John O'Regan (born July 6, 1985) is a Canadian artist and musician. He is best known by his stage name Diamond Rings.

Music career

Early years in the D'Urbervilles and Habitat

O'Regan got his start in music as one of the founding members of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

quartet the D'Urbervilles (renamed Matters in 2011), where he was known as John O alongside Tim Bruton, Kyle Donnelly and Greg Santilly. O'Regan also formed the Casio-pop duo Habitat in 2006 with his partner at the time, Sylvie Smith of The Barmitzvah Brothers.

Solo career (2008–2010)

O'Regan began writing Diamond Rings songs in the summer of 2008 after graduating with a degree in Studio Arts from the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

. The inception of the new moniker and his earliest songs were written during a lengthy hospital stay while being diagnosed and treated for Crohn's disease. According to O'Regan, the roots of Diamond Rings came from wanting to challenge people's expectations for a male pop star: "I wanted to do something that would unsettle not only me, but the audience too... I spent my whole life up to that point as an artist playing relatively nondescript indie rock. But I felt there was a part of me that really needed to get out. I wanted to express myself in ways that were beyond just musical—something that was dramatic and flamboyant and beyond myself in a way. And that became Diamond Rings.""Man In The Aubergine Mask".
. ''Next Magazine'', October 19, 2012. ;Singles His first release was a limited edition split 7-inch vinyl single titled "All Yr Songs" that was distributed through his own boutique label Hype Lighter in August 2009. His friends PS I Love You were featured on the opposite side of the single. A music video for "All Yr Songs" was featured by

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

, '' Exclaim!'', and

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

. The music video attracted controversy in December 2009 when it was removed from YouTube at the behest of Sony/BMG on grounds of copyright infringement. Apparently this was due to confusion between O'Regan's stage name and the song "Diamond Rings" by UK based rapper and Sony UK artist

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

. When word of the slip up caught on throughout the blogosphere Sony/BMG withdrew its claim and issued O'Regan and video director Colin Medley a formal apology. In March 2010, Diamond Rings released a new 7-inch single with German label

Tomlab Tomlab is a German record label based in Köln. It has released works by bands such as The Books, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Deerhoof, Thee Oh Sees, Les Georges Leningrad, and acts associated with Blocks Recording Club, such as Fi ...

entitled "Wait & See", which features backing vocals from Toronto musician

Gentleman Reg Reg Vermue is a Canadian indie rock singer from Guelph, Ontario. Born in Trenton, Ontario, he has recorded music under the stage names Gentleman Reg and Regina Gently. His musical style has been compared to Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, The Smiths ...

. The B-side features a cover of

Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for hi ...

's "On Fire". The video for "Wait & See" was premiered on

in February 2010. His next single was a 12-inch Chicago House inspired dance track titled "Show Me Your Stuff", which was released in June 2010 on

Fucked Up Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of Damian Abraham (vocals), Mike Haliechuk (guitar, vocals), Josh Zucker (guitar), Sandy Miranda (bass), and Jonah Falco (drums, vocals). From ...

guitarist Mike Haliechuk's One Big Silence imprint. The corresponding video also featured a cameo from

vocalist Damian Abraham and has drawn comparisons to disparate artists such as

Klaus Nomi Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. In the 1970s Nomi immersed himself in the East Village ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, and Britney Spears

''Special Affections'' (2010–2011)

His debut full-length album, '' Special Affections'', was released in North America on October 25, 2010, by Montreal's

Secret City Records Secret City Records is a Canadian independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The music label was founded in 2006 by Andrew Rose and Justin West, originally as sublabel of Justin Time Records. It became fully independent in late ...

. It attracted positive reviews from

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

, Exclaim!, and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, and appeared on the !earshot Top 50 Chart that month. Lead single "Something Else" was released a month prior and features a cover of the Milla Jovovich song "The Gentleman Who Fell," with string arrangements by Canadian musician and

Polaris Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was incr ...

winner

Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their erstwhile moniker of Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album '' He Poos Clouds''. Palle ...

. Following the album release Diamond Rings opened for Swedish pop star

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 t ...

for the duration of her North American Body Talk tour in the winter of 2011. He also toured with PS I Love You in support of "Leftovers," a single that was cowritten by both O'Regan and the band and released on Toronto-based

Paper Bag Records Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist-management company, and music publisher founded in 2002 and based in Toronto. History The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial signing ...

. In May 2011, Diamond Rings began a six-week remix series titled "Remix Rainbow," which was conceived as a thank-you to a select group of musicians whose recent work gave Diamond Rings a sense of new-found inspiration. Among those featured in the series were

Theophilus London Theophilus Musa London (born February 23, 1987) is an American rapper and singer. A frequent collaborator of Kanye West, London was a producer on the 2022 album Donda 2 and was featured on West's 2015 single " All Day" which was nominated for sev ...

Junior Boys Junior Boys are a Canadian electronic pop group, founded in 1999 in Hamilton, Ontario by Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark. Dark left the project shortly after, and was replaced by engineer Matt Didemus. The duo initially gained critical praise ...

, and Handsome Furs. The artwork for each remix represents a different color of the Diamond Rings rainbow. Diamond Rings has since signed with New York City-based

Astralwerks Records Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featu ...

, formerly a division of

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

/ EMI Records, which rereleased '' Special Affections'' on June 21, 2011.

''Free Dimensional'' (2012)

In May 2012, Diamond Rings was featured on the Kids On TV song "Bobby", which appears on their album "Pantheon". Diamond Rings released his sophomore album, '' Free Dimensional'', on October 23, 2012. He and his band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 27, 2012, to perform its first single "I'm Just Me"; they also performed the song on

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

on November 7, 2012. The second single "Put Me On" was listed as the Free Single Of The Week on iTunes Canada during the third week of November 2012. In support of the album, Diamond Rings toured North America with a full live band. He began as the opening act for

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

on their fall tour starting in Portland, ME on September 20, 2012; his own cross-Canada tour, accompanied by Gold & Youth, concluded in Quebec City, QC on December 8, 2012. Diamond Rings performed as the opening act for

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Co ...

in North America in April and July 2013. The tour stopped in a number of U.S. cities, plus a gig in Vancouver and two shows in Toronto. He performed a number of additional solo dates during this time as well.

JG Ballad (2015–2017)

O'Regan later created music as JG Ballad. He has not released new music in several years and has instead worked as an art director in film, with credits including ''

Operation Avalanche Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

'', ''

Mean Dreams ''Mean Dreams'' is a 2016 Canadian coming-of-age film, coming-of-age thriller film directed by Nathan Morlando and written by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby. The film stars Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, and Bill Paxton. It was screened in the Di ...

'', ''

Giant Little Ones ''Giant Little Ones'' is a 2018 Canadian drama film, written and directed by Keith Behrman.

'', and ''

Castle in the Ground ''Castle in the Ground'' is a 2019 Canadian-American drama film, written and directed by Joey Klein. The film explores a teenager's developing opioid addiction after the death of his terminally ill mother. It stars Alex Wolff, Imogen Poots, Tom ...

''.Melody Lau
"What ever happened to Diamond Rings?"
CBC Music, October 23, 2020.

Personal life

O'Regan is frequently questioned about his flamboyant persona and subjected to numerous insinuations about his personal life: " my profile grows and as more people hear my music and see my videos, it’s something that I realize: people want to know more. And I guess it’s up to me to really decide how much more I want to give." He has stated that he would prefer to let his work speak for itself: "I think right now for what I’m doing, I want my music and I want my lyrics and I want the songs and what I do on stage and in my videos hopefully to speak for hemselves.. I think some of the magic and mystery in music has been lost in contemporary culture. I think we as people have lost a bit of that sense of mystery or that sense of wonderment about the world and about each other. If anything, I hope what I do can help preserve some of that."

Discography

Albums

Singles

;Special releases

Collaborations

References

External links

*
O'Regan's boutique label

Diamond Rings interview
by ''The Block'' magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond Rings Canadian indie rock musicians Astralwerks artists 1985 births Living people Canadian rock singers Musicians from Toronto 21st-century Canadian male singers