Scott Hoffman (born September 1, 1976), known by his stage name Babydaddy, is an American musician and the Ivor Novello Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, backing vocalist and composer for the U.S. glam rock band Scissor Sisters. He is the brother of comedian and musician Ben Hoffman.

Early life and education

Born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, to a Jewish family, Hoffman lived most of his childhood in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, attending Henry Clay High School. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he studied writing and music production and subsequently worked in the field of dance music. He graduated from Columbia in 1999.

Career

He had previously met Jake Shears—then still known as Jason Sellards—through a childhood friend, and Hoffman asked Shears to provide vocals for his tracks. When Hoffman moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to study writing at Columbia, the duo officially joined forces in 2001 and took stage names to become the first two members of "Scissor Sisters", a lesbian euphemism, whose pop-rock music is deeply inspired by drag and LGBTQ+ culture. At the time, the band was just a combination of Babydaddy's music and Shears's vocal and visual performances. The band logo was designed by Babydaddy. Since then, the band has recruited further members and Babydaddy has continued to serve as the keyboardist and bassist. The group has expanded its original musical style to cover the rock, disco and dance music genres. They toured the UK, Europe, and the U.S. in 2004, including a Glastonbury Music Festival performance. The band was nominated for a Grammy in Best Dance Record for their single "Comfortably Numb" in late 2004. Babydaddy plays a number of instruments including

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

; he and Shears are the main lyricists for the band. The two also wrote the hit single " I Believe in You" for

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

, as well as the title track from her documentary '' White Diamond''. Babydaddy has also co-produced with other artists including Tiga and Xavier and has produced remixes (alongside Jake Shears under the Scissor Sisters moniker) for

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, The Ones and Blondie. In 2010, Babydaddy remixed disco icon Amanda Lear's single "

I'm Coming Up ''Brand New Love Affair'' is an EP by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 2009 by Edina Music. Background ''Brand New Love Affair'' comprises three original songs, two covers, two remixes, and a megamix medley of the EP's tracks. It followe ...

". In 2016, under his own name, Hoffman produced and co-wrote alongside Dev Hynes and

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is a British pop singer. She rose to prominence in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars: The Rivals''. The group's success helped them win the c ...

"Ghetto Boy" for Tinashe's second studio album '' Nightride''.

Discography

Personal life

Babydaddy is gay. He is the younger brother of comedian Ben Hoffman.

Sources

Babydaddy Interview on Silent Uproar

Dallas Observer
* '' We Are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You''

External links

Official Scissor Sisters website
*
Underground Illusion - The Ultimate Scissor Sisters Database
{{Authority control 1976 births 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American gay musicians American gay writers American LGBT singers American LGBT songwriters American rock musicians Columbia College (New York) alumni Gay Jews Gay singers Gay songwriters Ivor Novello Award winners Jewish American rock musicians LGBT people from Texas Living people Musicians from Houston Musicians from Lexington, Kentucky Musicians from New York City Rock musicians from Kentucky Scissor Sisters members Singers from Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky Songwriters from New York (state)