greg has worked with many famous artists like Adele, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Elton John, and Michael Bublé. He has helped create music that has sold over 140 million copies worldwide!

He is a member of the Order of Canada, which is a very special award for Canadians. Greg is trained in both classical and jazz music and plays many instruments. He has been featured in magazines for his skills as a drummer, pianist, and producer.

Greg is also known for helping musicians around the world. He does a lot of charity work, especially at Trinity Hall in Winterton, Newfoundland.

Greg Wells' Early Life

Greg Wells grew up in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. His father was a minister. When Greg was 11, he had a health condition called Perthes' disease and used a wheelchair for two years.

During his school years, Greg learned to play many instruments. He was part of local orchestras and bands. He even played the organ at church and had his own radio show! He studied classical piano, drums, and music theory at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

When he was 15, Greg won the top prize at the Peterborough Kiwanis Music Festival. At 17, he went to the Humber College Jazz Music Program to study piano.

Greg Wells' Music Career

After college, Greg moved to Toronto. He worked as a musician for Canadian artists like Kim Mitchell. He joined Kim Mitchell's band when he was 19. Greg played keyboards and sang backup on Kim Mitchell's album Rockland. He even won an award for Best Keyboardist in 1990!

Later, Greg received a special grant to study music in California. He planned to return to Canada, but his teachers started recommending him as a pianist. Soon after, Greg joined k.d. lang's band. He performed with her at the 1993 Grammy Awards, where she won an award.

Big Songs and Albums

Greg's first song as a songwriter was with Aerosmith on their album Nine Lives. Then, he co-wrote "The Reason" for Celine Dion's huge album, Let's Talk About Love, which sold 31 million copies!

In 2001, he produced music for Rufus Wainwright. He also started working with songwriter Kara DioGuardi in 2003. Greg produced and mixed most of the instruments on Mika's first album, Life In Cartoon Motion, which sold 6 million copies and was a number one hit.

In 2007, Greg produced the song "Apologize" for both Timbaland and OneRepublic. This song was a massive hit! It stayed at number one on the Billboard Pop 100 chart for eight weeks and was one of the top songs of the decade.

Movie Soundtracks and Software

Greg produced and mixed The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which was the best-selling album worldwide in 2018.

He has also designed popular music software. He created the "El Rey" compressor plugin and a series of plugins with Waves Audio.

In 2019, Greg, Ryan Tedder, and Nina Woodford co-wrote the theme song for the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Greg produced and mixed this song, called "Right Where I'm Supposed To Be." It was performed by many artists, including Avril Lavigne and Luis Fonsi, at the opening ceremonies in Abu Dhabi.

Greg produced the song "Beautiful Ghosts" for the 2019 movie Cats. This song was nominated for a Grammy and a Golden Globe. He worked on it with the creator of Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

He also received a Grammy nomination for his work on Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2021 movie In the Heights. Greg worked on two more films with Lin-Manuel Miranda: the animated movie Vivo and the musical film Tick, Tick... Boom!.

Currently, Greg Wells is the music producer and mix engineer for both Wicked films and their soundtrack albums. He also plays many instruments on these projects.

Greg Wells' Personal Life

Greg Wells is married to Nina Woodford, who is a songwriter from Sweden. They have six children.

In January 2025, Greg's studio and home in Los Angeles were sadly destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

In 2022, Greg bought an old church in Winterton, Newfoundland. He turned it into Trinity Hall, which is a non-profit space for music and arts. It helps raise money for the local community, a children's hospital, and music education programs in Newfoundland.

In June 2025, Greg was appointed to the Order Of Canada by the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon.

Greg Wells' Achievements

• Wicked - Greg is the music producer for all songs in both films and their soundtrack albums. He also mixes the music and plays drums, keyboards, bass, and guitars.
• John Legend – Greg co-produced, mixed, played piano, and co-wrote the song "Never Break" from the album Bigger Love. This album won Best R&B Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards.
• Adele – Greg co-wrote the song "One and Only" on her album 21, which is the best-selling album of the 21st century.
• The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Greg won a Grammy Award in 2019 for producing and mixing this album. It was number 1 in many countries, and the song "This Is Me" won a Golden Globe.
• Twenty One Pilots – Greg produced and mixed their album Vessel, which sold over two million copies.
• In the Heights – Greg received his fifth Grammy nomination for co-producing and mixing the songs for this film.
• Taylor Swift – Greg produced the song "Beautiful Ghosts", which was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Grammy.
• Timbaland and OneRepublic – Greg produced the worldwide number 1 hit "Apologize".
• Mika – Greg produced, mixed, and played instruments on Mika's first hit song "Grace Kelly" and his album Life in Cartoon Motion.
• Celine Dion – Greg co-wrote the number 1 European song "The Reason" from her album Let's Talk About Love.

Greg Wells' Awards

Greg Wells received the Pensado Giant Award in 2017 for his amazing work in music production. He has been nominated for a Grammy six times. He won a Grammy in 2019 for his work on The Greatest Showman soundtrack. In 2023, he won a second Grammy for Michael Bublé's album Higher.

In June 2015, Greg received an honorary degree from his old music school, Humber College. He was also nominated for Producer of the Year at the Canadian Juno Awards in 2000 and 2019.

See also

In Spanish: Greg Wells para niños