Tobias MacDonald Jesso Jr. is a Canadian musician. He signed with True Panther Sounds to release his debut album Goon (2015). He was included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 20 Biggest Breakouts of 2015. In 2023 he was the first Songwriter of the Year recipient at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards — for his work on releases by Harry Styles, Adele, FKA Twigs, Orville Peck, King Princess, Diplo, and Omar Apollo.

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Tobias MacDonald Jesso Jr. (born July 11, 1985) is a Canadian musician. He signed with True Panther Sounds to release his debut album Goon (2015). He was included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 20 Biggest Breakouts of 2015. In 2023 he was the first Songwriter of the Year recipient at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards — for his work on releases by Harry Styles, Adele, FKA Twigs, Orville Peck, King Princess, Diplo, and Omar Apollo.\n

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Career

Jesso was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia. After living and playing bass in Los Angeles for four years, Jesso moved back to his home in North Vancouver. He started playing the piano in his spare time while working for a moving company. It was during this period that he wrote his first piano-based song \"Just a Dream.\" Eventually, he sent one of his demos in an email to former Girls bassist Chet JR White. Jesso co-wrote the songs \"When We Were Young\" and \"Lay Me Down\" (featured on the Target version of 25) with Adele, which is included in her 2015 album 25.\n

Goon

Jesso's first demo was released in August 2013 after a painful break-up and his mother's cancer diagnosis. Chet JR White, along with Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, John Collins of The New Pornographers, and Ariel Rechtshaid, helped produce Jesso's debut album entitled Goon. Aaron Sperske plays drums on the album except Danielle Haim plays drums on the track \"Without You.\" His song \"How Could You Babe\" garnered increased attention after being tweeted about by both Adele and Alana Haim. He collaborated with Sia and Adele on the song \"Alive\". Originally intended for Adele and Rihanna, the song was eventually recorded by Sia and appeared on her album This Is Acting. His first major tour started in 2015.\n

Shine

On November 13, 2025, Jesso announced his first studio album in ten years, Shine (stylized as s h i n e), would be released the following Friday, November 21. The announcement was accompanied by the album's single, \"I Love You,\" and a music video featuring Dakota Johnson and Riley Keough. In a press release accompanying the announcement, Jesso noted that the album was about \"himself, his mom, his son, a breakup and his life at this moment in time.\"\n

Musical style

Jesso's music has been compared to singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s from Randy Newman to Harry Nilsson and Emitt Rhodes. He cites Newman as one of his favourite artists. Even though he was a bassist and guitarist for years, his new music was written by him on the piano—an instrument he started playing at the age of 27.\n

Awards

Jesso was nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the 2016 Juno Awards. \nOn June 20, 2016, Jesso was the recipient of the SOCAN Breakout Award at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto. He won the Grammy for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical, in 2023. Goon was Short Listed for the Polaris Prize in 2015.\n

Personal life

Jesso married Australian musician Emma Louise in January 2019; they have one child together. They divorced in 2022.\n

Discography

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Singles

\"True Love\"
\"Hollywood\"
\"How Could You Babe\"
\"I Love You\"

Songwriting and production credits

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References

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External links

Official website

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Tobias Jesso Jr.

Broadcast History