Jesse®
Artist
Jesse James Rutherford (born in Newbury Park, California on August 21st, 1991) launched his solo career as a rap artist with his 2011 mixtape Truth Hurts, Truth Heals, but he is arguably most notable for being the frontman of indie band The Neighbourhood. He also runs the music publishing company Therapy Records alongside record producer Danny Parra.
Jesse’s first involvement in the entertainment industry was acting—as a child, he landed a few roles in advertisements, television shows and movies such as Star Trek: Enterprise, Life or Something Like It, Ted Bundy and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. When he eventually entered the world of music he first performed in several talent shows, impersonating *NSYNC and Elvis Presley.
As he grew older, Jesse began to take music a little more seriously. In 2008, he was the lead vocalist in a local rock band by the name of Curicula. In 2009, he and rapper Jez Dior formed a now-disbanded duo named The Good Boys. At 12 years old, Jesse told his mom that he was going to be covered in tattoos and, sure enough, now he is. His tattoos include an upside-down Illuminati symbol on his neck, the words “let go” and “let God” on his chest, and the words “know love” on his knuckles. Unbeknownst to some, he also has a tattoo of a switchblade on his eyebrow.
The Neighbourhood wasn’t formed until 2011 when they released their debut song, “Female Robbery.” The band went on to become incredibly successful, with hits like “Sweater Weather” and “Daddy Issues.” The release of the 2014 mixtape #000000 & #FFFFFF was a dramatic shift in style for the band, and whilst their core fanbase had a mixed reaction to the project, the group gained newfound recognition from other ears – particularly hip-hop and rap fans. Since then, The Neighbourhood have seen continuous success and have become a household name in the indie music scene.
In 2016, Jesse created a SoundCloud account dubbed ‘The Factoury®,’ where he would often upload loose tracks and demos. His current solo venture as a pop artist began in late 2017 when he released “Born to be Blonde” as the lead single for his debut studio album &, released on November 10th, 2017. On April 12th, 2019, Jesse released a follow-up record, GARAGEB&, produced almost entirely by himself using the GarageBand app.
After parting ways with his previous partner Devon Carlson (the subject of “Single” and various other songs penned by Rutherford), Jesse attracted some controversy in late 2022 after it was revealed he had begun dating alt-pop megastar Billie Eilish, with some finding the age gap between the two to be problematic. The pair reportedly broke up in May of 2023, but remain good friends. Early 2023 saw the release of singles “Joker” and “Rainbow,” as well as “Play.” This was quickly followed by the release of the &ONE mixtape on August 18th.
