Eli Lieb is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

American pop singer-songwriter from Fairfield, Iowa. In 2014, Lieb resided in Los Angeles, where he was working on his second album.

History

At twenty, Lieb left his hometown of Fairfield, Iowa, to pursue music professionally in New York City. In addition to attending classes at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

and at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

, Lieb began singing at local

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

sessions, where he was introduced to Jonathan Daniel of

Crush Management Crush Music is a New York City and Los Angeles based full-service talent management firm that focuses on managing musical artists, such as Miley Cyrus, Sia, Kesha, Green Day, Panic! at the Disco, Lorde, Train (band), Train, Weezer, and Fall Out Bo ...

. The two began meeting with record labels, and Lieb began collaborating with other songwriters. During this period, Lieb's father died; he abruptly ceased his music career and moved back to Fairfield. For more than three years, he did not play or write a song.

2009–2011: Debut album

In 2009, Lieb began recording covers of popular songs and uploading them to YouTube from his home in Fairfield. His videos accrued a large number of views while the positive response he received online encouraged him to release his first album, the self-titled '' Eli Lieb,'' independently on October 25, 2011. Lieb wrote, recorded, and produced the album on his own in Fairfield.

2013–present: Post-debut singles and second studio album

Lieb's single "Young Love" was released in July 2013, with music blog

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

calling it "an instantly catchy, uplifting pop/rock anthem that sounds like a cross between Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen". In October 2013, Lieb's YouTube cover of Miley Cyrus's "

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...

" went viral and was supported through social media by singers

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

and

Lucy Hale Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards (the most for any actress in a single series), a Gracie Awards, Gracie Award, a People's Choice Aw ...

. In 2014, Lieb released a free digital download titled "Safe In My Hands" in conjunction with

Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois (with a Northbrook, Illinois address) since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still pa ...

's #OutHoldingHands campaign. The song was performed and co-written by Lieb and was featured in a short animated film for the same campaign. "Safe In My Hands" was also featured in the Season 2 summer finale of ABC Family's '' The Fosters'' and won "Best In Show" and "Best Original Song" at the 2015 American Music Producers Awards for Music and Sound. On July 8, 2014, Lieb released a single "Zeppelin" produced by

John Feldmann John William Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American musician and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the punk rock band Goldfinger. Early life Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing songs aro ...

. The accompanying music video was released on July 15 and was directed by Geoff Boothby. On September 13, 2014, Lieb performed "Young Love" at the

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

Gala San Francisco: Game Changers event for

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

equality through the media. Lieb went on to release the single "Lightning in a Bottle", also produced by Fieldman, and its accompanying music video on November 19, 2014. He went on to work on a second album with Feldmann as producer. As of March 2023, he has almost 58 million views on his YouTube channel.

Songwriting

In 2013, Lieb moved to Los Angeles to further his career as a songwriter. He has collaborated with artists including

Cheyenne Jackson Cheyenne David Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. His credits include leading roles in Broadway musicals and other stage roles, as well as film and television roles, concert singing, and music recordings. After beginn ...

and

Crystal Bowersox Crystal Lynn Bowersox (born August 4, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter and actress who was the runner-up on the ninth season of ''American Idol''. She was the first female finalist in three years. Bowersox's debut album, '' Farmer's Dau ...

. He is also confirmed to have collaborated with

. In 2015, Lieb has written with musical acts such as

Hey Violet Hey Violet was an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California, consisting of Rena Lovelis (lead vocals, bass), Nia Lovelis (drums, percussion, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals) and Casey Moreta (lead and rhythm guitar, back ...

and

Laura Marano Laura Marie Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Ally Dawson in the Disney Channel series ''Austin & Ally''. Marano was one of the five original classmates in '' Are You Smarter th ...

alongside writing partner

Stacy Jones Stacy Glen Jones (born December 19, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is currently the musical director and drummer for Miley Cyrus and Life of Dillon, and is also known for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, a ...

. In March 2016, Eli and singer-songwriter

Steve Grand Steve Grand (born February 28, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and model from Lemont, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He became an overnight internet celebrity and the music video of his first hit "All-American Boy" went viral video, viral ...

co-wrote a duet, "Look Away". By June 2019, the music video had received over 2,300,000 views on YouTube. On June 13, 2016, two days after the

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States before Orlando Police officers fatally shot him after a three-hour standoff. I ...

, Lieb and Brandon Skeie co-wrote a song named "Pulse" and released it in memory of the victims in the shooting.

Personal life

Lieb is openly gay, a subject that is frequently featured in his songs and music videos. Lieb comes from a meditating family and has been practicing Transcendental Meditation since childhood. He credits it with allowing him to "freely create the music that I am creating without any fear". He has worked with the

David Lynch Foundation The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace (or simply DLF) is a global charitable foundation with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded by film director and Transcendental M ...

to fund teaching of Transcendental Meditation.

Discography

Album

Singles

Music videos

Soundtracks

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lieb, Eli 1979 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American male pop singers American gay musicians American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters LGBTQ people from Iowa Gay singers Gay songwriters People from Fairfield, Iowa 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Singer-songwriters from Iowa