Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of

reharmonisation In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads". A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a roo ...

s and

close harmony A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also ca ...

. He is known for his energetic live performances, in which he often conducts the audience to sing harmony or play percussion parts. Collier demonstrates his harmonic expertise in lectures and master classes. In 2013, his split-screen video covers of popular songs, such as Stevie Wonder's "

Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released as the third single from his sixteenth studio album, ''Innervisions'' (1973). It spent fifteen weeks on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting at n ...

", began to go viral on YouTube. In 2014, Collier signed with

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

's management company and began working on his one-man, audio-visual live performance vehicle, designed and built at the

MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fi ...

by Ben Bloomberg. In 2016, Collier released his debut album, ''In My Room'', which he recorded, arranged, performed and produced himself in the back room of his family home in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. In 2018, Collier began working on ''Djesse'', a four-volume, 50-song album featuring more than two dozen artists and ensembles. The first volume, which featured the

Metropole Orkest The Metropole Orkest () is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it combines jazz, big band and classical symphony orchestra styles. Comprising bet ...

, '' Djesse Vol. 1'', was released in December 2018. The second, ''

Djesse Vol. 2 ''Djesse Vol. 2'' ( ) is the third studio album by Jacob Collier and the second album in the ''Djesse'' series, released on 19 July 2019. ''Djesse'' is a collection of four volumes which was announced 29 October 2018, each describing a different ...

'', used more acoustic instrumentation and was released in July 2019. The third volume, '' Djesse Vol. 3'', was released in 2020. The fourth and final volume for the album, ''

Djesse Vol. 4 ''Djesse Vol. 4'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Jacob Collier, released on 29 February 2024. The album is the fourth and final instalment in the ''Djesse'' series, which began in 2018 with '' Djesse Vol. 1''. The album received ...

'', was released in March 2024. In 2017, Collier was awarded

Grammy Award 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 ...

s for his arrangements of the "

Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the Rubbles. It was ...

" theme and Stevie Wonder's " You and I" on his first album. In 2020, Collier won Grammy Awards for his arrangements of "

All Night Long (All Night) "All Night Long (All Night)" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, '' Can't Slow Down'' (1983). The song combined Richie's Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one ...

" from ''Djesse Vol. 1'' and "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 19 ...

" from ''Djesse Vol. 2''. In 2021, he won a Grammy Award for "

He Won't Hold You He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

" from ''Djesse Vol. 3''., making him the first British artist to receive a Grammy Award for each of his first four albums. In 2025, he won his seventh Grammy for "

Bridge Over Troubled Water ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' is the fifth and final studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Following the duo's soundtrack for ''The Graduate'', Art Garfunkel took an acting ...

" from ''Djesse Vol. 4'' in the ''Best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Cappella'' category, extending his record to five consecutive albums with at least one Grammy win.

Early life and education

Jacob Collier was born on 2 August 1994. He grew up in

with two younger sisters. His mother,

Suzie Collier Susan "Suzie" Collier is a British conductor, violinist, and music educator. She has taught at several institutions in the United Kingdom and internationally. In 2021, she was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. Early life and ...

, is a violinist, conductor, and professor at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

's Junior Academy. His maternal grandfather, Derek Collier, was a violinist who also taught at the Royal Academy and performed with orchestras around the world. Collier has said: "We sing

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

chorales together as family—it's just so much fun." He is partly of Chinese descent through his maternal grandmother, Leila Wong. At age 10, Collier portrayed Tiny Tim in the

Arthur Allan Seidelman Arthur Allan Seidelman (born 1937 in New York City) is an American television director, television, film director, film, and theatre director and an occasional writer, producer, and actor. His works are distinguished by a humane, probing, and sympa ...

film ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (2004). At the same time he was performing as a treble singer in classical roles, such as one of the three boys in Mozart's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' and Miles in

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 gothic horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' from January 27 to April 16, 1898. On October 7, 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', publis ...

,'' which influenced his use and understanding of harmony. Of Britten's harmonic language, he said, "My mind was shattered outwards." He received the

ABRSM The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualificat ...

Gold Medal for the highest mark in the country for his grade eight singing result in 2008. Collier attended

Mill Hill County High School Mill Hill County High School, which is what MHCHS stands for, is a large secondary school with academy status located in Mill Hill, London, England. It was the first comprehensive school in the United Kingdom to have had a student accepted on t ...

in north London, and the

Purcell School for Young Musicians The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist private music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozar ...

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

, Hertfordshire. He briefly studied

jazz piano Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

at the Royal Academy.

Career

2011–2015: Early videos

Collier began uploading homemade, multi-instrumental content to YouTube in 2011 with a vocal arrangement of "

Pure Imagination "Pure Imagination" is a song from the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. It was written by British composers Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the movie. It was sung by Gene Wilder, who played the character of ...

" from the 1971 film ''

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart from a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. It stars Gene Wilder as chocolatier Willy Wo ...

'', and in 2013 a multi-instrumental rendition of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's "

". The videos presented split-screen multitrack recordings of Collier singing each part of the arrangements' harmonies. These videos gained attention with the "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" cover receiving millions of views. His musical activity caught the attention of

, who flew Collier to the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

where he was introduced to

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

. In 2015, Collier launched a live show and toured Europe and the US. The performances featured a circle of musical instruments, with six simultaneous looping stations capable of simultaneous playback, backed by synced real-time 3D-captured video loops, projected onto a screen behind the instruments. Central to the show was a custom-built vocal "Harmonizer" instrument that enabled Collier to sing multi-voice harmonies in real-time. The show debuted at

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

in London, and Collier later opened for

and

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

at the 2015

2015–2018: ''In My Room'', world tour, and #IHarmU

In July 2015, Beats by

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

asked Collier to provide music for "The Game Starts Here" England

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

campaign commercial. Collier recorded an ''a cappella'' version of the hymn "

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

" for the commercial, which was shown on national television before each England match. Collier performing live in Montreux 2015

In late 2015, Collier began preparing his debut album ''In My Room'' after performing with WDR Big Band in a concert in Cologne, Germany. He wrote eight of the eleven songs and arranged, recorded and produced the album in the music room of his family home, playing every instrument himself. He recorded and mixed the album over three months. The album was mastered by

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...

and released on 1 July 2016 through independent record label Membran Entertainment Group. Collier embarked on a one-man world tour which included the 2016 Montreux Jazz Festival. In anticipation of the album's release, Collier launched the "#IHarmU" campaign through

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

. 100 patrons sent him 15-second video clips of melodies, which he harmonised with vocal parts on his multi-screen layout and uploaded to social media. Collier received more than 130 melodies and donations, including from British jazz artist

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the f ...

, and

Kevin Olusola Kevin Oluwole Olusola, also known as K.O., (born October 5, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter, beatboxer, and cellist. Olusola is best known as the beatboxer of the a cappella group Pentatonix. After the group won NBC's ''The Sing-Off'' in ...

of the

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements wit ...

. He arranged "White Christmas" for them; it appeared on '' A Pentatonix Christmas and'' won a

Contemporary A Cappella Society The Contemporary A Cappella Society (of America), or CASA, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that fosters and promotes a cappella music of all styles around the world. CASA was founded in October of 1990 by Deke Sharon while attending Tufts ...

award for Best Professional Arrangement by a Non-Scholastic Group. In February 2016, Collier was featured on

Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy is an American jazz fusion band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won five Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalis ...

's album ''

Family Dinner – Volume 2 ''Family Dinner – Volume 2'' is an album by American jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy that was released on February 12, 2016. Track listing All songs arranged by Michael League. Bonus DVD and digital download tracks Personnel * Michael Leag ...

'', playing "Don't You Know." On 22 August, he took part in a Quincy Jones tribute concert at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in London, in which he performed, among others, his orchestral arrangement of his original song "In The Real Early Morning" with the

, conducted by

Jules Buckley Julian "Jules" Buckley (born 8 January 1980) is an English conductor, composer, and arranger. Career In 2004, Buckley and producer/manager Chris Wheeler co-founded the Heritage Orchestra, with the intention of featuring an orchestra in a music ...

. In December 2016, Collier collaborated with 150 students at MIT to produce a live concert in

Kresge Auditorium Kresge Auditorium (MIT Building W16) is an auditorium structure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, with g ...

, titled "Imagination Off the Charts", playing alongside orchestral arrangements of his repertoire. This residency was the subject of a documentary film, ''Imagination Off The Charts'', which won a regional

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

in June 2018. In February 2017, Collier won two

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 ...

for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for the Stevie Wonder song " You and I", and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals for a cover of "

". In March he made his US television debut on ''

The Tavis Smiley Show Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to ...

,'' performing "You And I" with jazz-gospel ''a cappella'' group

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

. Collier re-composed

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

's signature

ringtone A ringtone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming telephone call. Originally referring to the sound of electromechanical striking of bells or gongs, the term refers to any sound by any device alerting of an incoming call. On p ...

, "Over The Horizon", for the

Samsung Galaxy S8 The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ are Android smartphones produced by Samsung Electronics as the eighth generation of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The S8 and S8+ were unveiled on 29 March 2017 and directly succeeded the Samsung Gala ...

/S8+, and was co-producer on two songs from Becca Stevens' album ''Regina''. He helped to score the DreamWorks' film ''

The Boss Baby ''The Boss Baby'' is a 2017 American animated spy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee, it was directed by Tom McGrath from ...

'' with composer

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

. He performed with Zimmer and

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

. Collier toured internationally for two and a half years between 1 July 2015 and 18 December 2017, while hosting masterclasses and performances with orchestras and big bands around the world, including the

. On 9 July, he and

Cory Henry Cory Alexander Henry (born February 27, 1987) is an American jazz organist, pianist, gospel musician, and producer. A former member of Snarky Puppy, Henry launched his solo artist career in 2018 with ''Art of Love'', his first independent re ...

performed with the Metropole Orkest and Jules Buckley at the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is a festival held annually on the second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. The festival moved to Rotterdam in 2006 after the demolition of the Statenhal in The Hague where it was originally held. ...

. In July 2018, he was one of the guests at Quincy Jones's 85th birthday party celebrations at the Montreux Jazz Club. On 19 July, "Jacob Collier and Friends" performed as part of the

at the

in London.

2018–present: ''Djesse'' series

On 29 October 2018, Collier announced a new four-volume, 50-song musical project, entitled ''Djesse''. He titled it as such as a reference to his initials: JC (''Djesse'', with a silent "D", is pronounced like "JC"). '' Djesse Vol. 1'' was released in full on 7 December, and featured the singles "With The Love in My Heart", "Ocean Wide, Canyon Deep" and "All Night Long". The volume features collaborations with various artists and includes The Metropole Orkest on every track. Collier produced, arranged, and orchestrated the music, in addition to singing and playing various instruments. In January 2019, Collier embarked on a world tour in support of the ''Djesse'' series. ''

'' was released on 19 July 2019, featuring musical collaborations with various artists as well as an a cappella arrangement of "

" with over a hundred vocal contributions from family members, mentors, friends, and other collaborators. At the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Ali ...

, ''Djesse Vol. 1'' and ''Vol. 2'' each won a Grammy award for "All Night Long" and "Moon River", respectively. The same year, Collier provided backing vocals for several tracks on

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

's eighth studio album, ''Everyday Life''. '' Djesse Vol. 3'', released on 14 August 2020, features collaborations with various artists and received several Grammy nominations in 2021. It was nominated for the Album of the Year, and the single "All I Need" was nominated for

Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

. "He Won't Hold You" won Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals, making Collier the first British artist to win a Grammy Award for each of his first four albums. In November 2020, Collier released the book ''Songs of Jacob Collier'', featuring solo piano and vocal arrangements for 19 of his compositions. Collier co-wrote and provided background vocals for

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her diaristic lyrics and genre explorations, she has been credited as a prominent figure in influencing contemporary R& ...

's single "

Good Days "Good Days" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA. It was released through Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA on December 25, 2020, as the lead single from her second studio album, ''SOS'' (2022). SZA wrote the song alongside Jacob Collier, ...

," released on 25 December 2020. He also contributed background vocals to Coldplay and

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

's " My Universe", which topped the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

'' in October 2021. This track is part of Coldplay's ninth album '' Music of the Spheres'', which also features Collier on the track "Human Heart." In 2022, he collaborated with British rapper

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...

on the album ''

This Is What I Mean ''This Is What I Mean'' is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released on 25 November 2022, by #Merky and 0207 Def Jam. The album serves as Stormzy's first release under 0207 Def Jam. It features guest appearances from Amaarae, Ayra ...

''. Collier received two nominations at the

65th Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year – October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 – as de ...

: Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals for his single “Never Gonna Be Alone” and Album Of The Year for his contributions to ''Music of The Spheres''. Additionally, he appeared in

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 ...

's documentary film '' Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U'' as one of the special guests. On 2 May 2022, Collier was the subject of

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

television documentary series Imagine..., in the episode ''Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens''. On 29 September 2022, Collier released his first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, ''Piano Ballads (Live From The Djesse World Tour 2022)'', which includes 11 covers largely improvised by Collier on stage, many of which involve a spontaneous audience choir. On 8 December 2023, Collier performed "

Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with " Everything She Wants" in several Eur ...

" at the Royal Christmas Concert at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. ''

'' was released on 29 February 2024. The singles include "Little Blue", featuring

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile (born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her music spans different genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. Throughout her career, she has received eleven Gramm ...

; "Wherever I Go", "Witness Me", "Mi Corazón", and a cover of Paul Simon's "

". At the

2024 Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...

, Collier won the Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals award for "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning". He also performed at the Grammy Awards ceremony, playing "

Both Sides Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. (The earliest commercial release was by Dave Van Ro ...

" with

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

Allison Russell Allison Russell is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, and activist. Prior to her solo music career, Russell performed as a member of various music groups including Po' Girl, Birds of Chicago, Songs of Our Native Daughters, Our Native Daug ...

, SistaStrings,

Blake Mills Blake Mathew Simon Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California. He is known for production and guitar work on albums and singles by many artists, including Fiona Apple, ...

, and

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

Musical style and influences

Collier came from a family of musicians and was introduced to music at an early age. With the support of his mother, he learned to play various instruments and became acquainted with musical concepts. His recording career began in the family home, in a room filled with instruments where his mother used to teach violin lessons. He recorded himself singing and playing instruments, mostly covers of jazz standards or pop songs, using a split screen recording technique to display his vocals, and uploaded the recordings to YouTube. The videos often featured use of

dissonance Dissonance has several meanings related to conflict or incongruity: *Cognitive dissonance is a state of mental conflict. * Cultural dissonance is an uncomfortable sense experienced by people in the midst of change in their cultural environment. *C ...

microtonality Microtonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of twelve equal interv ...

and

polyrhythm Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...

s. His more recent releases, which were also uploaded to streaming services, featured unconventional musical elements such as

and complex chords and progressions, as well as sudden

key Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * K ...

- and time signature changes. His style blended classical music with modern

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and R&B,

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

and

synthwave Synthwave (also called retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with the Film score, film soundtracks of action films, science fiction films, and horror films of the 1980s. ...

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Non-album singles

Guest appearances

Acting and opera credits

Film

Television

Opera

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Jazz FM Awards

MOBO Awards

Notes

References

External links

* – official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Jacob 1994 births Living people 21st-century English composers 21st-century English pianists English male pianists English people of Chinese descent English jazz musicians English pop musicians English rhythm and blues musicians Grammy Award winners Musicians from London