Jon O’Brien

Jon O’Brien

Jon O'Brien is a Recording Academy/GRAMMY.com contributor with bylines in Esquire, Billboard, Vulture, Vinyl Me, Please, i-D, The Guardian and Paste. He spends most of his spare time going to gigs, but he's also a soccer enthusiast, garage drummer, Icelandophile and carrot cake connoisseur. He lives in North West England with his partner and King Charles Spaniel.

Jon's Articles

14 Halloween Songs That Have Won GRAMMYs: “Thriller,” “Ghostbusters” & More

14 Halloween Songs That Have Won GRAMMYs: “Thriller,” “Ghostbusters” & More

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in 2023 but was updated in 2025 with the addition of four songs. If the holiday of trick or treating, pumpkin carving and decorating the yard with skeletons is your favorite of the year, then you'll no doubt already have a playlist stacked with creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky bangers ready to…

9 Ways ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Made Camp Cult Cool

9 Ways ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Made Camp Cult Cool

"It's not easy having a good time," claims mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter shortly before The Rocky Horror Picture Show brings down the final curtain. Tell that to the millions of cinemagoers who've flocked to the cult classic over the past half-century. Indeed, since the film's release in 1975 (a stage production debuted the year prior at The Roxy Theater), its…

Ed Sheeran’s Sound Evolution: How ‘Play’ Celebrates His Diverse Musical Journey

Ed Sheeran’s Sound Evolution: How ‘Play’ Celebrates His Diverse Musical Journey

"My attitude is to try different things," Ed Sheeran remarked after throwing another musical curveball with 2014's x. "I don't really come from a generation where genres exist." That no doubt explains why the British singer/songwriter appears to have embraced practically every sound under the sun since his humble man-with-guitar beginnings.   From grime to Gaelic folk, Afrobeats to acoustic balladry,…

How The Pussycat Dolls Reinvented The Girl Group Tradition

How The Pussycat Dolls Reinvented The Girl Group Tradition

The Pussycat Dolls undoubtedly have one of the most interesting origin stories for a world-conquering girl group. They were initially conceived in 1995 by choreographer and impresario Robin Antin as a neo-burlesque act performing early pop music standards. And during their residencies at famous L.A. hotspot The Viper Room and West Hollywood's The Roxy Theatre, they welcomed celebrities as varied…

How ‘Teenage Dream’ Crowned Katy Perry As Pop’s Campiest Queen

How ‘Teenage Dream’ Crowned Katy Perry As Pop’s Campiest Queen

Katy Perry became a runaway success thanks to her 2008 major label debut, One Of The Boys. The album scored her a No. 1 hit ("I Kissed A Girl") and two GRAMMY nods — but no one could have foreseen the world-conquering, record-breaking blockbuster that followed two years later. Indeed, 2010's Teenage Dream instantly launched the former Christian singer into…

Songbook: Coldplay’s Diverse Musical Styles That Made Them A Global Force

Songbook: Coldplay’s Diverse Musical Styles That Made Them A Global Force

"Right now in 2021, everyone's doing everything," Chris Martin remarked to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe while promoting Coldplay's ninth album, Music of the Spheres. "You can like Olivia Rodrigo as much as you like AC/DC and no one thinks that's weird. And that's musical utopia for me ... It's miraculous. So why would you want to stay in one box?"…

8 Ways Garbage’s Self-Titled Debut Redefined ’90s Rock

8 Ways Garbage’s Self-Titled Debut Redefined ’90s Rock

"I hope it's not that disposable," drummer Butch Vig once remarked, expressing concern that Garbage's eponymous debut album may reflect its title. "Of course, we have certainly left ourselves open for the ultimate one-word record review." The drummer, producer and all-round grunge overlord needn't have worried. Upon its August 1995 release, Garbage's melting pot of electronica, power pop and alternative…

Songbook: A Guide To Oasis’ Genre-Defining Albums In Honor Of Their Reunion Tour

Songbook: A Guide To Oasis’ Genre-Defining Albums In Honor Of Their Reunion Tour

"The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised."  Yes, Oasis may have appeared to have joined the Smiths and the Jam on the list of bands who'd only reform once hell freezes over. However, last year, the Britpop legends announced — in typically cocksure style, obviously —…

34 Iconic Album Covers, From The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ To Charli xcx’s ‘brat’

34 Iconic Album Covers, From The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ To Charli xcx’s ‘brat’

Whether viewed via a cardboard sleeve, plastic jewel case, or online thumbnail, the album cover can be pivotal to the perception of the music it envelops. After all, long before a single note has been played, it essentially serves as a record's first taster. None more so than in the pre-streaming, crate-digging age when consumers had to venture into brick-and-mortar…

2025 Music Festivals Guide: Lineups & Dates For Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza & More

2025 Music Festivals Guide: Lineups & Dates For Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza & More

Editor's Note: This article will be updated as new lineups are announced. We may only be in the middle of March, but the busy festival season is already well underway. Tempe's Innings Festival got the ball rolling in late February with a stellar lineup that included Beck, The Black Keys, and Gary Clark Jr. And Lauryn Hill, Toni Braxton, and…

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9 Ways Yoko Ono Is A True Iconoclast

Although she essentially retired from the spotlight during the pandemic, 2025 is fast becoming the year of Yoko Ono.  The countercultural icon is the subject of both a new biography by longtime friend, writer David Sheff, and One to One: John and Yoko, a big screen documentary based on the titular 1972 benefit concert she staged with her other half.…

How Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” Became An All-Time Classic

How Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” Became An All-Time Classic

"I knew I wanted to make a song called Dancing On My Own," Scandinavia's most prominent synth-pop export Robyn told the BBC about her career-defining hit. "I just didn't know what it was going to be about." Ultimately, the first single from her Body Talk trilogy turned out to be a brilliantly messy tale of heartbreak, rejection and knowing self-destruction…

15 Soundtracks That Have Been Nominated For Album Of The Year: ‘Star Wars,’ ‘The Sound Of Music’ & More

15 Soundtracks That Have Been Nominated For Album Of The Year: ‘Star Wars,’ ‘The Sound Of Music’ & More

As Music's Biggest Night, the GRAMMYs honor the year's most masterful musical contributions — and oftentimes, that includes those from the movies. Of course, the GRAMMYs annually award four Categories dedicated to Hollywood: Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media, Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television), Best Song Written For Visual Media, and Best Music Film. But…

14 Music Biopics To Watch After ‘A Complete Unknown’: ‘Elvis,’ ‘Rocketman’ & More

14 Music Biopics To Watch After ‘A Complete Unknown’: ‘Elvis,’ ‘Rocketman’ & More

It's fair to say that we're in a golden age of music biopics. In the last few months alone, Angelina Jolie has portrayed legendary opera singer Maria Callas, (Maria), cult indie favorites Pavement have blurred the boundaries between documentary and fiction (Pavements), and Pharrell Williams' rise to fame has been told in animated Lego form (Brick by Brick). And let's…

How Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’ Proved Her As America’s “Idol”

How Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’ Proved Her As America’s “Idol”

As the inaugural winner of America's first modern singing competition, Kelly Clarkson once again had to enter uncharted waters for her second album. Sure, her "American Idol" victory parade single, "A Moment Like This," had broken a 38-year-record held by the Beatles when it made the biggest leap to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2002. And sure,…

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10 Beatles Documentaries To Watch Ahead Of ‘Beatles 64’

Having professed his love for the Rolling Stones with numerous documentaries and concert films, Martin Scorsese switches his attention to their one-time fiercest rivals as the producer of Beatles '64. Out. Nov. 29, the Disney+ original centers on the year when the Beatles replicated their UK success on the other side of the Atlantic, with their iconic performance in front…

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