# 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 Paul van Dyk, Chicane, Armin van Buuren, Schiller, Relient K, Jars of Clay, and Switchfoot. Young has composed music for brands such as Apple and Disney.

## Early life

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. Growing up, he was raised as a Baptist. 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.

## Career
### 2007–present: Owl City

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

### 2002–2009: Windsor Airlift

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

### 2006–2011: Sky Sailing

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

### 2006–2013: Port Blue

In 2006, Young formed an instrumental and ambient music project called Port Blue, creating electronic-based songs that he has described as "dreamscapes". The musical project was inspired by Saxon Shore, Unwed Sailor, Helios, Boards of Canada, and The Album Leaf.
On September 13, 2007, Young released his debut album as Port Blue, The Airship.
On January 10, 2008, Young released an initial follow-up EP, The Albatross.
In 2013, Young released his second EP, The Pacific, on his SoundCloud page.

### 2008–2009: Swimming with Dolphins

In 2008, Young formed an electronica band along with Austin Tofte called Swimming With Dolphins.
On September 2, 2008, Young and Tofte released their debut EP, Ambient Blue. Young produced the EP, which would be the only release on which he was featured.
In 2009, Young left the band to focus on Owl City.

### 2015–2016: Adam Young Scores

On December 18, 2015, Young announced that he would be focusing on a new project titled "Adam Young Scores". During each month of 2016, he composed and recorded a score based on a subject of his choice, which is something he had wanted to accomplish for a long time. Young stated he was originally inspired by the music from Disney films that made him want to create scores of his own. In reflection of this discussion, each song, 10 scores, were all based on historical events that impacted Adam Young in some manner over the time of his entire career as a musical artist and personal lifetime. On February 1, 2016, the first score, Apollo 11, which is based on the Apollo 11 mission, was released on Young's "Adam Young Scores" website. He released his second score, RMS Titanic on March 1, 2016, which is based on the sinking of the Titanic. His third score, The Spirit of St. Louis, was released on April 1, 2016 and is about Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. The Ascent of Everest was released on May 1, 2016, as Young's fourth score. The score is based on the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition and stated that the success of the expedition inspired him to create the score. On June 1, 2016, he released his fifth score, Omaha Beach. He released his sixth score, Miracle in the Andes on July 1, 2016. On August 1, 2016, he released his seventh score, Project Excelsior. He released his eighth score, Corduroy Road on September 1, 2016 and is based on the American Civil War. On October 1, 2016, he released his ninth score, Voyager 1 which is based on the first Voyager program launched by NASA in 1977. He released his tenth score, Mount Rushmore on November 1, 2016 and was inspired by the carved sculptures of four US presidents in Mount Rushmore. The Endurance was released on December 1, 2016 as the eleventh and final score. It is based on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914.

### Other side projects and collaborations

Young recorded music under the name Insect Airport. He has also done multiple screamo projects such as Aquarium and Novel, as well as played drums for a band called Isle. Young has experimented with comedy rap projects such as Charlton Heston and the Blast Beats, the Wellington Giggle-Bomb Experience and Apes with Guns. In 2004, he formed an electronic project called The Atlantic with Andy and Tony Johnson and released the album, I'll Set Out on an Ocean Voyage. In 2015, Young released an album titled, Mr. Wolf Is Dead, under the name Color Therapy. Other lesser known projects Young has created include, Dolphin Park, Keehar, The Grizzly and Seagull Orchestra.
Young was featured on the single "Middledistancerunner" by English electronic musician Chicane and was released on July 30, 2010. He also worked with Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called "Youtopia" which was released as a single on November 28, 2011. In 2012, he was featured on the single "Eternity" by Paul van Dyk. In 2013, Young worked with Apple in creating some of their ringtones and system alerts on the iOS 7. In 2015, Young co-wrote and co-produced the single "Mr. Heartache" by Sekai no Owari which appeared on their fourth studio album, Lip. In 2018, Didrick released the single "Ready to Fly" which featured guest vocals from Young. Young sang a cover of "Gone" by Switchfoot and was released on September 15, 2023, on the deluxe edition of The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version).

## Musical styles and influences

Young has experimented with different genres of music. His music under Owl City has been described as dancepop, electronica and synthpop. Comparisons have been made to the Postal Service for its combination of fuzzy synths and ironic lyrics. Young also incorporates faith into his music, as well as experimenting with EDM. He cites Mark Schultz and Nichole Nordeman as Christian influences for his music. Young stated he was inspired by dance music and listens to a lot of trance DJs. He cites early influence from Dashboard Confessional. He also took inspiration from movie soundtracks and film scores which later inspired him to create scores of his own in 2016. He cited the 2003 film Finding Nemo as what inspired him to make music. Lyrically, he takes inspiration from reading the dictionary which allows him to "dream up an entire scenario or 'world' around it."
His side project Sky Sailing has been described as acoustic with fewer electronic elements compared to Owl City. He has also created instrumental and ambient music projects such as Port Blue and Color Therapy, with the former being influenced from bands like Unwed Sailor, Boards of Canada and Hammock. He played pop punk music with the band Windsor Airlift before they shifted their sound to post-rock. His music under the names Aquarium and Novel were described as screamo. His drumming for the band Isle was influenced by the bands Botch, Pelican, Neurosis and Isis.

## Awards and nominations

Young's album Ocean Eyes was nominated for Top Dance/Electronic Album of the Year at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. "When Can I See You Again?", a song he composed for the 2012 film Wreck It Ralph, was nominated for Best Original Song at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards in 2012. He was a recipient for the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production in 2013.

## Personal life

Young is a devout Christian and has stated that his faith is the only thing more important to him than music. He still lives in Owatonna, Minnesota. He describes himself as introverted and believes he has symptoms of Asperger syndrome. However, he has not been officially diagnosed. Young enjoys photography and considers himself to be an amateur photographer. On June 3, 2022, Young married photographer Abbey Olmsted in his hometown.

## Discography

as Owl City
* Maybe I'm Dreaming (2008)
* Ocean Eyes (2009)
* All Things Bright and Beautiful (2011)
* The Midsummer Station (2012)
* Mobile Orchestra (2015)
* Cinematic (2018)
* Coco Moon (2023)
Adam Young Scores
* Apollo 11 (2016)
* RMS Titanic (2016)
* The Spirit of St. Louis (2016)
* The Ascent of Everest (2016)
* Omaha Beach (2016)
* Miracle in the Andes (2016)
* Project Excelsior (2016)
* Corduroy Road (2016)
* Voyager 1 (2016)
* Mount Rushmore (2016)
* The Endurance (2016)
as Port Blue
* The Airship (2007)
as Sky Sailing
* An Airplane Carried Me to Bed (2010)
as Color Therapy
* Mr. Wolf is Dead (2015)
with Swimming With Dolphins
* Ambient Blue (2008)
with Windsor Airlift
* Selections for a Fallen Soldier (2003)
* Moonfish Parachutist (2004)
* Selections for a Fallen Soldier Vol. 2 (2004)
* Qui! (2005)
Other appearances
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Notes |
| "Middledistancerunner" | 2010 | Chicane | Giants | Guest vocals |
| "Youtopia" | 2010 | Armin van Buuren | Mirage | Guest vocals, songwriter |
| "Eternity" | 2012 | Paul van Dyk | Evolution | Additional production, composer, guest vocals |
| "Blinding Light" | 2012 | Switchfoot | Vice Re-Verses | Remixing |
| — | 2012 | Dispatch | Circles Around the Sun | Additional drum programming, mixing, production |
| "Alive" | 2012 | Schiller | Sonne | Guest vocals |
| "If I Fall Down" | 2012 | Outasight | Nights Like These | Producer |
| "Mr. Heartache" | 2015 | Sekai no Owari | Lip | Songwriter, producer |
| "Ready to Fly" | 2018 | Didrick | Non-album single | Guest vocals |
| "Gone" | 2023 | Switchfoot | The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) | Guest vocals |