John O'Callaghan (singer)

John Cornelius O'Callaghan V[1] (born 4 August 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist of American rock band The Maine since 2007.[2] He debut a solo project under the name John the Ghost in 2016.[3]

John O'Callaghan
O'Callaghan performing at the 2018 Rock am Ring
Background information
Birth nameJohn Cornelius O'Callaghan V
Born (1988-08-04) 4 August 1988
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
Years active2007-present
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Labels8123
Associated acts

Early life

O'Callaghan was born in Phoenix, Arizona and was raised there most of his life.[4] He went to ASU for two semesters and then dropped out to join The Maine. Before turning to music, O'Callaghan use to play baseball.[5]

Career

O'Callaghan began his career by auditioning for The Maine with no prior vocal experience.[6] Since, they have released eight studio albums including You Are OK that reached number one on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.[7] They were featured in various Punk Goes Pop compilation albums.[8] The band won the "Power of Music Award" in 2017 and O'Callaghan spoke about winning the award by saying, “For me, awards are never something you should think about unless it’s directly impacting you as far as being voted by the people that dig what you do, but for me it’s really special because you guys are acknowledging the people that make it all possible for us.”[9]

In 2016, he began a solo project under the moniker John the Ghost releasing his first single titled, "Sour Grapes" on April 12, 2016.[10][11] He released an extended play, Sincerely, John the Ghost that year.[12] On January 15, 2021, he released his single "Drive" and announced the upcoming release of his debut album, I Only Want to Live Once.[13] Days before the release of his album, he released another single "The Patterns" that featured other previous singles such as "Drive" and "Live Once".[14][15]

In 2017, he was nominated at the Alternative Press Music Awards for "Best Vocalist" but lost to Lynn Gunn of Pvris.[16] O'Callaghan has worked as a composer and songwriter for the band Grayscale.[17] In 2010, O'Callaghan collaborated with photographer Dirk Mai in the creation of Exaltation, a book containing 15 poems written by O'Callaghan complemented by nine accompanying photographs by Mai.[18] He also released a book of poetry titled Sincerely, John The Ghost in 2016 to accompany his solo EP of the same name.[19]

In 2020, O'Callaghan was featured in the Mayday Parade's cover of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles.[20]

Personal life

O'Callaghan got married in October 2020 to Megan Harder.[21][22] They had their first child, a daughter, the following year in November.[23]

Musical influences

O'Callaghan cites Arizona as his inspiration for music. He states, “I think Arizona has a heavy effect on everything that I write about. Having the experience of being able to leave Arizona and see other parts of the world made me really appreciate what I have here — the sunsets, the weather and, of course, family and friends. It’s really just a long way of saying that I love Arizona and I feel like I was very fortunate to have been born here and to live here.”[4]

Discography
See also: The Maine discography

Albums
Year Album details
2021 I Only Want to Live Once

Extended Plays
Year Album details
2016 Sincerely, John the Ghost

Singles
Title Year Album
Sour Grapes 2016 Sincerely, John the Ghost
Rolled Down Window 2020 I Only Want to Live Once
Live Once
Drive 2021
The Patterns
Young at Heart 2022 non-album single
Lately (Featuring Worry Club)

Other appearances
Year Title Artist Album Notes
2019 "In Violet" Grayscale Nella Vita Songwriter
2020 "I Want to Hold Your Hand" Mayday Parade N/A Vocals

[24]

References
  1. "The Maine - Facebook". Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  2. "Dissecting a Decade With a Band Called The Maine". Billboard. April 5, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  3. "John The Ghost Releases New Song/Music Video". Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  4. "Living for the Moment: John O'Callaghan releases his first solo record". Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  5. "The Maine - Instagram". Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  6. "Music: The Maine". Youthradio.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013.
  7. "The Maine – Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  8. "Nine of The Maine's Best and Most Surprising Covers". Rock Sound. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  9. "The Maine's John O'Callaghan: "Music Has Always Been There"". Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  10. "The Maine's John O'Callaghan Launches New Side Project". Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  11. "Sour Grapes - Single by John the Ghost". Apple Music. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  12. "Sincerely, John the Ghost - EP by John the Ghost". Apple Music. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  13. "John The Ghost Announces New Album "ONLY WANT TO LIVE ONCE", Drops New Song "Drive"". Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. "John the Ghost Releases "The Patterns" Ahead of Debut LP". Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  15. "The Patterns - Single by John the Ghost". Apple Music. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  16. "And the winners of the 2017 APMAs are…". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  17. "John O'Callaghan - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  18. "Exaltation". YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  19. "Sincerely, John The Ghost". Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  20. "Mayday Parade Assembles Supergroup to Cover of The Beatles' I Want To Hold Your Hand". Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  21. "John O'Callaghan Talks John The Ghost, The Maine's New Record, And More". Retrieved February 22, 2022. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  22. "Megan O'Callaghan - Instagram". Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  23. "John O'Callaghan - Instagram". Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  24. "John O'Callaghan - Genius". Genius. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
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