Jake Wesley Rogers is an American pop musician and songwriter.

Early life

Rogers grew up in

Ozark, Missouri Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Missouri. Its population was 21,284 as of the 2020 census. The 2019 population estimate was 20,482. Ozark is also the third largest city in the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Area, a ...

, where he learned to play the guitar at age 6 and began playing piano and voice training at age 12. Rogers began performing in theater productions in 5th grade and writing songs soon thereafter. At a young age he attended formative concerts for artists like

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

. Rogers came out as gay in 6th grade, and though his family was supportive he felt he had to hide his orientation due to the cultural climate in his hometown. Rogers moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

at age 18 to study songwriting at

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

. In his first year Rogers' live performance attracted the interest of Sony/ATV, resulting in a publishing deal. Rogers graduated in 2018.

Career

2016–2020: Early career

Rogers began releasing music independently in 2016, leading to his debut EP ''Evergreen'' in June 2017. After releasing his next two singles "Jacob from the Bible" and "Little Queen" in February and March 2019 respectively, Rogers released his sophomore EP ''Spiritual'' in April 2019, followed by a European tour and a performance on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

that fall. In November 2020, Rogers was featured on the ''

Happiest Season ''Happiest Season'' is a 2020 American holiday romantic comedy-drama film directed by Clea DuVall, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mary Holland. Starring an ensemble cast consisting of Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

executive produced by

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

, alongside a slate of other

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

Q songwriters and artists.

2021–present: Warner Records signing

In May 2021, it was revealed that Rogers had signed to

Warner 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 ...

via Tranter's

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Facet Records. Rogers' manager Lucas Canzona got Tranter's attention in 2019 with an email highlighting a live performance of Rogers' single "Jacob from the Bible". Tranter brought Rogers to the attention of Warner Records CEO and co-chairman

Aaron Bay-Schuck Aaron Bay-Schuck (born September 5, 1981) is an American music industry executive. The CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), he was previously the president of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M and the senior vice pr ...

, who was "captivated" by Rogers' live performance, and the two signed Rogers in late 2020. Rogers released his debut

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

single "Middle of Love" alongside the announcement. The single, which was co-written with Tranter and Eren Cannata, is the first offering from Rogers' forthcoming 2021 EP. Rogers released his next single "Momentary" in June 2020. Rogers made his TV debut on October 5, 2021 on

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

(Season 7, Episode 17), performing the song “Middle of Love”. Rogers will appear as an opening act on

Ben Platt Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of ''The Sound of Music'' (2006) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (201 ...

's Reverie Tour in September and October 2022. Rogers will also appear as an opening act on

Panic! At the Disco Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...

's Viva Las Vengeance Tour in September and October 2022.

Discography

EPs

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Jake Wesley Living people America's Got Talent contestants American male singer-songwriters American gay musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Year of birth missing (living people) Belmont University alumni Warner Records artists Singer-songwriters from Missouri American LGBT singers LGBT people from Missouri