Jean Dawson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean Dawson
|
|
|---|---|
Dawson in November 2022
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Sanders |
| Born | December 22, 1995 San Diego, California |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Experimental pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2018-present |
| Labels | P+ |
| Signature | |
 |
|
David Sanders (born December 22, 1995), known as Jean Dawson, is a musician from Mexico and America. He creates a unique style of music called experimental pop. Since 2018, he has released several albums and many songs. He also tours across the US and Europe, performing with other artists.
Contents
Early Life and Music Dreams
Jean Dawson was born David Sanders on December 22, 1995. He grew up in both Tijuana, Mexico, and Spring Valley, California. His dad is African-American, and his mom is Mexican. His mom learned English by listening to West Coast hip hop music.
Every day, he crossed the border to go to elementary school in San Diego. This meant he had to wake up very early, at 3 a.m. During these long bus rides, he listened to many types of music. These included grunge, hip hop, Britpop, new wave, and rock en español. He once said he wasn't the popular kid in school. Instead, he was "the kid in the library with one friend." They would talk about things they saw online.
Dawson's family loved music. His parents' shared interest in different cultures brought them together. This inspired him to want a music career by age 13. His family didn't have much money, so he couldn't buy instruments. He would take the bus to a local Guitar Center every day after school. There, he practiced piano.
Music Career Journey
Starting Out and First Albums
After high school, Dawson moved to Los Angeles. He went to California State University, Los Angeles to study film. But he used the money meant for books to buy studio equipment. This led him to dropping out of college to focus on music.
While still in college, he recorded his first album, Bad Sports. He made it in his dorm room with his roommate, Lecx Stacy. This album was influenced by artists like Outkast, the Cure, Kid Cudi, and Kanye West. Later, he was also inspired by groups like Disturbed and N.E.R.D.. He even found some unsold vinyl records of Bad Sports. He signed them and tried to sell them for a very high price. Fans were not happy about this.
On October 23, 2020, he released his second album, Pixel Bath. He released it through his own record label, P+.
Tours and New Music
On June 8, 2021, it was announced that Dawson would open for Brockhampton. He joined their US and Europe tour, which lasted from August 2021 to June 2022. On June 16, Dawson released a song called "Ghost." He said the song was "for the people who've felt unseen and unheard." The music video for his song "Dummy" from Pixel Bath also came out on June 8, 2021.
In April 2022, Dawson performed at the Coachella music festival. On August 19, he announced his third album, Chaos Now. He also released a song from it called "Three Heads." Chaos Now was released on October 7. That same day, he announced his first tour where he was the main performer. This tour sold out completely. Dawson felt like he "made thousands of friends" during that time. People who saw the shows liked his energy on stage.
Recent Projects and Collaborations
In February 2023, Dawson was announced for the When We Were Young festival. It took place in Las Vegas in October. The next month, he was also announced for the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August 2023.
On May 11, 2023, Dawson announced a new series of songs. The first two, "Youth+" and "Delusional World Champion," were part of "Xcape Pt. 1." In these songs, Dawson plays a character named Phoenix. He also announced another US tour for September and October. The second part of this series, called Destruction for Dummies, features Dawson as a character named Nightmare.
On September 17, 2023, Dawson announced a new song with SZA called "No Szns." It was released on September 22. The song's cover art was compared to the children's book Where the Wild Things Are. A music video for the song was also released.
On January 31, 2024, Dawson was named as one of 16 artists covering songs from the Talking Heads album Stop Making Sense. This was for a special tribute album released on May 17, 2024. Dawson's song for the album was a cover of "Swamp."
On March 6, 2024, Dawson released the song "New Age Crisis." This was one of three songs from his EP Boohoo, which came out the next day. One song, "Divino Desmadre," is his first song entirely in Spanish. This EP was like an introduction to a new album he planned to release later in 2024.
On April 19, 2024, the movie Abigail was released. It features a new song by Dawson called "Burn My Tongue." This song plays during the end credits of the film.
On August 16, 2024, Dawson announced his fourth album, Glimmer of God. He also released a song from it called "Die for Me," which features Lil Yachty. He announced a tour for October through December 2024. The album was released on October 18, 2024.
Other Projects
In 2021, Dawson started his own clothing and merchandise brand called Turbo Radio. He designed face masks, shirts, sweatpants, and sweaters for his collections.
On February 25, 2021, Dawson released a short film about himself called Burnout. He directed this seven-minute film himself. It showed him talking about his life in a very open way.
Music Style
Jean Dawson's music style is very unique. He mixes many different sounds and genres. He has been influenced by artists like Kanye West and The Smashing Pumpkins. He also likes "Warped Tour" music and bands from Manchester, like the Smiths and New Order. He once said he wanted a song to sound like "Manchester and Compton had a baby."
People describe Dawson as an artist who breaks music rules. He can blend many styles easily. His music includes sounds from early 2000s indie rock, trap, R&B, bedroom pop, pop-punk, industrial hip hop, glitch-pop, grunge, shoegaze, alternative rock, hardcore hip hop, underground hip hop, emo, country, and classical. He is often called an experimental pop artist.
Dawson himself says he doesn't know what genre his music is. He compares it to Prince, saying Prince's music was just "Prince." Dawson wants his music to be everything people need it to be.
His songs often talk about feeling like an outsider. They also cover topics like spirituality and doing the right thing.
Personal Life
Jean Dawson has three dogs. Their names are Midnight (a Dobermann), Mala (a French bulldog), and Oz (an English bulldog). He lives in Inglewood, California.
Dawson has spoken about seeking help for his well-being. He started therapy when he was 21.
Discography
Albums
- Bad Sports (2019)
- Pixel Bath (2020)
- Chaos Now (2022)
- Glimmer of God (2024)
EPs
- Boohoo (2024)
Singles
- "Glacier Gallery" (2018)
- "Bullfighter" (2018)
- "Napster" (2019)
- "Blame by Me" (2019)
- "Ooga Booga" (2019)
- "Bruise Boy" (2020)
- "Power Freaks" (2020)
- "Policía" (2020)
- "Clear Bones" (2020)
- "Starface" (2020)
- "Devilish" (2020)
- "Ghost" (2021)
- "Menthol" (featuring Mac DeMarco) (2021)
- "..." (2022)
- "Three Heads" (2022)
- "Pirate Radio" (2022)
- "Sick of It" (2022)
- "Bad Fruit" (2022)
- "'Xcape', pt. 1 Jean Dawson as 'Phoenix'" (2023)
- "Spotify Singles" (2023)
- "'Destruction for Dummies', pt. 2 Jean Dawson as 'Nightmare'" (2023)
- "No Szns" (with SZA) (2023)
- "New Age Crisis" (2024)
- "Fit Check Freestyle" (with 1999 Write the Future) (2024)
- "Die for Me" (featuring Lil Yachty) (2024)
- "Houston" (2024)
- "P4in" (featuring Bones) (2024)
