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===Other work===
===Other work===
Shears performed with [[Erasure]]'s [[Andy Bell (singer)|Andy Bell]] on "Thought It Was You", on Bell's 2005 album ''[[Electric Blue (album)|Electric Blue]]''. He has also collaborated with [[Tiga (musician)|Tiga]] on "[[Hot in Herre]]", "You Gonna Want Me", and "What You Need" from Tiga's album ''[[Ciao! (Tiga album)|Ciao!]]''. He also worked on Finnish house musician [[Luomo]]'s "If I Can't". Together with Babydaddy, he co-wrote with [[Kylie Minogue]] on her [[hit single]] "[[I Believe in You (Kylie Minogue song)|I Believe in You]]" for her greatest hits compilation ''[[Ultimate Kylie]]''. Shears and Minogue also co-wrote "Too Much" with [[Calvin Harris]] for Minogue's number one album ''[[Aphrodite (Kylie Minogue album)|Aphrodite]]''. In 2011, Shears collaborated with John Garden to write the music for a musical version of the book ''[[Tales of the City]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hetrick|first=Adam|title=Musicalizing Tales of the City|url=http://www.playbill.com/features/article/150917-Musicalizing-Tales-of-the-City|publisher=Playbill.com|accessdate=1 June 2011}}</ref> The show is directed by [[Jason Moore (director)|Jason Moore]]. Shears was featured on the track "Metemya" of [[Amadou and Mariam]]'s 2012 album ''[[Folila]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tsioulcas|first=Anastasia|title=First Listen: Amadou And Mariam, 'Folila'|url=http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/148919868/first-listen-amadou-and-mariam-folila|accessdate=12 April 2012|newspaper=NPR|date=1 April 2012}}</ref> Shears also wrote the foreword to the award-winning '80s [[7-inch]] vinyl cover art book ''[[Matthew Chojnacki|Put the Needle on the Record]]''. In 2013, Shears also appeared on the [[Queens of the Stone Age]] album ''[[...Like Clockwork]]'', providing backing vocals on the song "Keep Your Eyes Peeled". In 2013, [[Cher]] confirmed during an interview that Jake will duet with her on a track "[[Take It Like a Man (Cher song)|Take it Like a Man]]" for her 2013 album ''[[Closer to the Truth (Cher album)|Closer to the Truth]]''.
Shears performed with [[Erasure]]'s [[Andy Bell (singer)|Andy Bell]] on "Thought It Was You", on Bell's 2005 album ''[[Electric Blue (album)|Electric Blue]]''. He has also collaborated with [[Tiga (musician)|Tiga]] on "[[Hot in Herre]]", "You Gonna Want Me", and "What You Need" from Tiga's album ''[[Ciao! (Tiga album)|Ciao!]]''. He also worked on Finnish house musician [[Luomo]]'s "If I Can't". Together with Babydaddy, he co-wrote with [[Kylie Minogue]] on her [[hit single]] "[[I Believe in You (Kylie Minogue song)|I Believe in You]]" for her greatest hits compilation ''[[Ultimate Kylie]]''. Shears and Minogue also co-wrote "Too Much" with [[Calvin Harris]] for Minogue's number one album ''[[Aphrodite (Kylie Minogue album)|Aphrodite]]''. In 2011, Shears collaborated with John Garden to write the music for a musical version of the book ''[[Tales of the City]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hetrick|first=Adam|title=Musicalizing Tales of the City|url=http://www.playbill.com/features/article/150917-Musicalizing-Tales-of-the-City|publisher=Playbill.com|accessdate=1 June 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606043017/http://www.playbill.com/features/article/150917-Musicalizing-Tales-of-the-City|archivedate=6 June 2011|df=}}</ref> The show is directed by [[Jason Moore (director)|Jason Moore]]. Shears was featured on the track "Metemya" of [[Amadou and Mariam]]'s 2012 album ''[[Folila]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tsioulcas|first=Anastasia|title=First Listen: Amadou And Mariam, 'Folila'|url=http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/148919868/first-listen-amadou-and-mariam-folila|accessdate=12 April 2012|newspaper=NPR|date=1 April 2012}}</ref> Shears also wrote the foreword to the award-winning '80s [[7-inch]] vinyl cover art book ''[[Matthew Chojnacki|Put the Needle on the Record]]''. In 2013, Shears also appeared on the [[Queens of the Stone Age]] album ''[[...Like Clockwork]]'', providing backing vocals on the song "Keep Your Eyes Peeled". In 2013, [[Cher]] confirmed during an interview that Jake will duet with her on a track "[[Take It Like a Man (Cher song)|Take it Like a Man]]" for her 2013 album ''[[Closer to the Truth (Cher album)|Closer to the Truth]]''.


On October 31st 2017, Shears released his first song as a solo artist, "Creep City", which he described as a "pretty theatrical jam, with quite a few twists and turns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8022037/scissor-sisters-jake-shears-creep-city|title=Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears Releases 'Creep City,' Teases Upcoming Solo Record & Cryptic 'Labor Of Love'|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=Crowley|first=Patrick|date=October 31, 2017|accessdate=November 3, 2017}}</ref>
On October 31st 2017, Shears released his first song as a solo artist, "Creep City", which he described as a "pretty theatrical jam, with quite a few twists and turns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8022037/scissor-sisters-jake-shears-creep-city|title=Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears Releases 'Creep City,' Teases Upcoming Solo Record & Cryptic 'Labor Of Love'|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|last=Crowley|first=Patrick|date=October 31, 2017|accessdate=November 3, 2017}}</ref>

Revision as of 16:14, 30 December 2017

Jake Shears
Shears performing in March 2011
Shears performing in March 2011
Background information
Birth nameJason F. Sellards
Born (1978-10-03) October 3, 1978 (age 46)
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
GenresGlam rock, alternative, pop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, keyboards, guitar, flute
Years active1999–present

Jason F. Sellards (born October 3, 1978), better known as Jake Shears, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead male singer for the pop band Scissor Sisters.

Early life

Shears was born in Mesa, Arizona,[1] the son of an entrepreneur father and a Baptist mother. He grew up on San Juan Island, Washington,[2] where he attended school at Friday Harbor High School and was bullied.[3] At the age of 18, he moved into a dorm at The Northwest School in Seattle, Washington to finish high school. Shears later attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. At the age of 19, he traveled to Lexington, Kentucky to visit a classmate, who introduced him to Scott Hoffman.[citation needed] Shears and Hoffman hit it off immediately and moved to New York a year later.

Career

Early work

Shears' early performances included a 1993 production of the play Narnia.[citation needed] In New York, Shears attended The New School's Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, where he studied fiction writing and was classmates with Travis Jeppesen. He also wrote pieces for the gay magazine HX. Shears was a fixture on the New York gay and electroclash scene. In 2000, he worked as a music reviewer for Paper magazine.[4]

Scissor Sisters

Shears and Hoffman formed Scissor Sisters in 2001 as a performance art stunt, playing outrageous shows in clubs like Luxx, the heart of the electroclash scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Shears lived. After a couple years struggling in New York (working with record label A Touch of Class, who produced "Comfortably Numb" and "Filthy/Gorgeous"), Scissor Sisters finally found success in the United Kingdom and Ireland, ending 2004 with the biggest-selling album of the year in the UK. In concert, Shears is known for provocative dancing, flamboyant outfits, and near nudity. (During his early years while he was struggling to make it in New York, he would often earn extra money as a Go-go dancer and male erotic dancer at male strip clubs.[5])

Shears' musical influences include Leo Sayer, ABBA, Blondie, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Roxy Music, The New York Dolls, Queen, Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, The Beatles, and Dolly Parton.[6] The Scissor Sisters video for Filthy/Gorgeous was directed by John Cameron Mitchell after Shears met him at a gathering of the Radical Faeries.[7] Shears attended Sir Elton John's "stag" party before John's civil partnership ceremony with David Furnish in 2005. John and Shears discussed each other in The Observer in 2006.[8]

Other work

Shears performed with Erasure's Andy Bell on "Thought It Was You", on Bell's 2005 album Electric Blue. He has also collaborated with Tiga on "Hot in Herre", "You Gonna Want Me", and "What You Need" from Tiga's album Ciao!. He also worked on Finnish house musician Luomo's "If I Can't". Together with Babydaddy, he co-wrote with Kylie Minogue on her hit single "I Believe in You" for her greatest hits compilation Ultimate Kylie. Shears and Minogue also co-wrote "Too Much" with Calvin Harris for Minogue's number one album Aphrodite. In 2011, Shears collaborated with John Garden to write the music for a musical version of the book Tales of the City.[9] The show is directed by Jason Moore. Shears was featured on the track "Metemya" of Amadou and Mariam's 2012 album Folila.[10] Shears also wrote the foreword to the award-winning '80s 7-inch vinyl cover art book Put the Needle on the Record. In 2013, Shears also appeared on the Queens of the Stone Age album ...Like Clockwork, providing backing vocals on the song "Keep Your Eyes Peeled". In 2013, Cher confirmed during an interview that Jake will duet with her on a track "Take it Like a Man" for her 2013 album Closer to the Truth.

On October 31st 2017, Shears released his first song as a solo artist, "Creep City", which he described as a "pretty theatrical jam, with quite a few twists and turns."[11]

on November 9, 2017, it was announced that Shears will be making his Broadway debut as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots.

Personal life

Shears came out to his parents at the age of 15 at the urging of Dan Savage, who later called his advice "the worst I've ever given" due to the negative reaction of Shears' parents.[12][13] In 2010, he participated in Savage's It Gets Better Project.[14] In 2012, Shears was interviewed by RUComingOut.com about his experience; he spoke about his good friend Anderson Cooper. He also said that he felt gay celebrities "at least have the responsibility to come out".[15] Shears has been in a relationship with Chris Moukarbel since 2004.[16]

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 945. ISBN 978-1-84195-860-6.
  2. ^ "'Scissor Sisters are desperate to prove they can still cut it'". Mail Online. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  3. ^ "It Gets Better - Jake Shears". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  4. ^ "Entries tagged with 'Jake Shears'". Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  5. ^ Michael A. Knipp (2006-10-13). "Scissor Sister's return". Southern Voice Atlanta. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved 2008-05-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Darren Murph (2008-04-19). "Logo to simulcast Scissor Sisters: Live at the O2 Arena on MHD". EndGadgetHD. Retrieved 2008-05-17. With several openly gay band members and a loyal and enthusiastic LGBT following...
  7. ^ Romano, Tricia (19 October 2004). "Sex Slaves". Village Voice. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  8. ^ "When Elton met Jake". the Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  9. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Musicalizing Tales of the City". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (1 April 2012). "First Listen: Amadou And Mariam, 'Folila'". NPR. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  11. ^ Crowley, Patrick (October 31, 2017). "Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears Releases 'Creep City,' Teases Upcoming Solo Record & Cryptic 'Labor Of Love'". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  12. ^ "The Worst Advice Dan Savage has Ever Given". "I think the worst and perhaps most damaging advice I ever gave was to Jake Shears who I met when he was 15 years old and he asked if he should come out to his parents, and he described what was going on and who they were and what he thought they might know. And after he told me everything I was like: 'Oh, they know. They're just waiting for you to tell them. You should tell them. Just come out to them. They're waiting. They're ready.' And he came out to them and they didn't know, and it was a big disaster, and they threatened to pull him out of school and they were really angry and so he called me. I had a radio show, and he called me, and I got him off the air and got his mother's phone number and called my mother and gave my mother Jake's mother's phone number and had my mom call his mom and yell at her. And it helped, but yeah, I gave him really shitty advice."
  13. ^ OnTopMag.com. "Jake Shears glad he came out as a teen".
  14. ^ "Jake Shears Reveals Teenage Harassment". The Advocate. 2003-10-08. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  15. ^ "Jake Shears talks candidly about his coming out". R U Coming Out. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  16. ^ Annabel Rivkin (2012-05-11). "The Scissor Sisters are back ... and sharper than ever - ES Magazine - Life & Style - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
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