Eli Lieb /ˈl lb/ is an independent American pop singer-songwriter from Fairfield, Iowa. In 2014, Lieb resided in Los Angeles, where he was working on his second album.[2]

Eli Lieb
Birth nameElias Howard Lieb
BornIowa, United States[1]
OriginFairfield, Iowa
GenresPop
OccupationSinger-songwriter
LabelsEli Lieb
Websitewww.elilieb.com

History

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At twenty, Lieb left his hometown of Fairfield, Iowa, to pursue music professionally in New York City. In addition to attending classes at The New School and at Pepperdine University, Lieb began singing at local open mic sessions, where he was introduced to Jonathan Daniel of Crush Management.[3] The two began meeting with record labels, and Lieb began collaborating with other songwriters.[3] During this period, Lieb's father died; he abruptly ceased his music career and moved back to Fairfield.[3] For more than three years, he did not play or write a song.[3]

2009–2011: Debut album

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In 2009, Lieb began recording covers of popular songs and uploading them to YouTube from his home in Fairfield.[4] His videos accrued a large number of views while the positive response he received online encouraged him to release his first album, the self-titled Eli Lieb, independently on October 25, 2011.[5] Lieb wrote, recorded, and produced the album on his own in Fairfield.[6]

2013–present: Post-debut singles and second studio album

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Lieb's single "Young Love" was released in July 2013, with music blog Idolator calling it "an instantly catchy, uplifting pop/rock anthem that sounds like a cross between Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen".[7] In October 2013, Lieb's YouTube cover of Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" went viral and was supported through social media by singers Adam Lambert[8] and Lucy Hale.[9]

In 2014, Lieb released a free digital download titled "Safe In My Hands" in conjunction with Allstate's #OutHoldingHands campaign. The song was performed and co-written by Lieb and was featured in a short animated film for the same campaign.[10] "Safe In My Hands" was also featured in the Season 2 summer finale of ABC Family's The Fosters and won "Best In Show" and "Best Original Song" at the 2015 American Music Producers Awards for Music and Sound.[11]

On July 8, 2014, Lieb released a single "Zeppelin" produced by John Feldmann.[10] The accompanying music video was released on July 15 and was directed by Geoff Boothby.[12][13]

On September 13, 2014, Lieb performed "Young Love" at the GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers event for LGBT equality through the media.[14]

Lieb went on to release the single "Lightning in a Bottle", also produced by Fieldman, and its accompanying music video on November 19, 2014.[15] He went on to work on a second album with Feldmann as producer.[2] As of March 2023, he has almost 58 million views on his YouTube channel.[16]

Songwriting

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In 2013, Lieb moved to Los Angeles to further his career as a songwriter. He has collaborated with artists including Cheyenne Jackson[17] and Crystal Bowersox. He is also confirmed[2] to have collaborated with Adam Lambert.

In 2015, Lieb has written with musical acts such as Hey Violet and Laura Marano alongside writing partner Stacy Jones.[18]

In March 2016, Eli and singer-songwriter Steve Grand co-wrote a duet, "Look Away".[19] By June 2019, the music video had received over 2,300,000 views on YouTube.

On June 13, 2016, two days after the Orlando nightclub shooting, Lieb and Brandon Skeie co-wrote a song named "Pulse" and released it in memory of the victims in the shooting.[20]

Personal life

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Lieb is openly gay,[2] a subject that is frequently featured in his songs and music videos.

Lieb comes from a meditating family and has been practicing Transcendental Meditation since childhood. He credits it with allowing him to "freely create the music that I am creating without any fear".[21] He has worked with the David Lynch Foundation to fund teaching of Transcendental Meditation.[22]

Discography

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Album

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Title Album details Track listing
Eli Lieb
  • Released: 25 October 2011 (2011-10-25)[23]
  • Format: CD, digital download[24]
Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Red"1:53
2."All I Wanted"4:16
3."Place of Paradise"3:34
4."Tightrope"3:55
5."Tidal Waves"4:14
6."We Own the Beat"3:25
7."Ghost"3:22
8."Red and Blue"4:13
9."Call It a Day"3:16
10."Undone"4:12
The Nights We Lived
  • Released: 27 April 2018 (2018-04-27)[25]
  • Format: CD, digital download[24]
Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Fall for You"4:58
2."Round and Round"3:19
3."Until You've Fallen Down"3:16
4."Kissing Your Tattoos"3:08
5."When You Need a Friend"3:32
6."Next To You"2:54
7."Shangri La"4:01
8."Hollywood"3:48
9."Castles"3:02
10."The Nights We Lived"4:09
11."Round and Round (Future Gangster Remix)"3:33
12."Next to You (Future Gangster Remix)"4:24
13."Hollywood (Future Gangster Remix)"4:43

Singles

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Title Year Album
"Place of Paradise" 2011 Eli Lieb
"Young Love" 2013
"Safe in My Hands"
"Safe in My Hands" (pop remix version)
"Zeppelin" 2014
"Lightning In A Bottle"
"Look Away" (with Steve Grand) 2016
"Pulse" (feat. Brandon Skeie)
"Shangri La" 2017 The Nights We Lived
"Kissing Your Tattoos"
"Until You've Fallen Down"
"Next To You"
"The Nights We Lived" 2018
"I Want It All" 2019
"Boys Who Like Boys" 2021

Music videos

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Title Artist Director(s)
"Place of Paradise" Eli Lieb Geoff Boothby and Nicholai Fischer
"Young Love" Geoff Boothby
"Safe In My Hands" Allstate
"Zeppelin" Geoff Boothby and Sharkpig
"Lightning In A Bottle" Geoff Boothby and Sharkpig

Soundtracks

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Title Year Film
"One in a Million" 2020 Ghosts of The République

Awards and nominations

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Year Presenter Award Result
2015 American Music Producers Awards for Music and Sound Best Original Song ("Safe in My Hands") Won
Best in Show ("Safe in My Hands") Won

References

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  1. ^ The Advocate: Eli Lieb Wins Award For Allstate's 'Out Holding Hands' Campaign (June 18, 2015)
  2. ^ a b c d Wong, Curtis (July 31, 2014). "Interview: Singer-Songwriter Eli Lieb On 'Zeppelin' And Being An Openly Gay Artist In Today's Music World". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d Fairfield 2.0 (Season 2, Episode 40). Fairfield, Iowa: Fairfield Media Center. 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "On the Rise: Eli Lieb". Peace Town USA. November 22, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  5. ^ Wes. "Eli Lieb: Album Review". KickKickSnare. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  6. ^ "Place of Paradise: Talking About Life & Music with Singer Eli Lieb". April 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  7. ^ Wass, Mike (July 19, 2013). "Eli Lieb Does It For The Boys In "Young Love": Watch The Inspiring Video". Idolator.com. SpinMedia. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  8. ^ "Eli Lieb Dishes on His Popular 'Wrecking Ball' Cover". Yahoo! Celebrity. October 2013. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  9. ^ Virtel, Louis (October 2013). "Interview: Gay Singer/Songwriter Eli Lieb, "I'm Happy To Represent"". The Backlot. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Hernandez, Brian Anthony (June 15, 2014). "Eli Lieb's 'Safe In My Hands' Is LGBT Anthem in Allstate's Short Film". Mashable. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  11. ^ "Allstate, Pepsi & Chevrolet Big Winners at Third Annual AMP Awards". Billboard. May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  12. ^ Snicks (July 6, 2014). "Watch! Take A Ride On Eli Lieb's "Zeppelin"". The Backlot. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Ragan, Scott (July 18, 2014). "Hot Sheet: 6. MUSIC: "Zeppelin," Eli Lieb". The Advocate. Here Media. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  14. ^ Davis, Brendan (September 16, 2014). "WATCH: Eli Lieb's moving performance at the #glaadgala in SF". GLAAD. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  15. ^ "Eli Lieb – Lightning In A Bottle". YouTube. Eli Lieb. November 19, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  16. ^ "Eli Lieb - YouTube". YouTube.
  17. ^ "Cheyenne Jackson & Eli Lieb Record a Song Together". Out.com. Here Media Inc. July 17, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  18. ^ Marano, Laura [@lauramarano] (September 3, 2015). "Just heard the demo of the craziest song I've ever written with @elilieb and @StacyGlenJones, and I'M FREAKING OUT OH MY GOODNESS" (Tweet). Retrieved September 4, 2015 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Eli Lieb (March 2, 2016), Eli Lieb, Steve Grand – Look Away, retrieved November 4, 2016
  20. ^ Dresden, Hilton (June 14, 2016). "Feel my pulse". Out.com. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  21. ^ Drew, Ian (November 16, 2011). "YouTube Star Eli Lieb Says Meditating Helped His Career Take Off". Us Weekly. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  22. ^ "Pop Artist ELI LIEB Wins Over Millions of YouTube Viewers". Broadway World. January 9, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  23. ^ "Eli Lieb – Album". iTunes. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Eli Lieb".
  25. ^ "The Nights We Lived by Eli Lieb". iTunes. April 27, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
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