Jake Wesley Rogers (born December 19, 1996) is an American pop musician and songwriter.

Early life

Rogers grew up in

Ozark, Missouri Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Missouri. Its population was 21,284 as of the 2020 census. Ozark is also the third largest city in the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Area, and is centered along a business loop ...

, where he learned to play the guitar at the age of six and began playing piano and voice training at age 12. Rogers began performing in theater productions in 5th grade and writing songs soon thereafter. At a young age he attended formative concerts for artists like

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

and

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado ( , ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 45 million records, including 35 million in album sales worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Critics have noted ...

. Rogers came out as gay in 6th grade, and though his family was supportive he felt he had to hide his orientation due to the cultural climate in his hometown. At age 15, Rogers appeared as a contestant on the seventh season of

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

. He advanced to the top 48 and was eliminated in the quarterfinal round before being brought back into the competition by judge

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...

, only to be eliminated again in the Wild Card round. Rogers moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

at age 18 to study songwriting at

Belmont University Belmont University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporate ...

. In his first year Rogers' live performance attracted the interest of

Sony/ATV Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of en ...

, resulting in a publishing deal. Rogers graduated in 2018.

Career

2016–2020: Early career

Rogers began releasing music independently in 2016, leading to his debut EP ''Evergreen'' in June 2017. After releasing his next two singles "Jacob from the Bible" and "Little Queen" in February and March 2019 respectively, Rogers released his sophomore EP ''Spiritual'' in April 2019, followed by a European tour and a performance on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

that fall. In November 2020, Rogers was featured on the ''

Happiest Season ''Happiest Season'' is a 2020 American romantic comedy film directed by Clea DuVall, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mary Holland. Starring an ensemble cast consisting of Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

executive produced by

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, ...

, alongside a slate of other

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

songwriters and artists.

2021–present: Warner Records signing

In May 2021, it was revealed that Rogers had signed to

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

via Tranter's

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Facet Records. Rogers' manager Lucas Canzona got Tranter's attention in 2019 with an email highlighting a live performance of Rogers' single "Jacob from the Bible". Tranter brought Rogers to the attention of Warner Records CEO and co-chairman

Aaron Bay-Schuck Aaron Bay-Schuck (born September 5, 1981) is an American music industry executive. The CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), he was previously the president of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M and the senior vice p ...

, who was "captivated" by Rogers' live performance, and the two signed Rogers in late 2020. Rogers released his debut

major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

single "Middle of Love" alongside the announcement. The single, which was co-written with Tranter and Eren Cannata, is the first offering from Rogers' forthcoming 2021 EP. Rogers released his next single "Momentary" in June 2020. Rogers made his TV debut on October 5, 2021, on

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known simply as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023. It is the fourth and final iteration of '' The Late Late Show'', and aired in the United Sta ...

(Season 7, Episode 17), performing the song "Middle of Love". Rogers appeared as an opening act on

Ben Platt Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt (producer), Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and ...

's Reverie Tour in September and October 2022. Rogers also appeared as an opening act on

Panic! At the Disco Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...

's Viva Las Vengeance Tour in September and October 2022. Rogers also appeared as the opening act on

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

's Only Love tour in 2023.

Discography

EPs

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Jake Wesley 1996 births Living people America's Got Talent contestants American male singer-songwriters American gay musicians 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers Year of birth missing (living people) Belmont University alumni Warner Records artists Singer-songwriters from Missouri American LGBTQ singers LGBTQ people from Missouri People from Springfield, Missouri People from Ozark, Missouri