Jón Ragnar Jónsson (born 30 October 1985 in

Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður (), officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður (), is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region, on the southwest coast of t ...

, Iceland) is an Icelandic singer songwriter and a former soccer player. He was signed by

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 ...

and has released three albums, ''Wait for Fate'' (2011), ''Heim'' (2014), and ''Lengi lifum við'' (2021).

Life and career

Jón has been a performer since the age of 10. He is a native of Iceland. His brother is pop singer

Friðrik Dór Friðrik Dór Jónsson (born 7 October 1988) is an Icelandic R&B and pop singer-songwriter. He began his career forming the band Fendrix with his schoolmates while in grade 8. He played drums in the band. The band took part in Músíktilrauni ...

. He started music in his local music school in Iceland and took part in productions in high school and college. He studied in

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

on a soccer scholarship. While in college, he pursued acting while writing, recording, and performing his own music at local venues. After graduating in 2009, Jón returned to Iceland and became a professional musician. He cooperates with Kristján Bjarnason who takes part in arrangements and recording of Jón Jónsson's music in their studio. His first singles "Lately" and "Kiss in the Morning" had considerable radio play and his third single "When You're Around" reached number 2 in Lagalistinn Top 30 followed by "Sooner or Later". Debut album was released on 4 July 2011 called ''Wait for Fate'' and was certified gold. "Get In" his fifth single reached number 2 on "Lagalistinn". Another single "All, You, I" was a non-album release. He took part in a number of festivals including Icelandic Culture Night, the Icelandic Independence Day, and the Þjóðhátíð Music Festival. In August 2012, Jón traveled to New York with his friend, Kristján Bjarnason, and after an audition with

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

was signed to Reid's Epic Records label. Jón's first four singles were in the top 30 on Iceland music charts and he also received a People's Choice Award as the ''Best New Artist'' from Iceland's FM 957. His songs are heard in regular rotation on radio and some have reached top 10 on Bylgjan and

Rás 2 Rás 2 (''Channel 2'') is an Icelandic radio station belonging to the National Icelandic Broadcasting Service, RÚV. Launched on 1 December 1983, it is currently the highest-rated radio station in Iceland, with a schedule composed chiefly of ne ...

radio as well as the Icelandic Billboard. He was signed by

after he was said to impress record producer

. In addition to his music career, Jón is the editor-in-chief of ''Monitor'', a youth weekly for Monitor. He is active in awareness campaigns for various causes. He lent his voice to the main character in the Icelandic voice-over for the animated feature, ''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who cause ...

''.

Music style

Jón has been referred to as the European version of Jack Johnson,

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

, and

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album '' Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...

. His music contains a mix of pop and R&B with undertones of R&B. His songs range from romantic lyric ballads to piano and guitar driven pop.

Band

*Kristján Bjarnason - piano, keyboards, arrangements *Steini Gudjonsson - electric guitar *Brynjar Unnsteinsson - bass *Andri Bjartur Jakobsson - drums

Awards and nominations

*Won "Best Newcomer" in People's Choice Awards in Iceland by popular vote. *February 2012: Nomination for "Most promising Icelandic act" during the Icelandic Music Awards. The award was won by

Of Monsters and Men Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie folk/rock band formed in Reykjavík in 2010. The members are lead singer and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, singer and guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson ...

Discography

(From

Tónlist The music of Iceland includes vibrant folk and pop traditions, as well as an active classical and contemporary music scene. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, singers B ...

official Icelandic Music Charts) *2011: ''Wait for Fate'' Tracklist #"Wanna Get In" (2:54) #"Kiss in the Morning" (3:42) #"Sooner or Later" (3:48) #"Always Gonna Be There" (3:51) #"Sunny Day in June" (2:41) #"Little Tree" (4:06) #"When You're Around" (3:43) #"Lately" (3:56) #"Wait for Fate" (4:32) #"To Her" (4:26) #"Ocean Girl" (4:10) #"Miss You So" (5:06) *2014: ''Heim'' Tracklist #"Heim" (4:23) #"Ykkar koma" (3:11) #"Heltekur minn hug" (3:27) #"Gefðu allt sem þú átt" (3:27) #"Dag eftir dag" (3:28) #"Saman" (3:46) #"Sátt" (4:32) #"Engin eftirsjá" (3:56) #"Lífsins lausnir" (3:34) #"Endurgjaldslaust" (5:26) #"Gæti þín" (3:00) #"Segðu já" (2:56) #"Feel For You" (4:00) #"Ljúft að vera til" (3:34) #"All, You, I" (3:51) *2021: ''Lengi lifum við''

Singles

*2010: "Lately" *2010: "Aron, Axel og Alex" *2010: "Kiss in the Morning" *2011: "When You're Around" *2011: "Sooner or Later" *2012: "All, You, I" *2013: "Feel for You" *2014: "Kæri vinur" (duet with

Björgvin Halldórsson Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson (Alternate names: Bó Halldórsson, Björgvin Halldórsson or Bó Hall) (born 16 April 1951) is an Icelandic pop singer from Hafnarfjörður. He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song ' ...

) *2014: "Ljúft að vera til" *2014: "Gefðu allt sem þú átt" *2015: "Ykkar koma"

Football career

Jón came up through the junior teams of FH. He played his first match in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla in 2008 for

Þróttur Reykjavík Þróttur may refer to: * Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur, also referred to as Þróttur Reykjavík or Throttur, is a sports club from Reykjavík in Iceland. The club runs a association football, football department ...

. He rejoined FH in 2009 and played there, with the exception of 2016, until 2017. He won the Icelandic championship with the team in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. He announced his retirement from football in January 2018.

References

External links

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YouTube
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, Jon 21st-century Icelandic male singers Boston University alumni Icelandic composers Living people Epic Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) Icelandic footballers Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar players Association football defenders