Jenny Owen Youngs

Jenny Owen Youngs is an American singer-songwriter and composer born on November 22, 1981. She has released four solo albums alongside several EPs, both independently and through Nettwerk Records, and has toured extensively worldwide. In addition to her solo career, Youngs is a prolific songwriting collaborator who has written hits for major artists, scored short films, and co-hosted popular podcasts.

Youngs was born in a hospital elevator and raised in Newton, New Jersey. She played the flute, French horn, and sousaphone in elementary school, followed by the tuba in junior high school. When she was 14 years old, her older step-brother advised her that playing guitar was necessary to be in a band. She attended Kittatinny Regional High School and went on to earn a degree in studio composition from the State University of New York at Purchase.

She recorded her debut album, Batten the Hatches, at SUNY Purchase using borrowed equipment, self-releasing it in 2005. At the South by Southwest festival in Austin, she met music supervisor Gary Calamar, which led to her song "Fuck Was I" being featured in the season two premiere of the television show Weeds. This exposure resulted in a record deal with the Canadian indie label Nettwerk Records, which re-released Batten the Hatches in 2007 with new artwork and an added track.

In 2009, Youngs released her second studio album, Transmitter Failure, and supported Regina Spektor on tour. She also collaborated with Xian Hawkins under the name Bell Horses, releasing the album This Loves Last Time. In 2010, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund her third album, An Unwavering Band of Light, successfully raising over $38,000 from 646 backers. The album was released in 2012; a song from it, "Wake Up," was later featured in the season four finale of BoJack Horseman in 2017.

Youngs released the 12-track ambient project OFFAIR: From The Forest Floor, which features collaborations with John Mark Nelson, Hrishikesh Hirway, and Jess Abbott. Her music has appeared in numerous television series, including Grey's Anatomy, Nurse Jackie, Suburgatory, and Switched at Birth. She has also contributed vocals to the Far Cry 5 soundtrack album and was selected to compose the score for the short film Muscle Memory.

Moving to Los Angeles in 2015, Youngs expanded her co-writing career. She co-wrote Panic! at the Disco's 2018 single "High Hopes," as well as "Come On Back" for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, "Miss America" with Ingrid Michaelson, Pitbull's single "Bad Man," and several tracks for Brett Dennen. Her side projects include the band The Robot Explosion and the NYC museum-inspired Exhibit project.

In September 2016, Youngs co-created the podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer with Kristin Russo, which features recap songs for each episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In August 2019, she launched another podcast, Veronica Mars Investigations, co-hosted with Helen Zaltzman.

In her personal life, Youngs came out in June 2013 and married Kristin Russo later that year. The couple announced their separation in May 2018 while remaining friends and creative collaborators. In May 2020, Youngs announced her engagement to musician Jess Abbott on Twitter.