Jake Shears (born October 3, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the male lead singer of pop-rock band

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) ...

Early life

Shears was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community ...

, the son of an entrepreneur father and a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

mother (Freida Sellards). He grew up on San Juan Island, Washington, where he attended school at Friday Harbor High School and was bullied. His "first real concert was

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. Q (maga ...

". At the age of 18, he moved into a dorm at the Northwest School in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, to finish high school. Shears later attended

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

. At the age of 19, he traveled to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, to visit a classmate, who introduced him to Scott Hoffman. Shears and Hoffman hit it off immediately and moved to New York a year later.

Career

Early work

Shears attended New York's

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, commonly referred to as Lang, is the seminar-style, undergraduate, liberal arts college of The New School. It is located on-campus in Greenwich Village in New York City on West 11th Street off 6th Avenue. ...

, where he studied fiction writing and was a classmate of

Travis Jeppesen Travis Jeppesen is an American novelist, poet, artist, and art critic. He is known, among other works, for his novel '' The Suiciders''; a non-fiction novel about North Korea, ''See You Again in Pyongyang''; and for his object-oriented writing work ...

. He also wrote pieces for the gay magazine ''HX''. In 2000, he worked as a music reviewer for ''Paper'' magazine.

Scissor Sisters

Shears and Hoffman formed

in 2001 as a performance art stunt, playing outrageous shows in clubs like Luxx, the heart of the electroclash scene in Williamsburg,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, where Shears lived. After a couple years struggling in New York (working with the record label A Touch of Class, who produced "Comfortably Numb" and "

Filthy/Gorgeous "Filthy/Gorgeous" is a song by American pop- rock band Scissor Sisters. It is the seventh track on their self-titled debut album. Released as the album's fifth and final single in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2005, the song peaked at number ...

"), Scissor Sisters finally found success in the United Kingdom and Ireland, ending 2004 with the biggest-selling album of the year in the UK. In concert, Shears is known for provocative dancing, flamboyant outfits, and near nudity. (During his early years while he was struggling to make it in New York, he would often earn extra money as a

Go-go dancer Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo located in Juan-les-Pins. The bar's name was tak ...

and male

erotic dancer An erotic dance is a dance that provides erotic entertainment and whose objective is the stimulation of erotic or sexual thoughts or actions in viewers. Erotic dance is one of several major dance categories based on purpose, such as ceremo ...

at male

strip clubs Strip or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...

.) Shears' musical influences include

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

, Blondie,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band wen ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and ...

The New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succ ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album '' She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to ach ...

, Madonna,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. The Scissor Sisters video for ''

'' was directed by

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film ''Hedwig and the ...

after Shears met him at a gathering of the Radical Faeries. Shears attended

Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's "stag" party before John's

civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

ceremony with David Furnish in 2005. John and Shears discussed each other in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' in 2006.

Other work

Shears performed with

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member ...

's Andy Bell on "Thought It Was You", on Bell's 2005 album '' Electric Blue''. He has also collaborated with Tiga on "

Hot in Herre "Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the first single from his second studio album '' Nellyville'' (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the produce ...

", "You Gonna Want Me", and "What You Need" from Tiga's album '' Ciao!''. He also worked on Finnish house musician Luomo's "If I Can't". Together with Babydaddy, he co-wrote with

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

on her

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" I Believe in You" for her greatest hits compilation '' Ultimate Kylie''. Shears and Minogue also co-wrote "Too Much" with

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, '' I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

for Minogue's number one album ''

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...

''. In 2011, Shears collaborated with John Garden to write the music for a musical version of the book ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally seria ...

''. The show is directed by Jason Moore. Shears was featured on the track "Metemya" of Amadou and Mariam's 2012 album ''

Folila ''Folila'' is the sixth studio album by Mali musicians Amadou & Mariam. The title means "music" in Bambara.Tsioulcas, AnastasiaFirst Listen: Amadou And Mariam, 'Folila' NPR. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012. Recording ''Folila'' was original ...

''. Shears also wrote the foreword to the award-winning '80s

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

vinyl cover art book '' Put the Needle on the Record''. In 2013, he appeared on the

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line ...

album '' ...Like Clockwork'', providing backing vocals on the song "Keep Your Eyes Peeled". He duetted with

on the track " Take it Like a Man" for her 2013 album ''

Closer to the Truth ''Closer to the Truth'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by American singer and actress Cher. It was released on September 20, 2013 by Warner Bros. Records. Opting to re-establish her music career, she began planning the project in 2011, shortly ...

''. In October 2017, Shears released his first song as a solo artist, "Creep City". In January 2018, Shears made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut starring in '' Kinky Boots.'' The next month Shears published his autobiography, ''Boys Keep Swinging''. Shears released his eponymous debut solo album on August 10, 2018. In March 2019 Shears toured with

as part of her

Golden Tour The Golden Tour was the fifteenth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her fourteenth studio album, ''Golden'' (2018) and visited Europe and Australia. It began on 18 September 2018 in Newca ...

. In January 2020 he appeared as the "Unicorn" on ITV's ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', finishing in 6th place. Shears released the single "Meltdown" in February 2020.

Personal life

Shears

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as gay to his parents at the age of 15 at the urging of

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes '' Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husb ...

, who later called his advice "the worst I've ever given" due to the negative reaction of Shears' parents. In 2010, Shears participated in Savage's

It Gets Better Project It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, m ...

. In 2012, Shears was interviewed about his experience. He spoke about his good friend

Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator from the Vanderbilt family. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news broadcast show '' Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties a ...

and said he felt gay celebrities "at least have the responsibility to come out". Shears was in a relationship with

Chris Moukarbel Chris Moukarbel is an American director and producer. He is best known for his 2017 film '' Gaga: Five Foot Two'', a critically acclaimed documentary about American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. His first feature documentary '' Me at the Zoo'' pr ...

from 2004 to 2015. At Brighton Pride 2022, Shears announced live that he had received a 5 year visa to live in the UK.

Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable" , + Awards and nominations for Jake Shears ! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result !! Ref. , - , 2007 ,

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ven ...

Music Awards , Himself , Most Fanciable Male , , , - , 2018 ,

Best Art Vinyl Best Art Vinyl is an annual award that began in 2005. It celebrates artists and designers of vinyl record cover art. The nomination process begins in November and the winners are announced in January, and are exhibited at venues across the United K ...

, ''

Jake Shears Jake Shears (born October 3, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the male lead singer of pop-rock band Scissor Sisters. Early life Shears was born in Mesa, Arizona, the son of an entrepreneur father and a Baptist moth ...

'' , Best Art Vinyl , , , - , 2019 , Classic Pop Readers' Awards , ''Boys Keep Swinging'' , Book of the Year , , , - , 2022 , Berlin Music Video Awards , "All I Want" , Best Director , ,

Discography

Albums

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , + List of albums, with selected details and chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;", Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;", Details ! scope="col" colspan="2", Peak chart positions , - ! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:90%", UK
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:90%", UK
Ind.
, - ! scope="row", ''

'' , * Released: 10 August 2018 * Label: Freida Jean Records * Formats: CD, digital download,

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

, 20 , , 4

Extended plays

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , + List of extended plays, with selected details ! scope="col" style="width:10em;", Title ! scope="col" style="width:16em;", Details , - ! scope="row", ''B-Sides'' , * Released: 18 October 2019 * Label: Freida Jean Records * Formats: digital download, streaming

Singles

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" , + List of singles ! scope="col" style="width:1em;", Year ! scope="col" style="width:30em;", Title ! scope="col", Album , - , 2013 ! scope="row", "Disappearer"
(AVEC featuring Jake Shears) , , - , 2015 ! scope="row", "

The Other Boys "The Other Boys" is a song performed by Australian twin sisters Nervo (DJs), Nervo featuring Kylie Minogue, Jake Shears and Nile Rodgers. It's included on their debut studio album, ''Collateral (album), Collateral''. The remix single was release ...

"
( NERVO featuring

, Jake Shears and Nile Rogers) , ''

Collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

'' , - , rowspan="3" , 2018 ! scope="row", "Creep City" , rowspan="3" , ''Jake Shears'' , - ! scope="row", "Sad Song Backwards" , - ! scope="row", "Big Bushy Mustache" , - , 2020 ! scope="row", "Meltdown" , , - , rowspan="2" , 2021 ! scope="row", "Do the Television" , , - ! scope="row", "Neon Lights"
(with Annie) , '' Neon Lights''

Tours

Supporting act *

–

(2019)

References

External links

Official Scissor Sisters website
*
Shear Madness – ''Out Magazine'' interview with Shears
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shears, Jake 1978 births Living people 21st-century American singers American male singers American rock singers American tenors Countertenors American gay musicians Ivor Novello Award winners LGBT dancers LGBT people from Arizona LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Occidental College alumni Radical Faeries members Scissor Sisters members Singers from Arizona 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people