Background and career
Adam Randal Young (born July 5, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the founder and sole member of electronica project Owl City. Outside of Owl City, Young has recorded music under different musical projects, most notably Port Blue and Sky Sailing. In addition to these works, Young was part of the electronica band Swimming With Dolphins and post-rock band Windsor Airlift. Young has also collaborated with numerous musical artists such as Paul van Dyk, Chicane, Armin van Buuren, Schiller, Relient K, Jars of Clay, and Switchfoot. Young has composed music for brands such as Apple and Disney.
Young was born Adam Randal Young in Ottumwa, Iowa on July 5, 1986 and was raised in Owatonna, Minnesota. He is the son of Joan Young and Randy Young. His mother worked as an elementary school teacher in the Owatonna school district. Growing up, he was in the band Windsor Airlift, and played guitar at church; he was raised as a Baptist. He graduated from Owatonna Senior High School and moved to Minneapolis, where he worked at UPS as a truck loader working night shifts. He then moved back to his parents’ in Owatonna and found work at a Coca-Cola shipping warehouse. He attended a community college for a general arts degree. However, he ultimately dropped out of college and continued working at Coca-Cola, while focusing on making music. He began composing melodies in his head while working, which he would then record in his bedroom, which was in his parents' basement. Young is a self-taught musician, briefly took guitar lessons, and considers the piano, guitar and drums as his main three instruments.
Young began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to MySpace, where he started to attract favorable attention for his music. He released his debut studio album, Maybe I'm Dreaming independently on March 17, 2008. In February 2009, he signed with Universal Republic. His second studio album, Ocean Eyes, was released on July 14, 2009, and spawned three singles, most notably "Fireflies". The song peaked at number one for two non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. On June 14, 2011, he released his third studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful. His fourth studio album, The Midsummer Station, was released on August 17, 2012. The album's lead single, "Good Time" featuring Carly Rae Jepsen, peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. He composed the song "When Can I See You Again?" on Disney's Wreck-It Ralph in 2012. He released his fifth studio album, Mobile Orchestra on July 10, 2015, which was his last album released under Republic Records before parting ways with the label in 2016. He subsequently released his next two albums, Cinematic (2018) and Coco Moon (2023) independently.
In 2002, Young formed a pop-punk band with his childhood friends Anthony and Andy Johnson. The band later focused on making instrumental music with the addition of Michael DeMars in 2005. Young was the group's drummer and they released their debut EP, The Basement on April 25, 2003. The group would perform shows at local churches, as well as competing in the Steele County's Battle of the Bands competition in 2003 and 2004. He has been credited on several releases with the band, most notably: Selections for a Fallen Soldier Vol. 2, Ocean City Park, Hotels and Beneath the Crystal Waves. Young departed the band in 2008 to focus on Owl City.
Sky Sailing is a musical project created by Adam Young and began in 2006. Young wrote and recorded Sky Sailing's songs while he was still working at Coca-Cola, living with his parents. He recorded songs for An Airplane Carried Me to Bed in the summer of 2007 before Owl City broke out into the mainstream. Once Ocean Eyes became a commercial success in 2009, Young announced that he would re-launch the Sky Sailing project in 2010. Young called the project, "darker, moodier, and much more organic" than Owl City and is a lot more acoustic. He pitched the idea of releasing the album to Universal Records, which they were supportive of. Originally, these songs were made for his friends to hear and were supposed to be put on his MySpace page before Owl City took off and Young decided to put Sky Sailing on hold. Upon his return to Sky Sailing, Young uploaded two tracks on MySpace, "Brielle" and "I Live Alone". On July 13, 2010, he released his debut studio album An Airplane Carried Me to Bed and was one of the most-downloaded new albums on the week it was released. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 30. On the release day of the album, "Brielle" was released as its lead single and was sent to Triple-A and Hot AC radio formats. "A Little Opera Goes a Long Way" was also released on the same day for a free download. On July 22, "Tennis Elbow" was released for a free download on his newsletter. "Flowers of the Field" was released as a single on July 27. Young initially had plans for a Sky Sailing tour in the spring of 2011, however, those plans were later scrapped.
In 2006, Young formed an instrumental and ambient music project called Port Blue, creating electronic-based songs that he has described as "dreamscapes". One of Young's earliest instrumental projects, Port Blue was inspired by Saxon Shore, Unwed Sailor, Helios, Boards of Canada, and The Album Leaf. On September 13, 2007, Young released his debut album as Port Blue, The Airship. On January 10, 2008, Young released an initial follow-up EP, The Albatross. In 2013, Young released his second EP, The Pacific, on his SoundCloud page.
