Daniel Leonard Nigro ( ) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist and guitarist of the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

As Tall as Lions As Tall as Lions were an indie rock band formed in 2001 from the Massapequa, New York, Massapequa neighborhood of Long Island, New York (state), New York. History High school friends Dan Nigro (lead vocals & guitars), Saen Fitzgerald (guitar, ...

. Nigro has produced, written, and co-written songs for

Sky Ferreira Sky Tonia Ferreira (; born July 8, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actress. As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloodsh ...

Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...

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Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose ...

Chappell Roan Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (born February 19, 1998), known professionally as Chappell Roan ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her Camp (style), camp and drag queen–influenced aesthetic. Her debut EP, ''School Nights'' (201 ...

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, Conan Gray, and

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. Nigro has been nominated for 16

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and won two

including

Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...

for Rodrigo's ''

Sour The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...

'' (2021) and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. In 2024, He was named "Producer of the Year" by ''Variety'' Hitmaker's and Songwriter of the Year at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.

Early life

Daniel Leonard Nigro was raised in Massapequa Park, New York, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, to Louis, a second-generation business owner and Claire, an artist specializing in oil painting. In his youth he took piano, guitar, and voice lessons. His sister, Alexa, co-founded the ''Scough'' fashion company and his brother, Leonard, is an international chef. Nigro attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school. He once said that he "never felt the need to go to college", but went to

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

Personal life

Nigro married visual artist Emily Williams in September 2020. Together they have a daughter, Saoirse Raine, who can be heard in the final seconds of

's song " Teenage Dream".

Career

As Tall as Lions

With high school friends Saen Fitzgerald and Cliff Sarcona, Nigro formed the indie rock band

in 2001, self-producing a four-song demo that included "King of the World", which became a local fan favorite. During the next few years, the band endured lineup changes. In 2002, they released their first EP, ''Blood Aphorisms''. In 2003, they signed a record deal with

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

and

Triple Crown Records Triple Crown Records is a New York–based rock music record label created in 1997 by Fred Feldman. The label features such artists as The Receiving End of Sirens and The Dear Hunter, ''Artists Page'' and launched the career of Brand New in 2001. ...

and left college with the full support of their parents to pursue music full-time. In 2004, the band released their debut album, ''Lafcadio'', and began touring. In 2006, they released ''

'' and began a headlining tour. In July 2007, they appeared on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

''. In 2009, '' You Can't Take It with You'' was released, peaking at number 88 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. By September 2010, the band split up. Upon the announcement of the news, their last shows sold out and more were added to the schedule. They immediately planned what would be billed as their reunion, which was performed in 2015 without new music to supplement it.

Songwriting

Nigro moved to Los Angeles to become a songwriter, collaborating with childhood friend Justin Raisen. He found initial success with a

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

for a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

and then with

. Nigro began as a songwriter then learned production as he felt belittled by producers he worked with and didn’t feel like he could exercise full creative control over his work without being a producer.

Amusement Records

After Nigro and singer-songwriter

had worked together for years, Roan was dropped by her former record label. To continue writing, producing and releasing songs together, Nigro formed independent label Amusement Records. As of September 2024, Roan is the only act signed to Amusement. Nigro also said that he does see himself signing other acts to Amusement in the future. "But it's about finding the person I want to invest 300 days of my time with," he says. "It's not simply finding an artist that I like and thinking that they're great. It's about, 'Do we feel a connection that we can spend so much time making something and then promote it and find the right creative teams and annoy you about content?' It's everything." This is a common theme in Nigro's artistic career, helped along with the full support of his parents.

Discography

As Tall as Lions

Songwriting and production credits

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nigro, Daniel American male singer-songwriters American rock singers Fordham University alumni Grammy Award winners Living people People from Long Island Songwriters from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people)