John Martin is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and artist. He is known for his collaborations with Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, and Martin Garrix, as well as a solo artist under his own name. Martin is also a member of the music duo VCATION.

John Martin Lindström was born on August 22, 1980, and grew up in Stockholm. He is the son of a rally driver but chose to pursue music instead of motorsport. Through his older brother, he was introduced to grunge and the Seattle rock scene during his early teens.

At the age of 13, he received his first electric guitar and started the rock band Steroids with his classmates, initially only playing Nirvana covers. After a year, the band began writing their own songs and soon performed at school parties and local bars.^[2]

In the mid-2000s, Steroids became part of Stockholm's alternative rock scene, known for their chaotic live performances. The band signed a record deal and recorded an album that was never released.

During Steroids final year as a band, John Martin met songwriter Michel Zitron during a night out at Berns. The two soon began a fruitful musical collaboration and, together with Swedish House Mafia, wrote the song "Save the World," which was released on April 22, 2011.^[3] The song reached number ten on the UK singles chart and peaked at number one on the American "Hot Dance Club Songs" chart.^[4] The same year, "Save the World" was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Dance Recording".^[5]

The following year, John Martin worked again with Swedish House Mafia on "Don't You Worry Child". The song became a huge hit when it was released on September 11, 2012, and reached the top ten on the US Billboard chart, a feat no Swedish band had achieved since 1998.^[6] "Don't You Worry Child" was also nominated for a Grammy.^[7]

Through his collaboration with Swedish House Mafia, John Martin established himself as one of the most prominent singers and songwriters in electronic dance music. Together with the DJ group, he toured the world and performed at venues such as Alexandra Palace in London and Madison Square Garden in New York, as well as in front of a total of 135,000 people over three days at Strawberry Arena in Stockholm.^[8]

In 2013, John Martin worked with Tinie Tempah and contributed lyrics and vocals to his song "Children of the Sun", which was released on October 25. The song reached number six on the UK singles chart. The same year, he also appeared on "Reload" by Sebastian Ingrosso and Tommy Trash.^[9]

In 2014, John Martin decided to focus entirely on his solo career as an artist and signed with Island Records, known for representing artists like Bob Marley and U2. In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, he said: "I couldn't wait any longer. My fans are growing. It hasn't been entirely clear who I actually am. I haven't been the front figure, not featured in the videos, just been a name and a voice. Now I want to show who I am."^[10] The single "Anywhere for You" released in the spring of 2014, reached fourth place on the UK Dance chart and went platinum in Sweden. Despite the success, the album was never released.

After a break from music, John Martin collaborated with Martin Garrix on the single "Higher Ground" and with Gryffin on "CRY" in 2020. In 2021, he worked again with Martin Garrix on "Won’t Let You Go" and together with David Guetta on "Impossible" and the Brazilian artist ALOK on "Wherever You Go." In 2022 and 2023, he contributed lyrics and vocals to Steve Aoki's songs "Whole Again" and "Won’t Forget This Time".^[11]

On August 24, 2023, John Martin released "Coming Home" together with the Ukrainian duo ARTBAT. The music video for the song, directed by Pavel Buryak, shows Ukrainian soldiers coming home from the war and reuniting with their families.^[12]

In addition to the projects he has both written and performed on, John Martin has written songs with a range of artists such as Avicii (”Fade Into Darkness”), Martin Garrix (”Home,” ”Hold On,” ”Real Love,” ”Carry You,” ”Together”), Alesso (”In My Blood”), Afrojack (”We’ll Be Ok”), Bob Moses (”Love Brand New,” ”Time and Time Again”), Julian Lennon (”Lucky Ones”), Josef Salvat (”Promiscuity”), Danny Saucedo (”Happy That You Found Me”), RLY (”Safe & Sound,” ”Ring The Alarm”), New Hope Club (”Let Me Down”), Kat Cunning (”Broken Heart”), Felix Jaehn (”Never Alone”), Style of Eye (”Sweetest Heartache”), and Alice Chater (”Girls X Boys”).^[13]

In 2018, John Martin, together with Michel Zitron, launched the music project VCATION by releasing the single "Lay Low." With VCATION, the duo sought a more organic and relaxed sound than in their previous EDM songs. The project has since released several tracks, including "When We Were Gold," "Stairway to the Sun," "Love You Long Time," "Rise Up," "Let U Go," and "Miss U.^[14]

• Popular music in Sweden

• A ^ "Anywhere for You" did not chart on the Belgian Flanders Ultratop, but it did chart at number 20 on the Ultratip chart, the top 100 songs which have not made the Ultratop 50.

• Official website