Gallant (singer)

Early life and education

Gallant was born in Washington, D.C. When he was in elementary school, he and his family moved to Columbia, Maryland. He attended Atholton High School and participated in drama and choir. He started recording songs during middle school. He was influenced by R&B artists and then later alternative rock while growing up.

In 2013, he graduated from New York University where he studied music.

Career

In the fall of 2013, Gallant moved to Los Angeles, California to work on a career in music.

In 2014, he self-released his debut EP, Zebra, which he describes as "a sonic diary about dealing with the aftermath of New York". Soon thereafter, he was discovered by Mind of a Genius Records founder David Dann.

His single, "Weight in Gold", was played by Zane Lowe on Beats1's first air date in June 2015.

In 2015, Gallant toured with Sufjan Stevens on his North American tour, where he performed 18 shows throughout the country.

Following the debut of "Weight in Gold" and a North American tour with Sufjan Stevens, Gallant was named one of 15 artists that Spotify believed were destined to "breakout" in 2016.

He is also featured in Zhu's (another Mind of a Genius Records artist) "Testarossa Music" from the Genesis Series EP. Gallant was also announced as the opener for Zhu's "Neon City" tour, spanning April and May in venues throughout America, beginning with Coachella.

On February 5, 2016, Gallant and Jhené Aiko released their first collaborative song, "Skipping Stones." The track was produced by Adrian Younge and co-produced by Stint (a frequent producer for Gallant), and features Gallant's signature falsetto style with specks of bold vocals and Jhené's signature soothing, a cappella-esque vocals. The song is licensed under Red Bull Media House and featured in its Red Bull Sound Select collection along with the B-side "Borderline".

Gallant performed both weekends of Coachella in 2016, which Billboard named the number one moment of the entire festival. Weekend one included a surprise appearance from Seal, where the pair performed Seal's song "Crazy" and Gallant's song "Weight in Gold". The following weekend, included a surprise appearance from Jhené Aiko where the pair performed their collaboration "Skipping Stones".

In the Room

On January 6, 2016, Gallant debuted the first episode of his new series In the Room with Sufjan Stevens. The pair performed Stevens' song "Blue Bucket of Gold". Gallant partnered with Spotify for the second episode, which featured Seal and premiered on March 9, 2016. Gallant and Seal performed Gallant's hit song "Weight in Gold". At the end of the episode, Seal claimed that he was Gallant's biggest fan.

Gallant described the In the Room series as "an ongoing collaborative project – a chance to both pay tribute to and create something special with the artists that have inspired me the most".

Ology

Gallant's debut studio album, Ology, was released on April 6, 2016 by Mind of a Genius Records. The album received critical acclaim, including a rating of 7.5/10 from Pitchfork, a rating 4/5 from The Guardian, which states, “If this is what R&B’s future looks like it’s brighter than ever”. Also, Entertainment Weekly named Ology one of the 25 best albums of 2016 (so far). The album was given praise given for his distinct and diverse sound, voice, and lyricism.

On May 12, 2016, Gallant made his national television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Gallant performed "Weight in Gold", which ended with a standing ovation from the audience. Fallon ended the show praising Gallant's performance with the quote, “Oh my goodness! I told you… Watch out for this guy [GALLANT]!”.

In September 2016, Gallant performed "Bourbon" and "Weight in Gold" for the BBC on Later... with Jools Holland. On December 2, 2016, Gallant was a Special Artist at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards, singing "Weight In Gold."

In January 2017, he was chosen as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month and on January 11, appeared on and performed "Weight in Gold" live on NBC's Today show with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb. On January 26, he released "Cave Me In" in collaboration with Epik High's Tablo and Eric Nam.

Discography