John Martin (singer)

John Martin
John Martin at Sommarkrysset
John Martin at Sommarkrysset
Background information
Born
John Martin Lindström

(1980-08-22) 22 August 1980[1]
Stockholm, Sweden
OriginStockholm, Sweden
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2010–present
Websitejohnmartinofficial.com

John Martin Lindström (born 22 August 1980) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is known for his collaborations with Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, and Martin Garrix, as well as a solo artist under his own name. Martin is also a member of the music duo VCATION.

Early life

John Martin Lindström was born on 22 August 1980, and grew up in Stockholm. He is the son of a rally driver but chose to pursue music instead of motorsport. Through his older brother, he was introduced to grunge and the Seattle rock scene during his early teens.

At the age of 13 he received his first electric guitar and started the rock band Steroids with his classmates, initially only playing Nirvana covers. After a year, the band began writing their own songs and soon performed at school parties and local bars.[2]

In the mid-2000s steroids became part of Stockholm's alternative rock scene, known for their chaotic live performances. The band signed a record deal and recorded an album that was never released.

Artist

During Steroids final year as a band, John Martin met songwriter Michel Zitron during a night out at Berns. The two soon began a fruitful musical collaboration and, together with Swedish House Mafia, wrote the song "Save the World," which was released on 22 April 2011.[3] The song reached number ten on the UK singles chart and peaked at number one on the American "Hot Dance Club Songs" chart.[4] The same year, "Save the World" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording.[5]

The following year, John Martin worked again with Swedish House Mafia on "Don't You Worry Child". The song became a huge hit when it was released on 11 September 2012, and reached the top ten on the US Billboard chart, a feat no Swedish band had achieved since 1998.[6] "Don't You Worry Child" was also nominated for a Grammy.[7]

Through his collaboration with Swedish House Mafia, Martin established himself as one of the most prominent singers and songwriters in electronic dance music. Together with the DJ group, he toured the world and performed at venues such as Alexandra Palace in London and Madison Square Garden in New York City, as well as in front of a total of 135,000 people over three days at Strawberry Arena in Stockholm.[8]

In 2013 John Martin worked with Tinie Tempah and contributed lyrics and vocals to his song "Children of the Sun", which was released on 25 October. The song reached number six on the UK singles chart. The same year, he also appeared on "Reload" by Sebastian Ingrosso and Tommy Trash.[9]

In 2014 John Martin decided to focus entirely on his solo career as an artist and signed with Island Records, known for representing artists like Bob Marley and U2. In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, he said: "I couldn't wait any longer. My fans are growing. It hasn't been entirely clear who I actually am. I haven't been the front figure, not featured in the videos, just been a name and a voice. Now I want to show who I am."[10] The single "Anywhere for You" released in the spring of 2014, reached fourth place on the UK Dance chart and went platinum in Sweden. Despite the success, the album was never released.

After a break from music, John Martin collaborated with Martin Garrix on the single "Higher Ground" and with Gryffin on "CRY" in 2020. In 2021, he worked again with Martin Garrix on "Won’t Let You Go" and together with David Guetta on "Impossible" and the Brazilian artist ALOK on "Wherever You Go." In 2022 and 2023, he contributed lyrics and vocals to Steve Aoki's songs "Whole Again" and "Won’t Forget This Time".[11]

On 24 August 2023 John Martin released "Coming Home" together with the Ukrainian duo Artbat. The music video for the song, directed by Pavel Buryak, shows Ukrainian soldiers coming home from the war and reuniting with their families.[12]

Songwriter

In addition to the projects he has both written and performed on, John Martin has written songs with a range of artists such as Avicii ("Fade into Darkness"), Martin Garrix ("Home," ”Hold On," ”Real Love," ”Carry You," ”Together"), Alesso ("In My Blood"), Afrojack ("We’ll Be Ok"), Bob Moses ("Love Brand New," ”Time and Time Again"), Julian Lennon ("Lucky Ones"), Josef Salvat ("Promiscuity"), Danny Saucedo ("Happy That You Found Me"), RLY ("Safe & Sound," ”Ring The Alarm"), New Hope Club ("Let Me Down"), Kat Cunning ("Broken Heart"), Felix Jaehn ("Never Alone"), Style of Eye ("Sweetest Heartache"), and Alice Chater ("Girls X Boys").[13]

VCATION

In 2018, John Martin, together with Michel Zitron, launched the music project VCATION by releasing the single "Lay Low." With VCATION, the duo sought a more organic and relaxed sound than in their previous EDM songs. The project has since released several tracks, including "When We Were Gold," "Stairway to the Sun," "Love You Long Time," "Rise Up," "Let U Go," and "Miss U.[14]

Discography

Year Title Artist(s) Songwriter Vocals Nomination
2011 Fade into Darkness Avicii Yes No
Save The World Swedish House Mafia Yes Yes Grammy
2012 Don't You Worry Child Swedish House Mafia Yes Yes Grammy
2013 Children of the Sun Tinie Tempah Yes Yes
Reload Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash No Yes
2014 Anywhere for You John Martin Yes Yes
Love Louder John Martin Yes Yes
Sweetest Heartache Style of Eye Yes No
We’ll Be Ok Afrojack Yes No
2015 In My Blood Alesso Yes No
Together Ella Eyre Yes No
2016 Together Martin Garrix Yes No
2018 Lay Low VCATION Yes Yes
When We Were Gold VCATION Yes Yes
Girls X Boys Alice Chater Yes No
2019 Never Alone Felix Jaehn, Mesto Yes No
Home Martin Garrix Yes No
Hold On Martin Garrix Yes No
2020 Higher Ground Martin Garrix Yes Yes
Stairway to the Sun VCATION Yes Yes
CRY Gryffin Yes Yes
Let Me Down New Hope Club Yes No
Broken Heart Kat Cunning Yes No
2021 Love You Long Time VCATION Yes Yes
Won't Let You Go Martin Garrix Yes Yes
Impossible David Guetta Yes Yes
Wherever You Go ALOK Yes Yes
2022 Let U Go VCATION Yes Yes
Miss U VCATION Yes Yes
Rise Up VCATION Yes Yes
Whole Again Steve Aoki Yes Yes
Love Brand New Bob Moses Yes No
Time and Time Again Bob Moses Yes No
Lucky Ones Julian Lennon Yes No
Ride Carlos Jean Yes No
Follow Topic Yes No
Promiscuity Josef Salvat Yes No
2023 Won't Forget This Time Steve Aoki Yes Yes
Real Love Martin Garrix Yes No
Coming Home Artbat Yes Yes
A Little More Lost Georgia Ku Yes No
2024 Happy That You Found Me Danny Saucedo Yes No
Safe & Sound RLY Yes No
Ring The Alarm RLY Yes No
Carry You Martin Garrix Yes No


See also

Notes

  • A ^ "Anywhere for You" did not chart on the Belgian Flanders Ultratop, but it did chart at number 20 on the Ultratip chart, the top 100 songs which have not made the Ultratop 50.

References

  1. ^ Sveriges befolkning 1990, CD-ROM, Version 1.00, Riksarkivet (2011).
  2. ^ Exclusive Interview with the voice behind Swedish House Mafia and Avicii: John Martin | Elektro Archived 11 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Bericht auf "mn2s" Archived 23 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Save The World by Swedish House Mafia – Music Charts". acharts.co. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Swedish House Mafia | Artist | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  6. ^ Nyheter, S. V. T. (17 January 2013). "Swedish House Mafia på Billboards topp 10-lista". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Swedish House Mafia | Artist | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  8. ^ Bergqvist, Mattias (25 March 2013). "Lyssna: Här SHM:s allra sista spelning". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  9. ^ "John Martin (9)". Discogs. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  10. ^ ""Nu vill jag visa vem jag är"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 15 April 2014. ISSN 1101-2447. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  11. ^ "John Martin (9)". Discogs. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  12. ^ ARTBAT (29 August 2023). ARTBAT ft. John Martin – Coming Home (Official Music Video). Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. Retrieved 4 March 2025.