Andy Grammer

Early life and education

Andrew Charles Grammer was born in Los Angeles, the son of Kathryn Willoughby and recording artist Robert Crane "Red" Grammer. He is of German and English descent. He grew up in Chester, New York, graduating from Monroe-Woodbury High School. As a child, he learned to play the trumpet and later the guitar and piano. He began writing songs at 15. At 20, he left Binghamton University in Vestal, New York, after unsuccessfully auditioning for the Binghamton Crosbys a cappella group and returned to Los Angeles, where he currently resides. In 2007, he graduated from the California State University, Northridge, with a B.A. in music industry studies.

Musical career

Grammer started as a busker on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and later performed in the Viper Room. He was discovered by his manager Aeety in July 2009 and signed with label S-Curve Records in April 2010. Grammer's popular songs include: "Honey, I'm Good", "Keep Your Head Up", "Fine By Me", "Lunatic", "Ladies", "Biggest Man in L.A.", "Numbers", "Stepping Stone", "Couple More Sleeves", "Fireflies", and "The Pocket".

His debut video "Keep Your Head Up", which featured actor Rainn Wilson, was an iTunes Video of the Week in 2010, and the version of the video on Grammer's website uses an interactive interface that allows the viewer to "send the singer into goofy scenarios". He performed the song on The Rachael Ray Show on November 17, 2010. It has since debuted at No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 Grammer's debut album sales for the first week earned him the No. 1 spot on the Billboard New Artist Chart. He opened for Plain White T's for the second leg of their "Wonders of the Younger" tour in the spring of 2011. In January 2011, he was named an "Artist to Watch" by Billboard magazine. He performed at SXSW 2011, playing BMI's Acoustic Brunch, where he was one of the artists contributing to a recording produced by Hanson to benefit the victims of the 2011 Japan earthquake. He won MTV's "O Music Awards" for most innovative video for his "Keep Your Head Up" video on April 25, 2011.

His debut album, Andy Grammer, was released on June 14, 2011 on S-Curve Records. The self-titled album was produced by Matt Wallace from Maroon 5, Matt Radosevich, Dave Katz, and Sam Hollander of Gym Class Heroes.

On the new album, Grammer says:

He joined Natasha Bedingfield on her Less is More Tour, starting June 2011, and Colbie Caillat on her US and Canada tour, starting August 2011. Grammer opened shows with Kate Voegele and Kevin Hammond. The Grammy Museum, in Los Angeles, featured him for the museum's first installment of its homegrown local artist series starting May 2011.

On November 16, 2011, Grammer announced his 2012 headlining tour. On May 21, 2013, Grammer released a new EP, Crazy Beautiful, which was features two original songs, "Crazy Beautiful" and "I Choose You", and a live version of "Crazy Beautiful". The new EP was released by S-Curve Records.

On March 25, 2014, he debuted "Back Home", the lead single from his second album, Magazines or Novels. The song, co-written with Ryan Met from the group AJR, was released to iTunes on April 8, 2014. The album was released August 5, 2014. He went on the "Siren Songs" tour with Los Angeles-based recording artist Hughie Stone Fish in September 2014.

In November 2014, he released his biggest single to date, "Honey, I'm Good." which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified triple-platinum by the RIAA.

On August 31, 2015, he was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd until an ankle injury forced her to withdraw. His new partner was Allison Holker. Grammer and Holker were eliminated on Week 8 of competition and finished in 7th place.

In addition to his stint on the show, he released a new single "Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah)" on August 24, which was another gold-certified hit for him, and was included on a re-issued deluxe version of his Magazines or Novels album.

On October 27, 2015, he performed the National Anthem prior to the start of the opening game of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. In January 2016, he performed an a cappella version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Denver Broncos–New England Patriots AFC Championship Game in Denver.

2017

On June 9th, 2017 Andy Grammer released his new single featuring LunchMoney Lewis titled "Give Love."

Influences

Of his influences, he said: "I have three different places that I draw inspiration from. There's the guitar guys like Jason Mraz, John Mayer and Jack Johnson; piano influences like Coldplay, The Fray and OneRepublic. I also really love how hip-hop creates complexity in words. I love Common, Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z and Kanye West."

Personal life

Grammer is a member of the Bahá'í Faith. In July 2012, Grammer married singer/songwriter Aijia (née Guttman). In March 2016, his wife auditioned on The Voice and Grammer was interviewed during her pre-performance package. However, she did not advance. On March 1, 2017, Grammer announced that he and his wife Aijia were expecting their first child together, a girl. Their daughter Louisiana K Grammer was born on July 28, 2017.