Jon Henry

“If you can’t fit in,” Jon Henry says, “stand out.” If the music industry were a high school, Jon Henry would be the strangely-dressed new kid who comes in halfway through the year. He’s a fresh face; a mystery, but the secret behind the buzz he’s creating in Hollywood isn’t. It’s easy to picture the current music scene as sharply-segmented high school cliques in their cafeteria. Blinged-out rappers and party girl pop-singers are the rich kids and cheerleaders who sit at the lunch table where many kids would like a spot. Some very fashionable punk-rockers sit at a table they insist is not Emo, often nervous about the Urban demographic at the table in the corner. But Jon Henry sits alone with a confident smirk like the whole scene bores him; why? While the nervous middle classes of the music scene are trying to project one of the pre-approved images, Jon Henry is simply himself. He speaks to kids at every lunch table about something realer than who has the latest smartphone. This honesty helps him to define and build a unique pop audience that unites kids across lunch tables.

His music career began while he was a marketing major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He flooded the campus with free hip hop style mixtapes of his creative raps. Instant local popularity validated his decision to make music his career. Towards that goal, Jon Henry moved to L.A. and with collaborator The Prime Mover turned beautiful angst into a mainstream debut for all of Young America to enjoy. "Goodbye Cruel World" was Jon's debut EP; a concept album that became available the last quarter of 2008. Jon Henry's music alternately sounds like infectious techno-rap from outer space, then dark and chaotic rock from some post-apocalyptic future. Kurt Cobain is as much his influence as 2pac, as well as Outkast, Pink Floyd lyrics, Prince, and ideas like youthful rage, blind conformity, and Middle America. Jon sings and raps, blending his rap lyrical skill, rock content, and R&B melodies into something without boundaries. He immediately followed up his debut with the release of another free mixtape called "Grew Up a Screw Up" in April 2009, and in December 2009 with the 2nd installment of his “Goodbye Cruel World” project. He performs regularly in Southern California and pursues songwriting and placement opportunities like the 3 songs writer/director Adam Perly placed in 2009’s “Boxing Will”. Confident performances combine with a do-it-yourself attitude that includes social networking sites and grassroots street team promotion. All this helps him sell well-crafted pop songs and build strong relationships. But his originality is what will ultimately have everyone voting Jon Henry most likely to succeed.