Rising Stars: Meet Jack The Underdog

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack The Underdog. 

Hi Jack, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I grew up extremely interested in all things related to music. I picked up guitar, bass guitar, cello, vocal lessons, and started writing songs all before I even hit middle school. I went to an afterschool program called School of Rock in my hometown, Saint Paul, Minnesota, where I learned to proficiently play, write, and perform. I was always drawn to pop-punk and rock ‘n’ roll music and was in a few bands throughout my childhood that liked to play cover songs from bands like Blink-182, Sum 41, Green Day, and many more. 

I started a pop-punk/multi-fusion pop band called “Painting Stars” towards the end of my high school experience and my band members became some of my best friends. We performed multiple times a month, wrote songs, and ended up recording two full albums together. After Sarah Underwood (singer of Painting Stars) and I moved to Nashville in 2015 to attend Belmont University for the Songwriting Program, we even got the chance to open up for The Story So Far – one of my favorite bands and a HUGE dream of mine at the time. 

I wrote songs all of my college experience and graduated in 2020. After the initial few waves of the pandemic, I was able to start performing again and met a lot of really cool people here in Nashville. One of those people was Joel Jorgensen, my producer and now, good friend. We met at Cabana Taps back in the Fall of 2021 and have been working together on my pop-punk project ever since. 

The first single I released from this project is called “Wastin’ Away”. I wrote this song with my Painting Stars bandmate, Sarah Underwood, and got it produced with Joel Jorgensen. It dropped on all streaming platforms on March 25th and I couldn’t be more excited for this new direction I’m taking.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not haha. There have been plenty of times when I didn’t think I was good enough and wanted to quit. You are always your own worst critic, and comparing yourself and your art to others is a toxic game to play. 

In addition to that, just from living in Nashville, I’ve heard people say that my music style or my identity doesn’t match what’s “popular” and I’d be better off somewhere else. First off, Nashville is growing SO fast, and the market for rock is skyrocketing. Second of all, I’m 1000% okay with being different from everyone else – that’s quite literally my goal! 

I had a professor tell me once that swearing invalidates your art, and that you aren’t a good songwriter if you swear in your songs (eye-roll). He then went on to say that Starrah (one of my favorite writers and the writer for Drake, The Weeknd, SZA, Nicki Minaj, Maroon 5, etc.) wasn’t successful because she swears in her songs and because he hadn’t heard of her. LOL. 

I’ve also had some “haters” along the way that have tried to discourage me. I even had one person (that I know in real life) create multiple fake Instagram accounts so they could harass me. My typical response to these roadblocks is to write a good “f**k you” song and keep it moving hahaha. Art heals all wounds. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I chose the name “Jack The Underdog” because I wanted to make music for all my fellow emos – the ones that while growing up got picked on, bullied, had to sit alone during lunch or got picked last for gym class. I want to create the music that I wished I had growing up, as well as root for the other “underdogs”. I care a lot about social justice, and that has definitely found its way into my music. I typically end my shows by saying “thank you so much for being here, black lives matter, and trans rights are human rights” because I believe that if I have even a tiny platform, I should be using it for good. 

Historically, my released music as Jack The Underdog has fallen much more under the pop, electronic, and R&B umbrellas, but I’ve made a big shift over the last two years. I’ve always wanted to be a pop-punk artist, so I couldn’t be happier that working with Joel has helped me achieve that. I have 5 pop punk-style songs so far recorded with Joel that all have their own unique flair. Between fusing pop-punk with rock, rap/hip-hop, electronic, classic punk, and including anthem-vibes throughout the whole project, there’s definitely a song for everyone. “Wastin’ Away” is out now, with High Holiday following on 4/20.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see pop-punk and rock music coming back full force baby! And I’m stoked about it. I love what Travis Barker is doing with his record label, DTA Records. He’s really capitalizing on that emo rap sound and it’s absolutely working. Artists like Machine Gun Kelly and Avril Lavigne have worked with him and are absolutely killing it. “Tickets to my Downfall” by MGK and “Love Sux” by Avril are two of my favorite albums right now. Based on the way the public is receiving this new sound, I honestly see it evolving into a standard popular/top 40 radio hit genre. 

I also think the way that Tik Tok has a hold on the entire music industry is INSANE. I couldn’t have ever predicted the weight it has with popular music, so I’m just trying to stay open-minded to new possibilities haha. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.jacktheunderdog.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacktheunderdog/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacktheunderdog
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jacktheunderdog
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY9JPio2HZTucHpe9BN6daw
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5SAYvojx5xHsRISXBOZz0A?si=Ule8glQ1S4OpQhzDVSVs6g 
• Other: https://linktr.ee/jacktheunderdog

Image Credits
Brandyn Busico
unsophisticater