Ross Jacob Golan (born April 8, 1980) is an American songwriter, record producer and playwright.[1]

Ross Golan
Golan in 2012
Golan in 2012
Background information
Birth nameRoss Jacob Golan
Born (1980-04-08) April 8, 1980 (age 44)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • record producer
  • composer
  • playwright
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active2003–present
Labels
Websitewww.twitter.com/rossgolan

Life and career

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Early career

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Golan graduated from Deerfield High School (Illinois) of Deerfield, Illinois in 1998. He studied music at the University of Southern California, and has since released songs with artists including Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, Nicki Minaj, Gwen Stefani, Lady Antebellum, Michael Bublé, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Flo Rida, Enrique Iglesias, One Direction, P!nk, The Dixie Chicks, Pitbull, Lauv, Idina Menzel, Nelly, Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato, Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor, Cee Lo Green, 5 Seconds of Summer, Linkin Park, Prince Royce, Snoop Dogg, Charlie Puth, James Taylor, Avril Lavigne, Little Mix, Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, Andy Grammer, James Blunt, Big Sean, Travis Barker, Lukas Graham, Sabrina Carpenter, Skylar Grey, Rixton, The Vamps and Icona Pop, among others. He is the 2016 BMI "Pop Songwriter of the Year" and is currently published by Warner/Chappell Music. His concept album The Wrong Man was released worldwide by Interscope Records on 26 July 2019.

Early Record Deals

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Golan had multiple record deals, the first in 2003 with Insider Trading Corporation/EMI, which was a label he started while in school. The label teamed up with EMI's then-president Phil Quatararo, releasing Reagan Baby. After that, Golan co-founded Glacier Hiking, which had a hybrid publishing/label deal with Lionsgate[citation needed] - the band released a self-titled EP before breaking up in 2009.

Early Record Deals

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Golan had multiple record deals, the first in 2003 with Insider Trading Corporation/EMI, which was a label he started while in school. The label teamed up with EMI's then-president Phil Quatararo, releasing Reagan Baby. After that, Golan co-founded Glacier Hiking, which had a hybrid publishing/label deal with Lionsgate[citation needed] - the band released a self-titled EP before breaking up in 2009.

The Wrong Man

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Golan developed a musical called The Wrong Man,[2] based on the concept music album, which is about a man who is wrongly accused of a crime committed in Reno, Nevada. A one-man version of the show, starring Golan, ran in Los Angeles in February 2014 and received three Ovation Award wins out of four nominations. The musical made its way to New York City, playing Off-Broadway to previews beginning 18 September 2019, with an October 7 opening and scheduled run through 24 November 2019 at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. The full-cast stage production included Tony winners and nominees Tommy Kail, Alex Lacamoire and Joshua Henry.[3] The Wrong Man received 9 Drama Desk Awards nominations including Best Musical and 3 Lucille Lortel Awards nominations. The show was also honored with four Outer Critics Circle Awards including best original score for Golan.

The concept album was released worldwide by Interscope Records on 26 July 2019. That version made it to the big screen, with an animated film adaptation written and performed by Golan. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2019.[4]

Song Credits[5]

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Title Year Artist Album
"Anyway" 2011 Cee Lo Green The Lady Killer: Platinum Edition
"Hold Up" 2011 Demi Lovato Unbroken
"Take You" 2012 Justin Bieber Believe
"Marilyn Monroe" 2012 Nicki Minaj Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
"Wipe Your Eyes" 2012 Maroon 5 Overexposed
"Happening" 2012 Medina Forever
"Compass" 2013 Lady Antebellum Golden
"Shame" 2013 Keith Urban Fuse
"You Are Fire" 2013 Prince Royce Soy el Mismo
"Back From The Dead feat. Big Sean and Travis Barker" 2013 Skylar Grey Don't Look Down
"When I Find Love Again" 2013 James Blunt Moon Landing
"3,000 Miles" 2013 Emblem3 Nothing to Lose
"Let It Rain" 2013 Eliza Doolittle In Your Hands
"Unkiss Me" 2014 Maroon 5 V
"Mrs All American" 2014 5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds of Summer
"Stuck on a Feeling" 2014 Prince Royce Double Vision
"Live It Up" 2014 Colbie Caillat Gypsy Heart
"Nice Guys"
"Love Pretenders" 2014 The Madden Brothers Greetings from California
"Empty Spirits"
"Same Old Love" 2015 Selena Gomez Revival
"Survivors"
"Cologne"
"My House" 2015 Flo Rida My House
"If I Could Fly" 2015 One Direction Made in the A.M.
"Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah)" 2015 Andy Grammer Magazines or Novels
"Painkiller (featuring Meghan Trainor)" 2015 Jason Derulo Everything Is 4
"Talk About You" 2015 MIKA No Place In Heaven
"Take The World By Storm" 2015 Lukas Graham Lukas Graham
"What Happened To Perfect"
"Funeral"
"Wait on Me" 2015 Rixton Let the Road
"Appreciated"
"Don't Cry For Me" 2015 Martina Stoessel Tini
"80's Films" 2015 Jon Bellion The Human Condition
"Wake Up" 2015 The Vamps Wake Up
"I Found A Girl"
"Held By Me"
"Dangerous Woman" 2016 Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman
"Fresh Eyes" 2016 Andy Grammer The Good Parts
"Zillionaire" 2016 Flo Rida Zillionaire
"Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow" 2016 Michael Bublé Nobody But Me
"Hopeless Romantic" 2016 Meghan Trainor Thank You
"Mom"
"Small World" 2016 Idina Menzel idina.
"Then There's You" 2016 Charlie Puth Nine Track Mind
"You Gotta Not" 2016 Little Mix Glory Days
"Sounds Good to Me" 2017 Nelly Sounds Good to Me
"Halfway Right" 2017 Linkin Park One More Light
"Barbies" 2017 P!nk Beautiful Trauma
"Change" featuring James Taylor 2018 Charlie Puth Voicenotes
"Diamonds Are Forever" 2018 Sabrina Carpenter Singular Act I
"Exhale" 2019 Singular Act II
"Lovers Never Die" 2019 Celine Dion Courage
"Sola" 2019 Luis Fonsi Vida
"Goddess" 2019 Avril Lavigne Head Above Water
"El Tejano" 2020 Lauv How I'm Feeling
"March March" 2020 The Chicks Gaslighter
"Feel Me" 2020 Selena Gomez Rare
"Let Me Reintroduce Myself" 2022 Gwen Stefani Let Me Reintroduce Myself
"Walk It Out" 2022 New Hope Club L.U.S.H.
"L.U.S.H."
"Getting Better" 2022 Getting Better
"Girl Who Does Both" 2022
"Goodbye" 2022 Mimi Webb Goodbye
"I'll Be" 2023 Celine Dion Love Again soundtrack
"Slow Low" 2023 Jason Derulo Slow Low
"Single Soon" 2023 Selena Gomez Single Soon

Podcast

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Golan is also the podcast host of And the Writer Is... which is co-produced by Joe London. It has garnered three million downloads.

Advocacy

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In 2016, Golan co-authored an initiative to include songwriters in the Grammy Awards "Album of the Year" category, and 2017 marked the first year a songwriter received a statue for the award. In 2018, he was a leading voice in the Music Modernization Act. In 2019, he became the first songwriter to sit on the board of directors of the National Music Publishers Association in the 100-plus year history of that organization. In 2021, he advocated to have the 33% rule eradicated from the Grammy Awards "Album of the Year" category and in 2022, all songwriters, producers and engineers who worked on a nominated album will for the first time be recognized as nominees.

Awards and nominations

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Ovation Awards

  • 2014: Winner, "Video/Projection Design" - Michael Hoy and Adam Flemming, for the Skylight Theatre Company production of The Wrong Man.[6]
  • 2014: Winner, "Lyrics/Music for an Original Musical" - Ross Golan, for the Skylight Theatre Company production of The Wrong Man.[6]
  • 2014: Winner, "Book for an Original Musical" - Ross Golan, for the Skylight Theatre Company production of The Wrong Man.[7]
  • 2014: Nominee, "Best Production of a Musical (Intimate Theatre)" - Skylight Theatre Company, for the production of The Wrong Man.[7]

BMI Awards

  • 2016: Winner, "Pop Songwriter of the Year".

Outer Critics Circle Award

  • 2020: Winner, "Best Original Score" - for the MCC production of The Wrong Man.

Drama Desk Award

  • 2020: Nominee, "Outstanding Score" - for the MCC production of The Wrong Man.
  • 2020: Nominee, "Outstanding Musical" - for the MCC production of The Wrong Man.

References

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  1. ^ "Warner Chappell Publishing | Ross Golan | Music Industry Professional". Musicxray.com. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  2. ^ "TimeOut Los Angeles theater profile: 'The Wrong Man'". TimeOut. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "'The Wrong Man' musical's epic journey to the stage, with help from Team 'Hamilton'". Los Angeles Times. September 19, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  4. ^ "IMDb profile: 'The Wrong Man' (2019)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  5. ^ "Jaxsta". jaxsta.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "The 2014 Ovation Awards Winners Announced". LA STAGE Alliance. 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Ovation Awards Nominees Announced". LA STAGE Alliance. 2014. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2016.