Jonathan McLaughlin (born September 27, 1982) is an American pop rock singer-songwriter, record producer and pianist from Anderson, Indiana. His debut album Indiana was released on May 1, 2007, preceded by his first EP Industry, also known as Jon McL, in February 2007. His most successful song is the 2008 single "Beating My Heart", from his second album OK Now.
Early life McLaughlin grew up in Anderson, Indiana, playing piano since early childhood, though he disliked the lessons, and often sought to avoid them. While attending Highland High School, McLaughlin shattered both wrists in an accident that interrupted his musical career. Rediscovering "his muse," McLaughlin attended Anderson University to study music.
Career
In 2005, McLaughlin recorded an 8-song EP, Songs I Wrote and Later Recorded. Touring expanded to across the country as support continued to grow for the independent artist. He also increased his fan base by playing at Timber Wolf Lake, a Young Life camp, with his first album entitled Jon McLaughlin. He caught the attention of other independent artists and began touring with artists such as Dave Barnes and Matt Wertz.
In 2005, he signed with record label Island Records. Since then, McLaughlin increased his presence at well-established musical venues and festivals such as Feeling Better Than Everfine (Cleveland, OH), Waterfest (Oshkosh, WI), Milwaukee Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI), Northwest State College Fest (Archbold, OH) and Lollapalooza (Chicago, IL). He has toured with Kelly Clarkson, Adele, O.A.R., Sister Hazel, Cowboy Mouth, Paolo Nutini, and Marc Broussard.
Major label debut After signing with Island Records, McLaughlin increased his public image by providing music for the NBC comedy Scrubs, episode "My Conventional Wisdom," on May 10, 2007. McLaughlin's song, "Human" was included in the episode. The same song appeared at the end of the episode "The Walk-In" of Ghost Whisperer. "Beautiful Disaster" can also be heard in the TV series A Little Thing Called Life in the season two episode titled "The Greatest and Worst Halloween Ever." "Beautiful Disaster" sold over 420,000 digital copies.
To date, three Hollywood-released films have included songs from McLaughlin. The song "Another Layer" appeared on the soundtrack for the motion picture Bridge to Terabithia and "Beautiful Disaster" is used in the 2007 film Georgia Rule. McLaughlin also made an on-screen appearance and performance of the song, "So Close" (written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz) in the Oscar-nominated Disney film Enchanted.
The song received an Oscar nomination. This led to McLaughlin performing at the 80th Academy Awards, which he attended with his wife Amy.
Rising fame, collaborations, Academy Awards
McLaughlin opened on Kelly Clarkson's My December Tour beginning in October 2007, a role announced on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 7, 2007. He has also toured extensively with similarly styled and popular singer-songwriter, Sara Bareilles.
He recorded a trio with Jason Mraz and Van Hunt for the Randy Jackson duets-album Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1. The track title is "Something to Believe In". McLaughlin's "Human" is also heard in TV Promos for CBS series' Flashpoint.
In 2007, McLaughlin appeared as himself in the film Enchanted starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey singing "So Close", which led to a performance at the 2008 Academy Awards. In 2010, the song was used in Disney California Adventure's World of Color show.
McLaughlin's version of "Smack Into You", written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, was leaked to the internet in 2008, but did not appear on OK Now. Beyoncé eventually covered the song and it was featured on her album I Am... Sasha Fierce, re-titled as "Smash Into You".
In June 2008, McLaughlin premiered "Beating My Heart", which was released to mainstream radio on July 22, 2008, prior to being sent to Hot Adult Contemporary (Hot AC) on June 10. "Beating My Heart", first single from his second studio album OK Now, is available with the rest of the album for download on iTunes and Amazon. The song was praised by Billboard single reviews editor Chuck Taylor, who wrote that "It's high time for singer/songwriter Jon McLaughlin to earn his due." He followed this with a description of the song as "a joyous uptempo romantic romp, featuring hook after hook, from tinkling piano to driving percussion and a start-and-stop bridge, alongside a joyous effortless vocal that soars with falsetto to the high heavens. The accompanying video is simple enough, but effectively illustrates McLaughlin's charms as a palatable sex symbol. "Heart" pumps with instantaneous hit potential, and proper promotion of it could propel the artist to superstar status."
McLaughlin co-wrote "Every Time You Lie" and "Falling Over Me" with Demi Lovato for Lovato's second album Here We Go Again in 2009. The latter was originally a duet, but the final version only featured McLaughlin's backing vocals.
Label changes, independent, and new ventures McLaughlin self-financed and released his third studio album, Forever If Ever, on September 6, 2011. He later signed to record label Razor & Tie and re-released the album as Promising Promises on May 22, 2012, remastering all the tracks and adding three new songs. The first single from the album, "Summer is Over," featured Sara Bareilles and was released on January 10, 2012.
In July 2013, McLaughlin launched a campaign with PledgeMusic, allowing listeners to actively be involved with the making of his new album. The album, Holding My Breath, was released on September 24, 2013, and debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard Independent Albums and No. 141 Billboard 200 charts. It was preceded by the singles "Hallelujah" and "Doesn't Mean Goodbye."
Additionally, he released a set of short films on his YouTube channel ahead of the album's release.
On February 15, 2014, McLaughlin was the opening act for Billy Joel at The Palace of Auburn Hills, (Auburn Hills, Michigan) in addition to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada stop on March 9, 2014.
In 2015, he announced a new album Like Us with the premiere of his single "Before You" in July. A follow-up single "I Want You Anyway" was released in September. The album Like Us was released on October 9, 2015.
In 2017, he opened for Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox and Straight No Chaser's "Double Feature" Tour. He also began a new Patreon series called "Dueling Pianos." The following year, he announced a new single "Lost" which preceded his next album Angst & Grace which was released on November 9, 2018.
Personal life McLaughlin and his wife, Amy, have two daughters.
Discography
Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions US US Christ US Rock US Indep. Indiana Release date: May 1, 2007 Label: Island Def Jam Music Group Formats: CD, digital download 81 5 25 — OK Now Release date: October 7, 2008 Label: Island Def Jam Music Group Formats: CD, digital download 49 2 18 — Forever If Ever Release date: September 6, 2011 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download 84 3 12 10 Promising Promises Release date: May 22, 2012 Label: Razor & Tie Formats: CD, digital download 113 — — — Holding My Breath Release date: September 24, 2013 Label: Razor & Tie Formats: CD, digital download 141 8 — 26 Like Us Release date: October 9, 2015 Label: Razor & Tie Formats: CD, digital download, Vinyl — — 45 — Angst & Grace Release date: November 9, 2018 Label: Jon McLaughlin Formats: CD, digital download — — — — All The Things I Say To Myself Release date: November 19, 2021 Label: Jon McLaughlin Formats: CD, digital download — — — — Scenarios Release date: October 24, 2025 Label: Jon McLaughlin Formats: CD, digital download — — — —
Independent albums Title Album details Up Until Now Release date: 2003 Label: Self-released Jon McLaughlin (The Early Recordings) Release date: 2004 Label: Orangehaus Records Songs I Wrote and Later Recorded Release date: 2005 Label: Self-released
Extended plays Title Album details Industry Release date: February 20, 2007 Label: Island Def Jam Music Group Formats: Digital download Exclusive B-Sides (3 Song Bundle) Release date: March 7, 2013 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download Holding My Breath EP – (String Version) Release date: November 12, 2013 Label: Razor & Tie Formats: Digital download The Christmas EP Release date: November 11, 2014 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, Digital download Red and Green EP Release date: November 17, 2017 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, Digital download Mood II - EP Release date: May 8, 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, Digital download Things I Say To Myself Release date: August 28, 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, Digital download Christmas Time EP Release date: November 13, 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, Digital download
Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Album US Adult US Christ US Rock Digital 2007 "Industry" — — — Industry / Indiana "Beautiful Disaster" 28 — — Indiana "Human" — — — "So Close" — — — Enchanted soundtrack 2008 "Beating My Heart" 18 27 — OK Now 2010 "Merry, Merry Christmas Everyone" — — — rowspan="1" 2011 "What I Want" — — — Forever If Ever 2012 "Summer Is Over" (with Sara Bareilles) — — 32 Promising Promises 2014 "Honest-to-Goodness Indiana" — — — rowspan="1" 2013 "Hallelujah" — — — Holding My Breath "Doesn't Mean Goodbye" — — — 2015 "Before You" — — — Like Us "I Want You Anyway" — — — 2016 "Beautiful Lies" — — — rowspan="1" 2018 "Lost" — — — Angst & Grace "You Don't Talk About Me" — — — 2019 "So Emotional" — — — rowspan="1" 2020 "Hiding" — — — Mood II - EP "Believing" — — — "A Break Up Song" — — — Things I Say To Myself EP "Outta My Head" — — — "Feeling Like Christmas" — — — Christmas Time EP 2021 "In & Out" (with Casey McQuillen) — — — rowspan="1" "Why It Hurts" — — — All The Things I Say To Myself
Other charted songs Year Title Peak chart positions Album US Christ Digital US Rock Digital 2012 "Maybe It's Over" 449 Promising Promises
Soundtrack YearTitleSongNotes2007Bridge to Terabithia"Another Layer"2007Ghost Whisperer"Human"Episodes: "Dead to Rights" & "The Walk-in"2007Scrubs"Human"Episode: "My Conventional Wisdom"2007Georgia Rule"Beautiful Disaster"2007The Bold and the Beautiful"Beautiful Disaster"Episode: #1.51322007Enchanted"So Close"2008Army Wives"Beautiful Disaster"Episode: "All in the Family"2009CSI: NY"Always On My Mind"Episode: "Help"201290210"Always On My Mind"Episode: "Forever Hold Your Peace"2012A Thousand Words"We All Need Saving"2015Madam Secretary"We All Need Saving"Episode: "Tamerlane"2014Reckless"Hymm for Her"Episode: "I'll Follow You"2015Nashville"Hymm for Her"Episode: "Can't Let Go"
Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes2007EnchantedBallroom Singer2012Atlantians in AmericaBig W FootDirect-to-video2013My Life in Real Time Short
References
External links
Jon McLaughlin at VH1.com Jon McL at NoiseTrade Jon McLaughlin Chart History at Billboard