| grandson | |
| Birth Name: | Jordan Edward Benjamin |
| Birth Date: | 25 October 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Origin: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Years Active: | 2014–present |
Jordan Edward Benjamin[1] [2] (born October 25, 1993),[3] known professionally as Grandson (stylized as grandson),[4] is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, and rapper currently signed to Fueled by Ramen. He released his major label debut EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, on June 15, 2018, and released the follow-up A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 on February 22, 2019. The initial EP featured the single "Blood // Water", which appeared on several Billboard charts in the United States and Canada. Benjamin's music focuses on modern-day issues that are less recognized by the media and public. On December 4, 2020, he released his debut studio album, Death of an Optimist, and his second album, I Love You, I'm Trying, was released on May 5, 2023.
Benjamin was born in New Jersey, United States, but when he was 3 years old, his family moved to a Jewish neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario, where his maternal relatives lived[5] [6] (he holds dual citizenship of both countries). He has two sisters.[7] Benjamin grew up largely in the Eglinton West area of Toronto.[8] [9] [10] He attended Northern Secondary School in Toronto and, after graduation, enrolled in McGill University in Montreal. There, he studied education with the initial goal of becoming a teacher.[9] [11] He also spent a great deal of time DJing and playing shows in Montreal while at McGill.[12] After two years, he transferred to Concordia University, another Montreal institution. He studied communications there briefly before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue a music career.[4] [9]
Benjamin began releasing music under the pseudonym grandson in late 2015.[10] In 2016, he released several singles that accrued millions of streams, including "Bills", "Things Change", and "Bury Me Face Down".[8] [13] In 2017, he was signed to RCA Records, and continued releasing singles, including "Best Friends" and "Kiss Bang".[4] [11] He also performed at North by Northeast that year (among other festivals).[10]
In April 2018, it was announced that grandson had signed to the Fueled By Ramen record label.[14] He had also released two new singles, "Blood // Water" (a song about political corruption that would go on to appear on multiple Billboard charts) and "Thoughts & Prayers", which offered a critique of American gun laws in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.[8] [15] He released his first EP on Fueled by Ramen, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, in June 2018.[15] [16] That EP also featured the song "6:00" which discussed police brutality.[17] Also in June 2018, grandson was featured on Mike Shinoda's song "Running from My Shadow", taken from his debut album Post Traumatic; the track was released also with an accompanying music video in May 2018.[18]
Throughout 2018, grandson toured with acts like Hobo Johnson, Joywave, Nothing But Thieves,[16] [17] [19] Smashing Pumpkins,[20] and Young the Giant.[2] [21] He also appeared on an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers in August 2018, performing "Blood // Water".[22]
In February 2019, he released a new single, "Apologize", and announced his second EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2, which was released on February 22, 2019.[9] [23] In late May, grandson released a cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Maria", a song featured on the 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles.[24]
In June 2019, he won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for his song "Blood // Water",[25] while in September 2019 the singer released A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3, the final installment of the Modern Tragedy trilogy EPs;[26] the record features the lead single "Rock Bottom", which peaked at No. 38 on the Canadian Rock Chart.[27]
On September 23, 2020, Grandson announced on his Facebook page that his debut full-length album Death of an Optimist would be released on December 4, 2020. Death of an Optimist is grandson's debut album, being his first record to have a heavier tone since the release of the last a modern tragedy EP, a modern tragedy vol. 3. The album gained a lot of publicity and recognition through his social media.
He announced a new album in May 2022, and it was released in May 2023.
| Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat. [28] | |||
| Death of an Optimist |
| 7 | |
| I Love You, I'm Trying |
|
| Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat. | |||
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 |
| — | |
| Broken Down Vol. 1 |
| — | |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 |
| 23 | |
| No Apologies Live |
| — | |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 |
| — |
| Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN AC [29] | CAN Rock [30] | CZ [31] | LTU [32] | US Alt [33] | US Main [34] | US Rock [35] | ||||||
| "Bills" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="6" | |||
| "things change" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Bury Me Face Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Kiss Bang" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Best Friends" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "War" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Blood // Water" | — | 19 | — | 93 | 20 | 17 | 19 | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | ||||
| "Overdose" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Thoughts & Prayers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Apologize" | 2019 | — | 5 | — | — | 34 | 20 | — |
| A Modern Tragedy Vol. 2 | ||
| "Maria" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rock Sound Presents: Worship And Tributes Vol. 2 | ||||
| "Despicable" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1 | ||||
| "Rock Bottom" | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | A Modern Tragedy Vol. 3 | ||||
| "Oh No!!!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Happy Pill" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Peaches (Text Voter XX to 40649)" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Text Voter XX to 40649 Collection | |||
| "Whole Lotta (Text Voter XX to 40649)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "How Bout Now (Text Voter XX to 40649)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Again (Text Voter XX to 40649)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Identity" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | ||||
| "Riptide" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Dirty" | 50 | 6 | — | — | 10 | — | — |
| ||||
| "One Step Closer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Spotify Singles | ||||
| "We Did It!!!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death of an Optimist | ||||
| "Zen" | — | 9 | 48 | — | 24 | — | — | |||||
| "Rain" | 2021 | — | 31 | — | — | 26 | — | 49 | The Suicide Squad (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |||
| "Drop Dead" | — | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="2" | ||||
| "KULT" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Eulogy" | 2023 | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | I Love You, I'm Trying | |||
| "Drones" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Something To Hide" | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
| Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt | ||||||||||
| "Running from My Shadow" | 2018 | — | Post Traumatic (Deluxe Version) | |||||||
| "All in My Head" | 2020 | — | rowspan="4" | |||||||
| "Heat Seeker" | 28 | |||||||||
| "Lost Cause" | — | |||||||||
| "Cash Machine (Remix)" | — | |||||||||
| "Hold the Line" | 2021 | — | The Atlas Underground Fire | |||||||
| "Until I Come Home" | — | Shape & Form | ||||||||
| "GOOD MOOD" | 2022 | — | rowspan="2" | |||||||
| "CHOKE" | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
| "Bills" | 2017 | Joe Cappa |
| "Blood // Water" | 2018 | Miggy & Morgan |
| "6:00" | Gus Black | |
| "Apologize" | 2019 | Jordan Wozy & Lucas Taggart |
| "Stigmata" | Rosco Guerrero | |
| "Rock Bottom" | Seth Michael Stern | |
| "Oh No! | " | Galileo |
|---|---|---|
| "Identity" | 2020 | Karl Jungquist |
| "Riptide" | ||
| "Dirty" | ||
| "Rain" (From The Suicide Squad) | 2021 | |
| "Drop Dead" (ft. Kesha and Travis Barker) | Andrew Sandler | |
| "Eulogy" | 2023 | Zach Madden |
| "Drones" | Zachary Bailey | |
| "Half My Heart" |