John Mayer is a man of contradictions. He’s an international pop star, but also an authentic bluesman endorsed by some of the genre’s biggest legends (B.B. King, Eric Clapton). He's famous for dating some of the entertainment industry's most beautiful women, but dislikes the red carpet and lives on a ranch in Montana. Mayer is known for his hushed-acoustic sound, but has collaborated with hip-hop giants Kanye West, Common, and Frank Ocean. Among the contradictions, however, exists a through line: Mayer’s prowess as a singer-songwriter and guitarist has remained a constant, earning him 7 Grammys and over 20 million album sales worldwide. After a series of granuloma-related throat surgeries forced him to take a complete vocal break in 2012, Mayer is fully recovered and back on tour in 2013 – fans can catch him LIVE in concert in support of his sixth studio album Paradise Valley, named after the site of his new Montana home.
Throughout his career, Mayer’s high profile romances have been fodder for both the tabloids and his songwriting. Adding to speculation over his relationships, lead single “Paper Doll” from Paradise Valley is rumored to be about former flame Taylor Swift, who gave Mayer a piece of her mind in 2010 with her song “Dear John.” In a head-scratching move, the ever-sarcastic Mayer capitalized on one of the year’s biggest internet memes by enlisting the Prancercise lady (Joanna Rohrback) as the star of the official “Paper Doll” music video, keeping fans guessing as to the true meaning of the song.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Mayer took up the guitar at 13, inspired by the music of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Michael J. Fox’s epic guitar performance as Marty McFly in Back to the Future. After briefly attending Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Mayer dropped out to pursue his passion, and quickly attracted the attention of label execs with a March 2000 appearance at South By Southwest. His official 2001 debut Room For Squares went multi-platinum, and earned him his first Grammy – Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Your Body Is a Wonderland.” Mayer followed up in 2003 with Heavier Things, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and earned him two more Grammys, including Song of the Year for “Daughters.” 2006’s Continuum, Mayer’s third album, highlighted his blues sensibilities and landed him another Grammy, this time for Best Pop Vocal Album.
