Jack Antonoff is a musical prodigy. He burst onto the scene in 2012 with his global smash hit “We are young” and has not stopped penning hits ever since. He has co-written and produced a number of tracks for Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Lana del Rey, earning five Grammys in the process. He is a multi-instrumentalist. His music is like a combination of a John Hughes movie and early E-Street band Springsteen. In fact, the Boss has appeared with Antonoff in videos and in the studio, becoming something of a mentor to the 37-year-old fellow New Jersey native. His latest solo project, Bleachers, is the closest thing to Springsteen-style rock, weaving tales of ordinary people into free-flowing and infectious Americana rock arrangements. Another interesting layer to Antonoff’s style is his slightly “nerdy” persona. Antonoff has spoken publicly about his struggles with depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder. With his goggle black glasses and Grease-era jeans, T-shirt, and cardigan, the singer is asking us to re-evaluate what it means to be a rock star.
