Meet Adam Young. The self-described “shy boy from the middle of nowhere in southern Minnesota,” who records under the name Owl City, just hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with his sweet-natured laptop-pop single “Fireflies.” “It’s pretty surreal!” laughs Young, 23. The Music Mix called him up to find out how he got from Owatonna to the top of the charts — and ask how he feels about being constantly compared to the Postal Service.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Take us through your backstory. You’re from a tiny town in Minnesota?
OWL CITY: Yup. It’s about 15,000 or 16,000 people. It is about an hour south of Minneapolis, so it’s basically in Iowa. I actually still live there. I got my own place a few months ago. It’s a cozy, quiet place. Music really isn’t a big deal there. It was kind of removed from the world. I think it’s been good, because it’s given me an unbiased perspective in terms of writing.
How were you exposed to music when you were growing up? Did you listen to the radio or watch TV?
Probably radio a little bit more than TV. It was sort of just whatever was playing in the room — whatever my parents had on. I grew up an only child, so I never had siblings that played instruments or anything. I had a few friends in high school that dabbled in music. Initially I was inspired by a friend of mine to learn to play guitar so that both of us could jam together and cover old Blink-182 songs and stuff. That’s what got me interested very early on.
What do your parents do for a living?
My mom is an English as a Second Language elementary teacher, and my dad is a mechanic.
What kind of music did they listen to when you were growing up?
They listened to a lot of oldies radio. I remember liking the Beatles and the Beach Boys, some Johnny Cash, James Taylor, stuff like that.
You’ve said that you were a shy kid. What was high school like for you?
It wasn’t the most comfortable four years of my life. I was kind of a loner. I still am, a little bit. My list of friends wasn’t that extensive in high school. I wasn’t involved in sports or extracurricular stuff, so music became my best friend. I would race home from school and work on songs, and that’s what kept me really close to the idea of being an artist.
What kind of music were you making at that point?
Very early on, it was a lot of acoustic guitar, emo-ish, lovey-dovey songs. I was really big into the early Dashboard Confessional music. My very early stuff probably sounded a lot like it was influenced by Dashboard.
Once you graduated high school, did you go to college?
I took a swing at it for a year and a half. I went to a little community college in my hometown. I went for my general arts degree. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do specifically, so I just started to go to school for nothing, just for the sake of going, with hopes that something would catch on. I was working a dead-end job at the time. It just wasn’t really working for me. I was spending more thought thinking about my music in between my job and school than I was paying attention to my schoolwork. So that kinda went down the drain. But I gave it a shot, so my mom is grateful for at least that. [Laughs]
What was the dead-end job you were working?
I was loading trucks in a warehouse for Coca-Cola, a big bottling company warehouse. I started there after I graduated high school in 2005, so I worked there for two years or so. And then I also worked a night shift in a warehouse at UPS, loading trucks for them. I’ve had a warehouse-heavy past career. I’m grateful for what I’m doing now, needless to say.
You’ve said that you started focusing on making music in your parents’ basement around 2007. How did that happen?
In terms of all things Owl City, I started writing electronica music just on a whim. I hadn’t really delved into the world of programming and sequencing, and the endless roads that you can take via electronic music, so I thought it would be fun to take a stab at it. I got a sequencing program and wrote what turned out to be seven songs for an EP’s worth of music. I put that stuff out there on MySpace and didn’t really do much with it, just let people discover it. The response that came in was incredible. One thing led to another. I can remember going into work six months later, where I worked for Coca-Cola, and putting in my two weeks — telling my boss, “This has been great, and I’ve been grateful for the work, but I’m on to something else.” I remember the look I got when I told him I was making music and I was hoping I could run with that for a while. I remember walking out of that place, and it was the best feeling in the world.
What happened after that?
From there, things just started to grow. After the first EP, I put a record out on iTunes in March of 2008. That was received a lot better than I had expected. From then on, it was onward and upwards. I got some record-label interest, took a few trips out to New York to talk to some different labels. Wound up with Universal Republic, and have been totally thrilled with them.
How did you end up making “Fireflies” and the other songs on your most recent album?
“Fireflies” was inspired by a camping trip I took up to a totally rustic and kind of remote lake in northern Minnesota, where there isn’t really much of anything. I can remember sleeping out on a dock on the edge of this lake and looking up at the sky. There was a meteor shower that night. I remember thinking, what a cool idea of shooting stars being fireflies, and trying to translate that into music. That’s what spurred it on. I was also influenced by the lack of sleep that tends to happen.
How does that inspire you?
I tend to find myself the most creatively alert when I’m having trouble sleeping. That’s probably the cause of it. I’m not clinically diagnosed or anything with insomnia, but when I’m lying awake at night and I get the tiniest spark of an idea for a new song or a new lyric or something, I can’t go to sleep until I run to the studio and get it out of my head. I’m always afraid I’m going to forget an idea I had. That keeps me awake a lot, for better or for worse.
When you recorded “Fireflies” and the rest of this album, were you still recording in your parents’ basement?
Yeah. I actually recorded three-fourths of the current album in my parents’ basement. Then I got a place of my own and finished it up. The story behind it is not very glamorous. My parents live in a 104-year-old Victorian farmhouse in a really old, unfinished basement that I had sort of taken over. I remember recording during winter and having to unplug the furnace because it was so loud and I needed to get the room to be quiet. [Laughs] The whole house got 30 degrees and my parents weren’t too happy. But they’re not complaining now, so it’s all good!
With “Fireflies” getting bigger and bigger in the last few weeks, how has that affected your life?
It’s been so surreal to sit back and watch that take off. The idea of writing a new record and coming out with new singles is a little bit daunting, just because of how it may or may not be received. But watching that song take off by itself is incredible. Every night out here on the road, people sing that song back to me the loudest. It’s like a church congregation, almost. People are singing so passionately. They know every word. It’s totally crazy.
Are you on tour now?
Yep, I’m just finishing up a sweep of the States here. We have three shows left in the South, then we have two weeks off, then we head over to China and Japan in the last half of November.
Have you ever been to those countries?
No, never have. I haven’t been outside the country other than to Canada. I’m excited!
Have you had time to start setting down ideas for a new record?
A little bit. I’ve been fooling around on the keyboard during soundcheck. I definitely have some things that I’m excited to get back home to the studio and lay out and let sit for a little bit.
A lot of people have compared your music to the Postal Service. Are you a fan of theirs?
Yeah. It’s funny, because the more I hear people relating the two, the more I realize that they are pretty similar — even though that wasn’t my initial goal or anything. I definitely respect Ben [Gibbard] and everything he’s done. I’m probably a lot more of a Death Cab fan than I am a Postal Service fan. It’s an honor to be put in the same sentence with the Postal Service. What they did was incredible.
Had you heard the Postal Service album before you worked on your stuff?
A little bit. I’ve become more of a fan having started Owl City, actually. I had some friends in high school that would have it playing in their cars and stuff. It was cool, but it never really caught my ear. It’s kind of ironic, looking back at it, because a lot of people do relate the two projects. I can totally see it now, but I didn’t really then, for what it’s worth.
A lot of people wish they would put out another album. Is that something you would look forward to hearing?
Yeah. Having really dug into what the Postal Service did and what they were about, I think what they did was so brilliant. I think that record left everyone asking, “What are they going to do next?” Since no one has done anything quite like it, it’s almost like everyone is naturally saying this is the next step — maybe that’s me, maybe that’s this record. I have often asked myself what would they have done, had they come out with another record.
Are there any other musicians you’d like to work with going forward?
I would be a liar if I didn’t say Taylor Swift. It would be awesome to work with her, maybe do a guest vocalist thing. That would be incredible. I’m a big fan.
Anything else you’ve listened to lately that’s caught your ear?
I’m a big fan of film score music. I’ve really been into the soundtrack for that movie Finding Nemo. My influences in terms of listening are a little bit scattered. [Laughs] Recently that’s what I’ve been really into.
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
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Watch Jay-Z and Alicia Keys perform “Empire State of Mind” at the World Series
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Comments (1-30) of 51 Add your comment
What a quirky, shy, nice guy!
Kinda refreshing to see someone so deprived of an ego, and management control, and public images concerns speak. It feels like one of my high schools friends made a number one song and got interviewed, lol.
I wish him luck, It’s becoming rare to find this kind of personality on the world, let alone music.
Glad to see him getting all this success – now maybe he can afford some food to eat…eek
His name is Adam Young? I was wondering where the Anti-Christ went. Do you suppose that Brian, Pepper and Wensleydale make up the rest of his band?
A++ comment. Would LOL again.
geez that fireflies song is annoying
Glad I’m not the only one that thinks so!! Whew!
I can’t stand this song either! I hate his voice.
That accent is annoying. And I’m American.
GOSH you guys are so negative! fireflies is my all time favorite song now and do you have ANY idea how famous it is? its on the radio all the time!!!!
I love the melody and the total sound, but the lyrics are pretty bad:
“Cause I’d get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance
A fox trot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread”.
Puleez!
This song is the absolute worst. Somehow I manage to come across it on the radio daily, and it makes my skin crawl. ANYONE could have written this crap.
then why didnt u retard…if u think this song is so bad why dont u take a crack at the music industry biznitch
Ew this song is terrible! So boring and white bread with some of the lamest lyrics I have ever heard.
I think it sounds like Postal Service too, which is why I’ve never heard the entire song. Snooze.
It’s too bad no one seems to just appreciate Adam’s music for what it is. As a longtime fan, I certainly know that “Fireflies” isn’t the best of Owl City. But the point of their music is to put you in a good mood, it’s candy for your ears. Adam is an extremely talented, sincere, nice guy, and it’s too bad his music is so underappreciated.
you go girl!!!
amen to that!!!!!!!!!!
ok, owl city is fine, but basically i think it is “postal service lite”. postal service for lemmings. this guy isn’t half the lyricist ben gibbard is, nor are his beats quite as unique. keep trying, man. maybe you will get there someday.
Fangirl harder, why don’t you?
I heard this song on the radio a few weeks back and between shouts of disgust, my exact thought was, “Wow, Death Cab aren’t even trying anymore, are they?” Turns out it was by Owl City. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s extremely cheesy and unoriginal.
You just can’t appreciate it is what you are really saying. Cut him some slack!
Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean its a bad song. People need to stop being to arrogant.
I have never ever even heard OF this song, let alone heard it. How the hell did it knock of Britney. It better be awesome…
Everyone needs to grow a brain, and maybe a pair of ears. You clearly wouldn’t know a good song if it bit you in the butt
Those were the exact words I was looking for
could i agree more???
Wow!!! People can be really mean… If you don’t like the song what are you doing on this site?????? I heard this song before I knew who sang it and loved it!!! Then a few minutes later I found out he’s from my hometown….Great Job!!!!!!!!!
He seems like such a cool guy and very into what he loves. Fireflies is so quirky and I really like it. It’s different.
The song is decent, but with all the attention it’s getting, it makes me wonder why the Postal Service didn’t receive the same attention. Glad he’s successful though. More power to him.
My thoughts exactly. Maybe it’s because the Postal Service appeals more to an entirely different crowd of people than Owl City does, in terms of how the latter’s fanbase is mostly composed of teenaged girls, who have a tendency to over-hype things. Still a nice guy.
To all the firefly haters out there; he’s got better stuff on the rest of his album. And the postal service had much darker lyrics to this – but glad that he’s doing well after all these years
It kinda cracks me up because one day I was on the iTunes store page and they were giving away “Fireflies” as a free track. Who would’ve known about 2-3 months later this would be one of the hottest songs on the radio? When I first heard it, I thought Ben Gibbard formed another side project. Thought the song was interesting, but didn’t expect it to take off like it did. iTunes definitely sets the trends.
Fireflies is just his “pop hit”. Most of his other stuff is even better, some of it brilliant. He sounds nothing like Postal Service aside from being techno. I’m glad to learn that he’s not really an insomniac, just gets excited by his ideas and can’t sleep. I’m exactly the same way. That’s a sign of really good ideas. I hope he doesn’t run out of them because he’s the first musician I’ve become excited about in decades.
I really like Hello Seattle…….
Are you kidding me? He heard Postal Service “A little bit”? This kid repped Postal Service/Death Cab back in the day without a DOUBT. Not only do the beats sound ridiculously similar, but he has the same whiny voice affectation as Ben Gibbard. Nobody ACCIDENTALLY sings like that. The only reason this is more popular than Postal Service ever was is because this is being marketed as straight pop, while PS was marketed as Indie Pop. Plus, Owl City lyrics are completely brainless and terrible. The masses love stuff they don’t have to think about.
He seems like such a sweet guy! I love every single song by Owl City!
I love the song. When i heard it it made me interested to know more about the band. i’ve gotta admit i had to do some research to see if it was the singer from the postal service/death cab. but its not. but..i love the song, cant wait to hear more.
to all those anti-fans up there, don’t you guys have anything better to do than pretend you know what you’re talking about? i bet half of you are failed musicians and songwriters yourselves, trying to make yourselves feel better by putting down artists that actually made it. the feeling of being kept awake by an idea or an inspiration is honest and simple, therefore so is the song, you don’t need to start putting limits on the idea by tying it up with unnecessarily poetic and complex lyrics, you just say what you mean.
and “the masses love stuff they don’t have to think about”??? you sound like some doofus mob psychologist. if the music connects with you in some way, then to it’s relevant to you, you’re not supposed to try and struggle to convince your opinion on a song by thinking it through over and over, looking for anything to either praise or criticise.
very well put ‘youllneverknowwho’. Pop music, like any other artform, can be done well, it can also be done badly. I think this is a well-crafted pop tune, that borrows from his influences, yes, but adds his own flavor. Its all been done before anyway folks, i dont care how ‘indie”metal’ or pop you are, you will sound like something. Well done Adam, keep up the good work!
Wow! When did popular music that doesn’t involve brainless naked twits or posing gangsters become such a crime? Catchy, fun, a lovely melody and different from what is on the radio. Why does that inspire such bile? If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Change the station. Why the meltdowns? I doubt that Owl City ever did anything to prevent any other artist or band from doing well or reaching the masses. People, curb the crazy.
Sad that he had to rip of the Postal Service’s sound. Sadder that so few people listen to original music or see original movies and rip-offs like this go to #1.
My Guess is that you use Mosaic to browse the internet? I mean someone who is so into originals would probably not use any other browser.
Or perhaps you use Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer 6?
Maybe you didn’t read the article – but it has already been noted that, “A lot of people have compared your (Owl Cities) music to the Postal Service.”
Sad that you can’t come up with your own thoughts and had to rip off other peoples.
It’s nice to read that he’s not that big of a Postal Service fan or even knew much about them yet blatantly ripped them off.
He would be sick to chill with. I would probably agree with Fireflies not being the best song. The Saltwater Room is faaaaar better.
I would like to make a few comments on the statements regarding music not being a big deal in owatonna. Music is a very big deal in owatonna, the high school choir, orchestra, and band are the pride of the town. There are numerous community and senior bands that play in parks and such just about every week. There are many bands underground bands that are there too. There is blues rock, hardcore, punk, death metal, you name it. and as for getting “big” although Adam is the largest, he is not the only one. For example, Kevin Skaff is in A Day To Remember (signed to Victory Records); and Camera Can’t Lie is signed to Atlantic Records. The town is even home to Wenger, a company that designs and produces musical products.
As another person from Owatonna, I would like to correct Young. Owatonna is nearly 30,000, twice the size of what he described. As the person above stated, Owatonna is very proud of its music programs, which are quite good. In addition, I would argue that Young is not the largest artist out of Owatonna; Craig Minowa, the leader singer of Cloud Cult, has been producing albums much longer and will continue to long after Young has faded away.
I’m from his Owatonna which is the town he is from and I would just like to say that it is not in the middle of nowhere. We’re located on I-35 which is one of the largest interstates in the country and we have more than 16,000 people here. Our population is close to 30,000 and we’re NOT right by Iowa. To get to Iowa you have to drive about an hour south. Just thought I’d give you some perspective on this subject.
o tired of the ubiquitous ‘rip off’ accusations that you see in connection with everything you read about Owl City. If you can jump down off of your high horse and take a quick listen to some of the people listed as ‘influences’ on OC’s MySpace page it is very easy to see how it is possible to come up with his sound without ever having given The Postal Service a second thought, Kazumi Totaka (of video game fame) is mentioned and I never heard anything more like the beginning of ‘Fireflies’ than the ’secret song’ found in his ‘Pikmin2′ game. DJ Encore is another influence that shows up obviously in Ocean Eyes. As far as the singing goes, Youngs voice is marginal and I honestly don’t think he could sing much differently if he tried. This young man has managed to fuze so many genres together to come up with winsome, whimsical music. It’s not the musical main course. It’s the dessert.