Jack Metzger

Jack Evan Metzger Though Metzger is his family name, he often refers to his last name as Met since the mid-2010s.(born August 16, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of the indie pop band AJR. Metzger additionally had acting roles in The Pink Panther 2, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and other films.
==Early life==
Jack was born the third child of Gary Metzger (1952-2023) and Laurie Marvald, both of whom were architects. Marvald attended Cornell University before moving on to entrepreneurship. Jack and his two older brothers Adam and Ryan are Jewish. The family lived in a three-bedroom colonial-style house in Bayside, Queens before moving to a two-bedroom co-op apartment in Chelsea, Manhattan in 2001, with the brothers sharing a room together until 2013. Jack attended the Professional Children's School in Manhattan and graduated in the mid-2010s.
==Career==
===2004–2013: Acting work===
In 2004 at the age of 7, Metzger made his first television appearance in the episode "Magnificat" from season 4 of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He plays Billy Whitlock, a young boy who dies in a car bombing. On the airing date, 11.53 million viewers in the U.S. saw the episode. He would act again in 2009 in The Pink Panther 2, appearing as Antoine, the nephew of Inspector Clouseau. In 2010, he appeared alongside his mother on Nova. He made further appearances on Onion SportsDome in 2011 and as a young version of the titular character in Billy Bates (2013).
===2005–present: AJR===
Main article: AJR (band)
In 2005 at the age of 8, Jack and his brothers Adam and Ryan formed AJR and began writing, producing, and mixing music in their apartment's living room, focusing on DIY indie pop music. In 2006, they began busking in Central Park and Washington Square Park with various instruments, initially performing covers. In 2010 they released two independent albums, "Born and Bred" and "Venture", and a self-titled EP in 2012.
In November 2012, the band released their debut single "I'm Ready" and tweeted a link to the music video to over 80 celebrities, including Australian singer Sia. Sia's celebrity influence led to Steve Greenberg, former president of Columbia Records and current CEO and founder of S-Curve Records, becoming the band's manager. "I'm Ready" was commercially released on August 22, 2013, and became the band's first commercially successful song, receiving radio play, performing the song on numerous television programs, and receiving Platinum certifications in the U.S. and Australia. On December 20, 2013, AJR included the song on their major-label debut EP, 6foot1, and later on the band's debut studio album, Living Room, on March 3, 2015. A remix of the song is featured on their second EP, Infinity, released September 23, 2014.
The brothers released their third EP, What Everyone's Thinking, on September 16, 2016, which features the single "Weak". "Weak" became the band's second hit, certifying Platinum in 7 countries including the U.S. and Gold in 6 countries. On June 9, 2017, the song was additionally part of the band's second studio album, The Click, alongside "Sober Up", featuring Rivers Cuomo from Weezer and reaching number one on s Alternative Airplay chart Hundred Handed, Grizfolk, Ocean Park Standoff, and Max Schneider|MAX were featured as openers for the band's 2018 tour in support of the album. A deluxe version of The Click was released on September 21, 2018, with the single "Burn the House Down" releasing earlier in the year and reaching number two on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.
AJR later worked with Barack Obama for the It's On Us campaign, launched in 2014 to combat sexual assault on college campuses across the United States. The band released the single "It's On Us" on March 31, 2017. AJR also worked with EDM artist Steve Aoki and American rapper Lil Yachty in 2018, collaborating on the single "Pretender (Steve Aoki song)|Pretender".
AJR released the song "100 Bad Days" on January 30, 2019, which would later become the lead single for the band's third studio album, Neotheater, announced on March 10 with a release date of April 26. The promotional single "Birthday Party" was released on March 12 alongside a live performance of "100 Bad Days" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "Dear Winter" was released as the album's second single on April 5, and alternate version titled "Dear Winter 2.0" released October 25. The album performed well on Billboard charts, reaching number one on Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts and number eight on the Top 200 Albums chart.
The band released the single "Bang!" on February 12, 2020. The song was highly successful, winning a Billboard Music Award for "Top Rock Song" In 2021. "Bummerland" was released as a follow-up single on August 31. "My Play" released on December 22 as the third single of the recently announced fourth studio album, OK Orchestra. On February 17, 2021, the band released "Way Less Sad" as the fourth single, and OK Orchestra released on March 26, 2021. AJR released a remix of Daisy the Great's "The Record Player Song" entitled "Record Player" on August 30. On November 24, the band released a music video for their song "The Good Part" from The Click after a massive wave of popularity on TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
Jack and Ryan began working with theatre producer Vivek J. Tiwary for a Broadway adaptation of the children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon on March 11, 2022, planning on producing songs for the musical. AJR later signed to Mercury Records in May 2022, and released the single "I Won't" through Mercury on July 29. The follow-up single "The DJ Is Crying for Help" released on November 18. AJR then collaborated with Quinn XCII for the song "Too Late", released on January 27, 2023. The third single "The Dumb Song" was released on April 21, 2023. "God Is Really Real" was surprise released on July 3 as the fourth single, and the fifth studio album The Maybe Man was announced on August 28. The fifth single "Yes I'm a Mess" was released September 29.
==Personal life==
Jack briefly studied film with his brother Ryan at Columbia University, while their older brother Adam received a BA from Columbia University, majoring in business and philosophy, an MA from New York University, and PhD in International Human Rights Law from the University of Birmingham. On August 24, 2023, Adam announced he would become a professor at Columbia University, teaching a new course entitled Climate Campaigning Reimagined alongside Mila Rosenthal. Jack and Ryan live in the same house and have two dogs: a Bouvier named Shay and a dog named Olly. During the band's OK Orchestra Tour, Jack announced that he had been diagnosed with OCD in 2017.
On July 1, 2023, AJR canceled their July performances and revealed on social media that the health of their father, Gary, was declining. Two days later, on July 3, they released "God Is Really Real", the fourth single from their fifth studio album The Maybe Man. The song is about their father’s illness; they had intended to release it along with the rest of the album but decided to release it early after the band saw the "outpouring of love for [their] dad". Later that day, the band announced that their father had died, and announced a foundation in honor of him on August 1.
==Discography==
===AJR===
main|AJR discography
* Living Room (2015)
* The Click (2017)
* Neotheater (2019)
* OK Orchestra (2021)
* The Maybe Man (2023)
===With other artists===
Year	Song 	Contribution 	Artist 	Album 	
2014	"Cards" 	Produced 	Minor Soul 	Tiger 	
2016	"Home" 	Co-wrote 	MAX 	Hell's Kitchen Angel 	
2016	"Do or Die" 	Co-wrote, produced	Jenna Rose 	— 	
2017	"Dime" 	Co-wrote 	Rachel Crow 	— 	
2019	"Wish You Pain" 	Co-wrote 	Andy Grammer 	Naive 	
2020	"Best Friend Song" 	Co-produced 	Rozzi 	— 	
2020	"Working for the Weekend" 	Co-wrote 	MAX 	Colour Vision 	
2020	"Christmas Party" 	Co-wrote 	Meghan Trainor 	A Very Trainor Christmas 	
2020	"Christmas Got Me Blue" 	Co-wrote 	Meghan Trainor 	A Very Trainor Christmas 	
2021	"Brand New Day" 	Co-wrote 	JVKE 	Clifford the Big Red Dog (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)	
2023	"Everything" 	Co-wrote 	Netta 	— 	
2023	"When She's Around (Funga Macho)"	Co-wrote, produced	Bruce Melodie, Shaggy	— 	
==Filmography==
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Billy Whitlock	Episode: "Magnificat"
2009	The Pink Panther 2 	Antoine 	Film
2010	Nova 	Himself 	Episode: "The Pluto Files"
2011	Onion SportsDome 	Himself 	Episode: "Episode 2"
2013	Billy Bates 	Young Billy 	Film
==Footnotes==
Category:American singers
Category:Songwriters
Category:1997 births
Category:People from Bayside, Queens
Category:Melodica players