Aaron Fredrick "AJ" Mitchell Jr. (born May 17, 2001), is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is currently signed to Insanity Records, a subsidiary of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. He gained a following in 2017 after posting clips of himself singing and performing covers on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. His first independent single, "Used To Be", was written by Mitchell at age 13 and has over 100 million streams. Mitchell has four songs that have reached the Top 40 on the US radio charts, the July 2018 release "Girls", which reached No. 39, the March 2019 release "All My Friends", which reached No. 24, "Slow Dance" (featuring

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single "Sweet but Psycho" in ...

), which reached No. 28, and "Stop" from his debut studio album ''Skyview'' (2021), which reached No. 33.

Early life

AJ Mitchell was born in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

on May 17, 2001. His mother, Allison Mitchell, is a small business owner and his father, Aaron Fredrick Mitchell Sr, is a traveling nurse. AJ is the couple's only son and youngest child, after their daughters Andrea and Addison (Addy). Mitchell began piano lessons at 4, inspired by his father, who was also learning to play piano and write songs. Mitchell attended Belleville West High School, where he played on the football team and sang in the school choir.

Career

2015–2016: Career beginnings

By 13, Mitchell began performing at local open-mic nights in his hometown and posting covers on YouTube and

, which helped him gain a significant following. Mitchell's social media fan base helped him capture the attention of the LA-based artist manager Mike Spitz whom Mitchell has worked with since 2015. Mitchell's videos on social media granted him an opportunity to relocate to Los Angeles in 2015 to collaborate with internet marketing agency Team 10. After a brief period together, Mitchell left the group to focus his energy entirely on music. AJ also joined Team 10.

2017–2018: ''Hopeful''

In 2017, Mitchell released his first independent single "Used to Be", a song he wrote at age 13. The song was produced by hip-hop producer and engineer Mike Dean. "Used to Be" has now gained over 150 million streams. After departing the social media group, Mitchell received interest from many different record labels but eventually decided to sign with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. He inked his first major deal with the label in February 2018. Mitchell's first studio EP with Epic, ''Hopeful'', was released in July 2018. Its lead single "Girls", co-written by Mitchell and

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, reached No. 39 on the US

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

pop radio chart. In November 2018, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' and Vevo named AJ one of the top 19 artists to watch in 2019.

CEO

Sylvia Rhone Sylvia Rhone (born March 11, 1952) is an American music industry executive. Since 2019, she is the chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Rhone served previously in senior positions at Vested In Culture, Unive ...

referred to Mitchell's music as "exciting things to come", when discussing the growing talent roster at the record label. In 2018, Mitchell collaborated with

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

R&B singer-songwriter

Marteen Marteen Estevez (born April 6, 2001), better known mononymously as Marteen, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has opened for acts like Kehlani, Fifth Harmony, Dua Lipa and NCT 127. Record producer J. R. Rotem discovered Mart ...

for the song "No Plans". Marteen later joined Mitchell in a support slot on the following year's 2019 Hopeful Tour.

2019–present: ''Slow Dance'' and ''Skyview''

In May 2019, Mitchell collaborated with songwriting duo Teamwork and Scottish singer-songwriter

Nina Nesbitt Nina Nesbitt (born ) is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She has two top 40 singles, and is known for her single "Stay Out", which peaked at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2013. Her first EP, ''The Apple Tree'', was released in Apr ...

on the song "After Hours". Later that month, in an interview with ''Billboard'', Mitchell announced that his forthcoming debut full-length album with

was nearly finished, and would be released "very, very soon". In June 2019, Mitchell signed a new joint deal with Insanity Records, a subsidiary to

. On August 23, 2019, Mitchell released his second EP ''Slow Dance'', which includes his singles "Talk So Much", "Move On", and the title track featuring American singer

. Mitchell's debut studio album ''Skyview'' was released in October 2021 and includes the singles "Used to Be", "Slow Dance", "Cameras On", and "Stop".

Artistry

Musician

Mitchell cites a wide variety of music as influential to his songwriting style, regularly noting his admiration of artists like

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Tours

* Hopeful Tour (2019)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, AJ 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American male musicians American male singer-songwriters American male pop singers American pop pianists Epic Records artists People from Belleville, Illinois Singer-songwriters from Illinois Living people 2001 births American tenors American child singers