Gabriel Eduardo Saporta (born October 11, 1979) is an Uruguayan-American musician and entrepreneur. From the years 2005 until 2015, he was the lead vocalist and founder of the

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

band

Cobra Starship Cobra Starship was an American dance-pop band founded in 2005 by Gabe Saporta (ex- Midtown), and headquartered in New York City. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enliste ...

. On November 10, 2015, after nearly ten years and two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 hits, Saporta announced that the band would stop its work, and that he would be focusing on helping other musicians through his new venture, The Artist Group. Prior to Cobra Starship, Saporta had been the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band Midtown.

Early life

Gabe Saporta was born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. His family is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

; his grandparents and great-grandparents escaped Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and settled in Uruguay. When he was four years old, he moved with his parents to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. At an early age, Saporta developed a passion for music, which became his escape and salvation from a tumultuous upbringing. Saporta fell in love with music because of its ability to deliver messages and connect people. His first love was hip hop, but soon after he discovered punk rock and started going to shows to see bands such as

Gorilla Biscuits Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revelatio ...

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

, and Pavement, it was not long before Saporta, along with his brother Ricky, started to put on his own shows and put out his own records.

Career

Career beginnings and Midtown (1998–2005)

When he was 16 years old, Saporta "joined his first band-- the appropriately titled Humble Beginnings" as a bass player. While in college at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

, he started the

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band Midtown. As the vocalist, lyricist, and bassist in Midtown, Saporta attracted widespread attention. The group released one EP and three LP albums: '' The Sacrifice of Life'', '' Save the World, Lose the Girl'', '' Living Well Is the Best Revenge'' and ''

Forget What You Know ''Forget What You Know'' is the third studio album by American rock band Midtown. Following the release of '' Living Well Is the Best Revenge'' (2002), MCA was merged into Geffen Records, and the band was not picked up by the latter label. The ...

'', respectively. Midtown encountered legal troubles with its first label after releasing its second album. It was during this time that Saporta who "was quite the businessman" decided he wanted to understand the music business from the other side and started managing a band named Armor For Sleep. As Armor For Sleep became successful, Saporta made a deal to merge his fledgling company into

Crush Management Crush Music is a New York City and Los Angeles-based musician management company that manages Sia, Green Day, Panic! at the Disco, Lorde, Train (band), Train, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy amongst others. The company was founded by Jonathan Daniel, fo ...

, who would also manage Midtown. Crush later went on to launch

with Saporta. After disbanding, Midtown developed a cult-like following. In response to this renewed interest, Midtown reunited for a secret show in Brooklyn and to headline the Skate & Surf Festival in

Asbury Park, NJ Asbury Park () is a beachfront City (New Jersey), city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

in 2014. In 2022, Midtown announced several dates in support of

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

in the fall of that year, alongside two headlining shows at the

Starland Ballroom The Starland Ballroom is a concert venue located in Sayreville, New Jersey. Beginning in the 1960s, the building was known as the Jernee Mill Inn, a local bar with a banquet hall. It was originally known as the Hunka Bunka Ballroom and then Willy ...

Cobra Starship (2006–2015)

After Midtown, Gabe Saporta wanted to start a project that was more light-hearted and whose music could incorporate diverse electronic influences. The idea for Cobra Starship came to him during a trip in the Arizona desert in 2005. Saporta produced and recorded the first Cobra album by himself with

S*A*M & Sluggo S*A*M and Sluggo was the American record production and songwriting team, composed of Sam Hollander and Dave "Sluggo" Katz. Formed in 2005, the duo first collaborated on the popular theme song "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship, f ...

. An early helpful development for Cobra Starship was when Midtown's management company set Saporta up with an opportunity to record a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 action film ''

Snakes on a Plane ''Snakes on a Plane'' is a 2006 American action film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006, in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro, John Heffernan ...

'', which became a minor hit. By 2007, Cobra Starship was a full band and started touring the country. Cobra's eclectic sound allowed them to tour with acts as diverse as

30 Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, per ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

, and

Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved w ...

. They also performed with many electronic acts such as Girl Talk and

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-first on its 200 ...

. From 2006 to 2014, Cobra Starship released four full-length albums, and scored two double-platinum Top 10 hits ("

Good Girls Go Bad "Good Girls Go Bad" is a song by American pop band Cobra Starship with guest vocals by Leighton Meester. It was the first single released from their third studio album, ''Hot Mess''. The song was released digitally through iTunes on May 11, 200 ...

" and "

You Make Me Feel You Make Me Feel may refer to: * ''You Make Me Feel'' (Bonfire album), 2009 * ''You Make Me Feel'' (Milosh album), 2004 * "You Make Me Feel" (AnnaGrace song), 2008 * "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", song by Sylvester * " You Make Me Feel...", s ...

"), as well as one gold record for "

Hot Mess ''Hot Mess'' is the third studio album by the American musical ensemble Cobra Starship, released through Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records on August 11, 2009. The album is the follow-up to 2007's ''¡Viva la Cobra!''. It debuted at #4 on ...

". Their single "

" features guest vocals by Leighton Meester. Coincidentally, Saporta made his acting debut a few years later in the season 5 finale of ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

''. In 2012, Cobra Starship was the main support for

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

on his entire South American stadium tour.

T∆G // The Artist Group (2015–present)

On his Beats1 Radio show in November 2015, Gabe Saporta announced that he would no longer be performing or putting out new music. Saporta and business associate

Mike Carden The Academy Is... is an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before disbanding, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in ...

have announced the formation of a talent management firm, T∆G // The Artist Group, which is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2016. Saporta has explained that now he wants to work behind the scenes and help younger artists see their dreams come true. In 2022, Gabe Saporta joine
beatBread's Artist Advocacy Council
which provides "critical advice" to th
independent music funding platform
Saporta joins

Mike Caren Michael Caren is an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, A&R representative, and music executive. He is the current CEO (and founder) of Artist Partner Group and Creative Officer at Warner Music Group. He is also the founder o ...

(

Artist Partner Group Artist Partner Group, Inc. (APG) is an American record label and music publishing company founded by Mike Caren, who is also the CEO. The label's parent company does publishing under the name Artist Publishing Group. History Artist Partner Grou ...

Dave Dederer David Dederer (born October 5, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer. He was a member of the alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. An alumnus of Seattle, Washington's The Bush School and Brown University ...

(founding member of The Presidents of the United States of America), Diana Rodriguez (Criteria Entertainment), Kei Henderson (Third & Hayden), Ray Daniels (Raydar, LLC), and Nick Jarjour (

Hipgnosis Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10cc, Ba ...

Other work

On June 5, 2010,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

aired an episode of ''

When I Was 17 ''When I Was 17'' is a MTV television show. It featured celebrities of today and looked back on "when they were 17" with pictures as well as interviews with family and friends. Celebrities on the show include Kelly Rowland, Queen Latifah, Donald ...

'', which focused on Gabe Saporta and discussed his life as a teenager. Saporta has hosted and been a correspondent for various music-related TV shows including being a presenter at the VMAs, a US correspondent for The EMAs and

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, and hosting several countdown shows on Fuse. In March 2013, Gabe Saporta was featured on "Make It Out This Town", the first single by American rapper Eve's fourth album ''

Lip Lock ''Lip Lock'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eve. The album, her first in eleven years, was released on May 14, 2013, by From The Rib Music and distributed by RED Distribution. The album features guest appearances from Gabe Saporta, ...

''. In 2015, Saporta started working with Beats1 Radio as on-air talent and show host. Beyond music, Saporta's other ventures include restaurants, real estate, and fashion.

Personal life

Saporta's father, Diego Saporta, studied medicine and became a physician in Montevideo. Disenchanted with the then-ineffective and somewhat corrupt health care system in Uruguay, among other reasons, the elder Saporta elected to leave the country with his family in the early 1980s. As a result, he undertook his medical training for a second time in the United States. Gabe Saporta has described his father's perseverance as an inspiration. Saporta attended

, where he majored in philosophy and political science. In May 2013, Saporta and

Erin Fetherston Erin Fetherston is an American designer from Piedmont, California. She graduated from UC Berkeley before attending Parson's School of Design. In January 2005, she first presented her eponymous label during the Paris Haute Couture Shows. From it ...

got married. In March 2016, the couple welcomed their first child, a son.

Guest vocals

Gabe Saporta was featured on the songs:

References

External links

The Artist Group websiteGabe Saporta official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saporta, Gabe 1979 births Living people 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American singers Alternative dance musicians Alternative rock bass guitarists Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians American dance musicians American electronic musicians American male bass guitarists American male guitarists American male pop singers American male singers American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Spanish-Jewish descent American people of Uruguayan-Jewish descent American pop rock singers American punk rock singers American synth-pop musicians Cobra Starship members Columbia Records artists Dance-pop musicians Decaydance Records artists Drive-Thru Records artists Fueled by Ramen artists Guitarists from New Jersey Guitarists from New York City Hispanic and Latino American musicians Jewish American musicians Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers Jews in punk rock MCA Records artists People from Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Singers from New Jersey Singers from New York City Singers from Montevideo Synth-pop singers Uruguayan emigrants to the United States Uruguayan Jews Uruguayan male guitarists Uruguayan pop singers