Martin Johnson (musician)
Martin Bennett Johnson (born September 9, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the bands Boys Like Girls and the Night Game.
Martin Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Martin Bennett Johnson |
| Born | September 9, 1985 Andover, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Member of | Boys Like Girls • The Night Game |
| Spouse(s) | Naomi Johnson |
| Website | martinjohnsonmusic |
He has written and produced for various artists, including Avril Lavigne, Daughtry, Jason Derulo, Christina Perri, Gavin Degraw, and Hot Chelle Rae. Johnson is credited with having several RIAA-certified multi-platinum songs ("The Other Side", "Here's to Never Growing Up", "Two Is Better Than One" (with Taylor Swift), "Love Drunk", "The Great Escape," "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home"). Songs he has written have sold over 10 million copies and he has had nine top 40 charting singles.[1]
Personal life
Martin Johnson was born in Andover, Massachusetts, on September 9, 1985, and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is of English descent.[2] He is married to singer-songwriter Naomi Cooke of the American country music group Runaway June.[3] They have 1 child together.
Career
Boys Like Girls
Johnson is the lead singer and plays guitar for the band Boys Like Girls. The band, which consists of Johnson, Paul DiGiovanni, John Keefe, and Morgan Dorr (as of 2011) was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 2005. Since releasing their debut album in 2006, the band has sold over a million albums and has accumulated over one hundred twenty million plays for their music on MySpace.[4] Johnson produced the band's 2012 record, Crazy World. The group then went on hiatus with Johnson saying the band hasn't broken up and may continue writing and recording.[5] The band has since resumed recording and are expecting to release their fourth studio album in the fall of 2023.
The Night Game
Johnson currently helms the new wave band The Night Game. The band released two singles in 2017, "The Outfield" and "Once In A Lifetime", and toured as an opening act with John Mayer. They also collaborated with Kygo on the song "Kids In Love". On February 1, 2018, The Night Game released a version of "Kids In Love" without Kygo and announced plans for a tour.
Songwriting
Johnson co-wrote, with Taylor Swift, the song "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" from the Hannah Montana Movie soundtrack.[6] Most recently, Johnson produced and co-wrote Avril Lavigne's "Here's to Never Growing Up", Jason Derulo's "The Other Side",[7] Karmin's "Acapella", Mike Posner's "The Way It Used To Be", Gavin Degraw's "Best I Ever Had", and Christina Perri's "Human". In 2016 he collaborated with a cappella group, Pentatonix.
Selected discography
Credits primarily adapted from AllMusic.[8]
| Year | Artist | Title | Album | Label | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Boys Like Girls | "Hero/Heroine" | Boys Like Girls | Columbia | Writer | Debut single, No. 21 at Top 40, sole writer |
| "The Great Escape" | Single, No. 8 at Top 40, RIAA-certified Platinum | |||||
| "Thunder" | Single, No. 22 at Top 40, sole writer | |||||
| 2009 | "Love Drunk" | Love Drunk | Lead single, No. 7 at Top 40, RIAA-certified Platinum | |||
| "Two Is Better Than One" (feat. Taylor Swift) | Single, No. 4 at Top 40, RIAA-certified Platinum, sole writer | |||||
| "Heart Heart Heartbreak" | No. 32 at Top 40 | |||||
| Hannah Montana | "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" | Hannah Montana: The Movie | Walt Disney | RIAA-certified Platinum | ||
| 2010 | Taylor Swift | "If This Was A Movie" | Speak Now (Deluxe Package) | Big Machine | ||
| 2011 | Ariana Grande | "Put Your Hearts Up" | Non-album single | Republic | Debut single | |
| Hot Chelle Rae | "Why Don't You Love Me" (feat. Demi Lovato) | Whatever | RCA | |||
| The Cab | "Bad" | Symphony Soldier | Z Entertainment, Universal Republic | Producer, writer | Lead Single | |
| 2012 | Megan and Liz | "Bad for Me" | Bad for Me | Collective Sounds | Debut single, Top 30 Mediabase (CHR) | |
| Papa Roach | "9th Life" | The Connection | Eleven Seven | Writer | Deluxe edition bonus track | |
| Allstar Weekend | "Life As We Know It" | The American Dream | Diggit | Single | ||
| Boys Like Girls | "Be Your Everything" | Crazy World | Columbia | Producer, writer | Lead single | |
| Victoria Justice | "Make It in America" | Victorious 2.0 | Nickelodeon / Sony / Columbia | Single | ||
| The Used | "Getting Over You" | Vulnerable | Hopeless | Writer | ||
| 2013 | Christina Perri | "Human" | Head or Heart | Atlantic | Producer, writer | Lead single, RIAA-certified Platinum |
| Daughtry | "Baptized" | Baptized | RCA | |||
| "Waiting for Superman" | Lead single, RIAA-certified Platinum | |||||
| "Battleships" | Single | |||||
| "Wild Heart" | ||||||
| "Long Live Rock & Roll" | Promotional single | |||||
| "18 Years" | ||||||
| Gavin DeGraw | "Best I Ever Had" | Make a Move | Lead single | |||
| "Everything Will Change" | ||||||
| Avril Lavigne | "Rock n Roll" | Avril Lavigne | Epic, Sony | Producer | Single | |
| "Here's to Never Growing Up" | Producer, writer | Lead single, RIAA-certified Platinum | ||||
| "17" | ||||||
| "Hello Kitty" | Single | |||||
| "Sippin' on Sunshine" | ||||||
| Emblem 3 | "Just for One Day" | Nothing to Lose | Columbia/SYCO | |||
| "I Love LA" | ||||||
| Mike Posner | "The Way It Used to Be" | Non-album single | RCA | Single | ||
| Karmin | "Acapella" | Pulses | Epic/Sony | Lead single, RIAA-certified Gold | ||
| "Neon Love" | ||||||
| Jason Derulo | "The Other Side" | Tattoos and Talk Dirty | Warner Bros. | Lead single, RIAA-certified Platinum | ||
| Escape The Fate | "Forget About Me" | Ungrateful | Eleven Seven | Writer | ||
| "One for the Money" | ||||||
| Heaven's Basement | "Lights Out in London" | Filthy Empire | Red Bull | |||
| "Welcome Home" | ||||||
| 2014 | Mat Kearney | "One Black Sheep" | Just Kids | Columbia, Republic | ||
| "Billion" | Single | |||||
| Olly Murs | "Beautiful to Me" | Never Been Better | Syco, Epic | Producer, writer | Single | |
| Betty Who | "Glory Days" | Take Me When You Go | RCA | |||
| "A Night to Remember" | ||||||
| "Dreaming About You" | ||||||
| Gavin DeGraw | "You Got Me" | Finest Hour: The Best of Gavin DeGraw | Producer | Lead single | ||
| Jacob Latimore | "Heartbreak Heard Around the World" (feat. T-Pain) | Non-album single | Producer, writer | Single | ||
| Timeflies | "All We Got is Time" | After Hours | Island | |||
| Alex and Sierra | "Scarecrow" | It's About Us | Columbia | Debut single | ||
| 2015 | Pentatonix | "Sing" | Pentatonix | RCA | ||
| "New Year's Day" | ||||||
| Elle King | "America's Sweetheart" | Love Stuff | Single | |||
| Flo Rida | "Once in a Lifetime" | My House | Atlantic | Writer | ||
| 2016 | Hunter Hayes | "Yesterday's Song" | Non-album single | Atlantic, Warner Music Nashville | Lead single | |
| Delta Goodrem | "Heavy" | Wings of the Wild | Sony Music Australia, HouseOfOZ | Producer, writer | Single | |
| 2017 | Kygo | "Kids in Love" | Kids in Love | Sony Music, Ultra Records | Writer | Single |
| 2021 | Lady A | "Like a Lady" | What a Song Can Do | Big Machine | Single | |
| Elle King & Miranda Lambert | "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" | Non-album single | RCA | Producer, writer | Single | |
| 2023 | Taylor Swift | "If This Was A Movie (Taylor's Version)" | Non-album single | Republic | Writer | Re-recorded song |
In addition to the above-listed, Johnson (co-)wrote every track on the following Boys Like Girls albums: Boys Like Girls (2006), Love Drunk (2009), and Crazy World (2012).
References
- "Boys Like Girls: Boys Like Girls: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
- "Martin Johnson News - Latest Pictures of Martin Johnson". Seventeen. 1985-09-09. Archived from the original on 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
- "Runaway June's Naomi Cooke Marries Martin Johnson in Maine: See the Wedding Photos". People. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- "Boys Like Girls | Music Videos, Songs, News, Photos, and Lyrics". MTV. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
- "Concert Spotlight: Interview with The Night Game". Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Hot Chelle Rae - Whatever - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
- "Martin Johnson | Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 11 October 2016.