Garrett Clark Borns (born January 7, 1992), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Børns (stylized as BØRNS), is a former American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Born and raised in

Grand Haven, Michigan Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Ha ...

, Børns began performing in his youth. In 2012, he released his debut album, ''A Dream Between'', through REZidual Records. His first major label release was the ''Candy'' EP (2014), through Geffen and

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...

. The EP peaked at number two on the ''

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 ...

Heatseekers chart The Heatseekers charts are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by ...

. ''The Dopamine'' tour followed, preceding his debut studio album of the same name in 2015. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 24 in the US and generating numerous singles include the platinum-certified, "

Electric Love Electric Love is an electronic dance music festival held annually since 2013. It takes place at the second weekend in July at the Salzburgring in Plainfeld, Austria. Headliners have included Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mik ...

". Børns then embarked on tours with artists including Charli XCX,

Bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a row ...

, and Halsey, as a supporting act, along with a set at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

in 2016. His second album, '' Blue Madonna'', was released on January 12, 2018. The record spawned several singles, including " God Save Our Young Blood" with Lana Del Rey, which charted on the US rock chart. To further promote the LP, he headlined the MoneyMan Tour (2017–18) and supported Del Rey on her

LA to the Moon Tour The LA to the Moon Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Lana Del Rey, in support of her fifth studio album and fourth major-label studio album, Lust for Life (Lana Del Rey album), ''Lust for Life'' (2017). The tour began ...

Early life and education

Borns was born in Michigan and raised in

. At the age of 10, he was a professional magician going by the name of "Garrett the Great", both performing at parties and getting paid for it. At the age of 13, a seventh-grade student at White Pines Middle School, he received a Gold Key Award in the National Scholastic Art Awards along with an $8,000 college scholarship to the Kendall College of Art and Design (a part of Ferris State University) in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

for his drawings and visual art. At the age of 14, he studied at Michigan's

Interlochen Center for the Arts Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. In ...

' summer program. Børns has also associated with filmmaking during his adolescence. He attended

Grand Haven High School Grand Haven High School (GHHS) is a public secondary school in Grand Haven, Michigan, United States. It is the sole comprehensive high school in the Grand Haven Public Schools district, and one of two in northwest Ottawa County; the other be ...

and went on to both take classes in classical piano at Grand Rapids Community College and study jazz at Muskegon Community College.

Career

2012–14: ''A Dream Between'' and ''Candy'' EPs

During his time in high school, Børns briefly performed in a cover band known as "Brown Chicken Brown Trout". The group performed at the Waterfront Film Festival in 2010. In 2012, Børns performed with a guitarist and a drummer in The Garrett Borns Trio. Børns and his fellow band members collaborated on the early EP ''A Dream Between''., featuring several of Børns' earliest tracks, one of which was his single "Mitten". The album was recorded in the private studio of Bill Chrysler. Børns, managed by filmmaker Jeff Joanisse, was later signed to REZidual Records under the name Garrett Borns and took part in a TEDx event, performing a variety of music on his ukulele and showcasing his films from Paris. In 2013, Børns took a vacation from New York City, where he was living, to Los Angeles. Within weeks of relocating, Børns co-wrote his single "10,000 Emerald Pools" with producer

Jack Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

2015-2020: ''Dopamine'', touring, ''Blue Madonna, End of career''

On November 10, 2014, Børns released his debut single, "10,000 Emerald Pools", on

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

and also his debut EP, ''Candy''. He made several television appearances and performed "10,000 Emerald Pools" on a number of talk shows, including '' Conan'' and ''Le Before du Grand Journal'' in France on March 5, 2015. He toured in support of MisterWives on MisterWives' "Our Own House Tour". On June 24, 2015, he played a headlining show at the Electrowerkz in London. In July and August, Børns accompanied Charli XCX and

on their "Charli and Jack Do America Tour" and performed at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

on July 31, 2015. He also appeared at Life Is Beautiful festival and the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October. At many concerts, Børns also performs songs entitled "Broke" and "Let You Down", which were never released on an album nor deemed as singles. On May 6, 2015, Børns' Vevo channel on YouTube released a music video accompanying his new single "

", placing as his most viewed song to date with well over 100 million views. On August 17, 2015, Børns' debut studio album, ''Dopamine'', featuring "Electric Love" and its cover art were revealed, while the release date for ''Dopamine'' was confirmed as October 16, 2015. On September 15, 2015, Børns' performance at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City was filmed by the American Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) for its ''Front and Center'' concert series airing nationwide in February 2016. Børns performed at the

2016. He also appeared as a featured artist in "Fool's Gold" by Dagny for her EP ''Ultraviolet.'' On July 28, 2017, Børns released the single "Faded Heart" through Interscope, which was featured on the FIFA 18 Soundtrack, and in the movie ''

Flatliners ''Flatliners'' is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Michael Douglas and Rick Bieber, and written by Peter Filardi. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, and Ke ...

'' (2017). Then on September 29, 2017, Børns released his next single, "Sweet Dreams". Two promotional videos, "The Search for the Lost Sounds" and "The Faded Heart Sessions", were released on his YouTube channel along with the singles. After releasing his third single, "I Don't Want U Back", Børns released another promotional short entitled "Money Man Tour". The fourth and final single is " God Save Our Young Blood" featuring Lana Del Rey, who also provided background vocals for the song "Blue Madonna", and whose sister provided photography for the album covers. Børns' second and last album, '' Blue Madonna'', was officially released on January 12, 2018. Børns has since undertaken an indefinite hiatus; however, in September 2020, his vocals appear in a cover of " Dawn Storm" found within the September 2020 release of a

T. Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' liv ...

tribute album, ''AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T.Rex''.

Personal life

After Børns wore a Gucci-inspired outfit on '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'', Gucci took notice of the singer, and the two have since formed a partnership. Børns is a participant in a "

gender-bender A gender bender is a person who dresses up and acts like the opposite sex. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. Gender bending may be political, stemming from the early identity politics movements of the 1960s and 19 ...

" movement, by flaunting nail polish and crop-tops on social media and during performances. He admits that his

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...

vocals and appearance have led many to mistake him for a woman at first listen. Børns met his close friend Zella Day in Los Angeles, and the two have collaborated on numerous projects. Day made appearances in videos on Børns' Vevo channel, and in turn has included him in videos of her own, such as her in ''

DayxDay Zella Day Kerr (born March 13, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona. Day began recording music in her early teens, independently releasing her debut album, ''Powered by Love'', in 2009. Following ...

'' series for example. The two were previously roommates. Before the release of his first album ''

Dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...

'', Børns moved to Los Angeles, where he still resides as of January 2018. Børns is vegetarian like other members of his family. In September 2018, Børns was accused of sexual misconduct by several young women, leading to a Washington D.C. music festival named

All Things Go Fall Classic The All Things Go Fall Classic is a Washington D.C.-based annual outdoor music festival. The festival started in 2014 and is produced by the company All Things Go. The festival was first held at the Union Market in D.C. It expanded to the 15, ...

dropping him from its lineup. The allegations against Børns included manipulation, grooming, and sexual aggression toward underaged fans, with the youngest accuser detailing her account of the abuse which began when she was 16 years old. Børns released a statement calling the allegations "disturbing and false", also saying that "All of the relationships I have had were legal and consensual. They ended abruptly and that obviously caused hurt feelings, but for anyone to suggest anything beyond that is irresponsible."

Discography

* ''

'' (2015) * '' Blue Madonna'' (2018)

Concert tours

;Headlining * Dopamine Tour (2015) * Summer Tour 2016 (2016) * Fall 2017 Tour (2017) * Money Man Tour (2017–18) * Fruit of Dreams Tour (2018–19) ;Supporting * MisterWives – Our Own House Tour (2015) * Charli XCX &

– Charli and Jack Do America Tour (2015) * Years & Years - Fall 2015 Tour (2015) * Halsey – Badlands Tour (2016) * The Lumineers – Cleopatra World Tour (2016) * Mumford & Sons – An Arrow Through the Heartland Tour (2016) * Lana Del Rey –

(2018)

Filmography

Web

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borns, Garrett Living people 1992 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American composers American indie pop musicians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Ferris State University alumni Interscope Records artists People from Grand Haven, Michigan Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Psychedelic musicians Singers from Los Angeles Singers from New York City Writers from Los Angeles Writers from New York City Singer-songwriters from Michigan 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from New York (state)