Joel David Smallbone (born 5 June 1984) is an Australian singer and actor. He is a member of the
Christian pop
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
duo
for King & Country along with his brother Luke Smallbone. He played the role of James Stevens in the 2016 film ''
Priceless''.
Early life
Smallbone was born in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, but moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
in 1991.
He is the brother of Luke Smallbone and younger brother of Christian recording artist and speaker
Rebecca St. James. Smallbone is also the brother-in-law of
Jacob Fink, former bassist for the band
Foster the People
Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members are singer Mark Foster, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis.
Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in ...
.
Smallbone's father was a music promoter, and Joel recalls, "going to these rock concerts, sitting on my father's shoulders, plugging my ears...Honestly, in a lot of ways I feel like music chose me and as I grew older, I made a clear decision to fully lean into it."
Career
![Joel Smallbone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Joel_Smallbone.jpg)
Smallbone did background vocals for his sister Rebecca as well as operating lights and managing the stage.
He collaborated with his brother Luke and in 2008 they released their first EP, ''A Tale of Two Towns'', performing under the name Austoville.
The group was signed to
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
and later changed its name to For King & Country.
Smallbone began his acting career in 2014 by playing
King Xerxes in ''
The Book of Esther
The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish ''Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the f ...
'' and as Jake Reeson in ''
Like a Country Song''.
In 2016, Smallbone was cast in the leading role of James Stevens in the film
Priceless.
Smallbone won two Grammy awards in 2014 and was nominated for another Grammy in 2016
Discography
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smallbone, Joel
Living people
Australian musicians
Australian male actors
1984 births