Jean Dawson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jean Dawson
Dawson in November 2022
Background information
Birth name	David Sanders
Born	(1995-12-22) December 22, 1995 (age 29) San Diego, California
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Experimental pop
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Piano guitar
Years active	2018-present
Labels	P+

Jean Dawson, whose real name is David Sanders, is a talented musician from Mexico and America. He was born on December 22, 1995. He is known for his unique style of music called experimental pop. Since 2018, Jean Dawson has released four albums and many songs through his own music label, P+. He has also toured all over the United States and Europe. He even performed with famous groups like Brockhampton.

Jean Dawson's Early Life

David Sanders, or Jean Dawson, was born in San Diego, California. He grew up in both Tijuana, Mexico and Spring Valley, California. His dad is African-American from Long Beach, California, and his mom is Mexican from Sinaloa. His mom learned English by listening to West Coast hip hop music.

Jean Dawson often crossed the border to San Diego for elementary school. During those long bus rides, he listened to many different kinds of music. This included grunge, hip hop, Britpop, new wave, and Spanish rock. He once told MTV that he wasn't the popular kid in school. Instead, he was "the kid in the library with one friend." They would talk about everything they saw on the internet.

Music was a big part of Jean Dawson's family. His parents' love for each other's cultures brought them together through music. This made him decide at age 13 that he wanted to be a musician. Growing up, his family didn't have a lot of money. He couldn't afford his own instruments. So, every day after school, he would take the bus to a local Guitar Center. There, he would practice playing the piano.

Jean Dawson's Music Career

Starting Out: 2019–2022

After high school, Jean 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 instead. 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.

The album was influenced by artists like Outkast, the Cure, Kid Cudi, and Kanye West. Later, he found inspiration from groups like Disturbed and N.E.R.D.. Bad Sports was also released on vinyl records. Jean Dawson later found some unsold vinyls. He signed them and tried to sell them for US$1000, which some fans thought was too expensive.

On October 23, 2020, he released his second album, Pixel Bath. This album came out through his own independent record label, P+.

In June 2021, Jean Dawson was announced as a supporting act for Brockhampton's tour. He opened for them on their US and Europe tour from August 2021 to June 2022. On June 16, he released a special song called "Ghost" on Apple Music. This song was part of Apple Music's Freedom Songs series for Juneteenth. Jean Dawson said the song was "for the people who've felt unseen and unheard." He explained that Juneteenth "should never have needed to exist." He felt his ancestors should never have been slaves. But he lives in a world where Black people were seen as "beasts, devils, and animals." So, the day his ancestors were freed is a huge reason to celebrate. "Ghost" was later released on all music platforms in February 2023. A music video for his song "Dummy" from Pixel Bath was also released in June 2021.

In April 2022, Jean Dawson performed at the famous Coachella music festival. On August 19, he announced his third album, Chaos Now. He also released the first song from it, "Three Heads." Chaos Now came out on October 7 through P+. On the same day, he announced his first headlining tour across the US. This tour took place in October and November, with Junior Varsity opening for him. The tour sold out completely. Jean Dawson felt like he "made thousands of friends" during that month. People who saw the shows loved his energy on stage and the audience's polite but energetic moshing.

New Music and Tours: 2023–Present

In February 2023, Jean Dawson was announced for the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas. This festival happened in October. The next month, Lollapalooza announced their 2023 lineup, which also included Jean Dawson. That festival was held in Chicago in August.

On May 11, Jean Dawson announced a new series of three songs. The first two songs, "Youth+" and "Delusional World Champion," were put together as "Xcape Pt. 1." In these songs, Jean Dawson plays a character named Phoenix. He also announced another headlining US tour for September and October. The second part of the song series, called Destruction for Dummies, features Jean Dawson as a character named Nightmare. This part includes the songs "No Scope," "X-Ray," and "Vexed." He was also supposed to open for Trippie Redd on his Take Me Away tour, but that tour was canceled.

On September 17, Jean Dawson announced a new song with SZA called "No Szns." It was released on September 22. He first hinted at the song on TikTok in May. The song's cover art, drawn by Josh Brizuela, looked like art from the children's book Where the Wild Things Are. A music video for the song was also released, directed by Dawson himself.

On January 31, 2024, it was announced that Jean Dawson would be one of 16 artists covering a song from the Talking Heads album Stop Making Sense. This was for a special tribute album celebrating the original album's 40th anniversary. The tribute album, called Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, was released on May 17. On April 24, the full list of songs was shared. Jean Dawson's song for the album is a cover of "Swamp."

On March 6, Jean Dawson released the song "New Age Crisis." This was one of three songs from his EP (a shorter album) called Boohoo. The full EP came out the next day. One of the songs, "Divino Desmadre," is Jean Dawson's first song with all the lyrics in Spanish. The EP was meant to be a preview of a full album coming out later in the year.

On April 19, the movie Abigail was released. It features a new song by Jean Dawson called "Burn My Tongue," which plays during the end credits. The movie's soundtrack, including "Burn My Tongue," was released on the same day.

On August 16, 2024, Jean Dawson announced his fourth album, Glimmer of God. He also released its first song, "Die for Me," which features Lil Yachty. He announced a headlining US tour for October through December. The album was released on October 18.

Other Projects

In 2021, Jean Dawson started his own clothing and merchandise brand called Turbo Radio. He designed collections of face masks, shirts, sweatpants, crew necks, and sweaters.

On February 25, 2021, Jean Dawson released a seven-minute documentary short film about himself. He directed the film, called Burnout. It had cool visual effects like the movie Blade Runner. The film also had music by Zach Fogarty, who often works with Jean Dawson. In the film, Jean Dawson talks openly about his personal life. He discusses his past, being "anti" (meaning going against the norm), and how he is becoming happier as he gets older.

Jean Dawson's Music Style

Jean Dawson's music is hard to put into just one box. He has been called a "genre-shattering polymath" because he can mix so many different sounds. He uses styles like 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. People often simply call him an experimental pop artist.

Jean Dawson himself says, "When people ask me what genre I make, I'm like, dude, I don't know." He compares his approach to Prince, saying, "What genre of music did Prince make? ... His music was just Prince. It was everything you needed it to be at the time."

Jean Dawson's 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.

Discography

Albums

• Bad Sports (2019)
• Pixel Bath (2020)
• Chaos Now (2022)
• Glimmer of God (2024)

EPs

• Boohoo (2024)

Singles