Adam Young (American musician)

Adam Randal Young (born July 5, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.

He is best known as the founder and sole member of electronica project Owl City.

Outside of Owl City, Young has recorded music under different musical projects, most notably Port Blue and Sky Sailing.

In addition to these works, Young was part of the electronica band, Swimming With Dolphins and post-rock band, Windsor Airlift.

Young has also collaborated with numerous musical artists such as Chicane, Armin van Buuren, Schiller and Switchfoot.

Young has composed music for brands such as Apple Inc. and Disney.

Young was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States on July 5, 1986.

He was raised in Owatonna, Minnesota.

He is the son of Joan Young and Randy Young.

He graduated from Owatonna Senior High School and then found work at a Coca-Cola shipping warehouse.

He later worked as a UPS truck driver working night shifts.

He attended a community college for a General Arts Degree.

He began composing melodies in his head while working, which he would then record in his studio in his parents' basement.

Young began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to MySpace, where he started to attract favorable attention for his music.

In 2002, Young formed a pop-punk band with his childhood friends Anthony and Andy Johnson.

Young was the group's drummer and they released their debut EP, The Basement on April 25, 2003.

The group would perform shows at local churches, as well as competing in the Steele County's Battle of the Bands competition in 2003.

He has been credited on several releases with the band, most notably: Selections for a Fallen Soldier Vol. 2, Ocean City Park, Hotels and Beneath the Crystal Waves.

Sky Sailing is a musical project created by Adam Young and began in 2006.

Young wrote and recorded Sky Sailing's songs while he was still a metalworker living with his parents.

In 2006, Young formed an instrumental and ambient music project called Port Blue.

He describes these electronic-based songs as, "dreamscapes."

Young recorded songs for An Airplane Carried Me to Bed in the summer of 2007 before Owl City broke out into the mainstream.

He released his debut album, The Airship, on September 13, 2007.

He released his debut studio album, Maybe I'm Dreaming independently on March 17, 2008.

In February 2009, he signed with Universal Republic.

His second studio album, Ocean Eyes, was released on July 14, 2009 and spawned three singles, most notably "Fireflies".

The song peaked at number one for two non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Young departed the band in 2009 to focus on Owl City.

Once Ocean Eyes became a commercial success in 2009, Young announced that he would re-launch the Sky Sailing project in 2010.

Young called the project, "darker, moodier, and much more organic" than Owl City and is a lot more acoustic.

Upon his return to Sky Sailing, Young uploaded two tracks on MySpace, "Brielle" and "I Live Alone".

On July 13, 2010, he released his debut album An Airplane Carried Me to Bed and was one of the most-downloaded new albums on the week it was released.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 30.

On June 14, 2011, he released his third studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful.

His fourth studio album, The Midsummer Station, was released on August 17, 2012.

The album's lead single, "Good Time" featuring Carly Rae Jepsen, peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

He composed the song "When Can I See You Again?" on Disney's Wreck-It Ralph in 2012.

He released his fifth studio album, Mobile Orchestra on July 10, 2015, which was his last album released under Republic Records before parting ways with the label in 2016.

He subsequently released his next two albums, Cinematic (2018) and Coco Moon (2023) independently.