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Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, which is considered a pioneering act of the nu metal genre. Davis's distinctive personality and Korn's music influenced a generation of musicians and performers who have come after them.
Davis co-founded Korn in Bakersfield in 1993 with the dissolution of two bands, Sexart and L.A.P.D. He had led Sexart during his years as an assistant coroner. Davis rapidly gained notoriety for his intense and powerful live performances with Korn.
Anchored by his personal, passionate lyrics and unusual tenor vocals, Davis has launched a successful career which has spanned almost three decades. Davis's vocals, which alternate from an angry Timbre to a Vocal register voice, switching from sounding Vocal resonation to aggressively screaming, have been the trademark of Korn throughout the band's career.
From 2000 to 2001, Davis and Richard Gibbs wrote and produced the score and soundtrack album of , his first work outside the band. He began his side project called Jonathan Davis and the SFA in 2007 and continued to experiment with musical styles. He released his first solo album in 2018.
He has collaborated with various artists over the course of his career, ranging from metal to alternative rock, rap, world music, and electronic music. Davis is a multi-instrumentalist musician who plays guitar, Drum kit, bagpipes, piano, upright bass, violin, and the clarinet. He is also versatile in many genres, mixing tracks and performs DJ sets with his alter ego JDevil. For decades, Davis has been passionate about visual arts, horror films, comics and video games.
Fourteen of his albums reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, including MTV Unplugged and Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. In the U.S, he was awarded fifteen platinum album certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Australia, he received eight platinum album certifications by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and in the UK he received six gold certifications. He won two Grammy Awards out of eight nominations throughout his career. As of 2018, Davis has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.
He has a sister, Alyssa Marie Davis (born February 8, 1974), as well as a half-brother, Mark Chavez (lead singer of Adema; born November 15, 1978), and a half-sister, Amanda Chavez (born July 31, 1981) by his mother. KoRn – Jonathan Davis and his sister | Video Youtube – NMETV Latest Music Videos and Clips. Nme.com. Retrieved on August 25, 2013. His father was a keyboardist for Buck Owens and Frank Zappa, while his mother was a professional actress and dancer. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He lived with his mother at first, but, after experiencing bad situations at that home, he moved in with and was raised by his father and former stepmother in Bakersfield, but was made to feel like he "came in and ruined their perfect little family." Davis suffered severe bouts of asthma as a child. Asthma forced him to stay in the hospital every month from the ages of 3 to 10, and he survived a "critical asthma attack" when he was five years old; he said, "My heart stopped, and I didn't see no damn light or hear any music".
He attended Highland High School; however, he was persistently harassed for wearing eyeliner, baggy clothes, and listening to new wave music. He was constantly called homophobic names, which later inspired the Korn song "Faget". Davis's "HIV" tattoo on his upper left arm was also inspired by his experience of being bullied. At the age of 16, Davis found employment as a coroner's assistant; after graduating high school, he immediately enrolled in the San Francisco college's one-year coronary program. He enjoyed his time in San Francisco, where he spent his days poring over embalming textbooks and his nights living and working in funeral homes. Nevertheless, he dropped out after two semesters to apprentice at a mortuary closer to home, in the Kern County Coroner's Department. He was also a professional embalmer for a funeral home.
Davis commented in Kerrang!:
"I had post-traumatic stress from seeing dead babies, and young kids that had died after finding a parent's stash of drugs – shit that I shouldn't have been seeing at 16 or 17 years old. I had to have a lot of therapy to make the nightmares go away, but I got through it and it made me appreciate life a lot more."
He did not get along with his stepmother and has accused her of harassing him and giving him tea mixed with Thai hot oil and jalapeño juice to drink while he was sick. He also mentioned that she mixed Tabasco sauce with his tea. At that time, Davis had sexual fantasies about his stepmother, dreaming of "fucking her and killing her". Though she was later divorced by Davis's father, the Korn song "Kill You" was nonetheless written about her. In an interview for The Guardian, Davis said that he left home when he was 18 because he felt like "public enemy number one", since his stepmother—quoted as "twisted and sadistic"—hated him, and his own father was too embarrassed by the situation to do anything.
Early in 1993, ex-band members of L.A.P.D. who had started a new group named Creep, noticed Davis at The John Bryant club in Bakersfield, and were overwhelmed by his performance with Sexart. Davis, who was already a friend of Reginald Arvizu's, was reluctant to join Creep, although he was flattered by the obstinacy of the musicians to integrate him into the group. Nevertheless, he only made the decision to audition with Creep after meeting the psychic who told him that it would be beneficial for him to leave Bakersfield, move to Los Angeles and join them. Davis left Sexart in his early 20s after a convincing rehearsal with the four Creep members; he commented: "I was a little torn, because I was doing Sexart at the time, and that was my band. But I wanted to go and see what it was all about, and from the first note I was hooked. It just all clicked." Enticed by the prospect of a musical career, Davis resigned from his employment at Bakersfield judicial police, and moved to L.A. with his girlfriend to live with David Silveria and Brian Welch in the same house in Huntington Beach. Davis proposed the idea of naming the band as 'Corn'—the spelling would be renamed right after as 'KoЯn'—in reference to the horror film Children of the Corn and a sexually explicit story from his gay friend.
In December 2017, Davis began announcing solo tour dates and festival appearances and the launch of his solo album planned for 2018, which would mark Davis's first billed simply as Jonathan Davis. He said of the album in a 2017 Louder Sound interview: "It's the Jonathan Davis And The SFA record, but JD SFA is no longer. Unfortunately, since Shane Gibson passed, that band's done and it can't be recreated. So this is J.D. right now."
In January 2018, Davis released his first solo single, "What It Is". On January 26, 2018, he released the music video for "What It Is", while the single was included on the movie's soundtrack for American Satan. At that time, Davis said he was "a big fan" of science fiction movies such as Blade Runner and Dune, and noted being an admirer of Vangelis. On May 25, 2018, he released his debut solo album, Black Labyrinth on Sumerian Records. The beginning of the writing process of Black Labyrinth—whose thematic focuses on "religion, consumerism and apathy"—was initiated on the road, back in 2007. Davis contributed mainly to the sound of the album, playing guitar, keys, and "anything else he could get his hands on to the record".
On October 1, 2020, Davis released an alternate Country music version of "What It Is".
In 2009, he began to DJ again and he introduced JDevil to the world in 2011 at Infected Mushroom appearances.
In 2012, JDevil collaborated with Sluggo and California producer Tyler Blue, and while touring, he started working on an EP and writing every night in the studio of his tour bus. In March 2012 JDevil collaborated with Datsik and Infected Mushroom on a song called "Evilution", the tracks would appear on Datsik's debut album Vitamin D. JDevil was one of the opening acts for Korn on their The Path of Totality Tour from November 2011 – July 2012 in North America and Europe. While on a short break from touring with Korn in July 2012, JDevil had a short four-day club tour which consisted of The Junkyard in Nashua, New Hampshire, Pufferbellies Entertainment Complex in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Lizard Lounge in Dallas, and The Garden in El Paso, Texas.
In July 2012, JDevil had signed on to perform at select Identity Festival dates throughout North America. He only performed at two shows, Comcast Center (amphitheater) in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia.
In 2012, JDevil was supposed to open for Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson on their Twins of Evil Tour at select dates in North America, but had to drop out of the tour due to exhaustion. Davis stated it was very important for him to evolve in different styles after two decades in Korn, he said in Rolling Stone: "It keeps me motivated. It keeps me being creative and not getting bored with music." In October 2012, Davis released his EP with his new group called Killbot, the EDM collective including Sluggo and Tyler Blue.
In 2000, he created an original fighting game, Pop Scars, which pits popular musical personalities against each other in one-on-one combat. Participants included members of Limp Bizkit, Staind, Marilyn Manson, and Korn itself. Each celebrity has its own personality and sports character designs sketched by comic book artist Martin Emond, while stages feature environmental traps that impede opponents as they fight. Pop Scars never made it past the early design stages, as Davis himself pulled the plug on the project in late 2004.
In 2002, Davis was hired by New Line Television to write and record the theme music of UPN's The Twilight Zone television series, hosted by Forest Whitaker.
In 2007, he recorded original songs with Korn for the video game Haze.
In 2011, Konami hired Davis and Korn to compose the theme song to the video game , which led to an online petition to stop the pairing.
He also created the title track for the 2022 video game ELEX II.
Davis has also been featured in many other bands' music videos, sometimes with Korn and sometimes solo. He has appeared with Korn in the Limp Bizkit music videos for "Break Stuff" and "Faith". Significant Other – Limp Bizkit | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards. AllMusic (June 22, 1999). Retrieved on August 25, 2013. He also appeared in the music video for "Fire" by Busta Rhymes.
In January 2000, Davis made an appearance at an Xtreme Pro Wrestling show as a guest ring announcer; he would be brought on by the host of that night's event to announce the next match and its participants, with it being Chris Candido vs Damian Steele. Mike's Indy Report #6 IGN (February 7, 2000). Retrieved March 29, 2023.
He has a cameo in Queen of the Damned as a ticket scalper.
Davis plays a minor role as Ricky, a crack cocaine dealer, in the film Seeing Other People.
Davis and the rest of Korn appeared in a 2005 episode of the comedy-drama television series Monk, titled "Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic".
Davis also had a role as a store clerk in the 2007 independent film The Still Life.
In 2009, he collaborated with Infected Mushroom, appearing in the music video for their track "Smashing the Opponent".
In 2012, JDevil appeared in the Datsik and Infected Mushroom music video for "Evilution", wearing black eye contacts and fake teeth.
In August 2017, Davis voiced Succulentus in an episode of OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes titled "Know Your Mom". The character was based on Davis and a parody of the nu-metal genre in general. The character's dialogue consists of references to lyrics from nu metal songs.
In 2018, he also worked with the EDM group SKYND for their debut real crime song "Gary Heidnik", appearing in the music video for it as well.
In February 2023, he collaborated with Kim Dracula for the song, "Seventy Thorns", as well as appearing in the music video.
His bizarre and esoteric vocal styles are definitely one of the main trademarks of the band, ranging from a gruff distorted sound to an odd dissonant scat as well as a lesser used soft headier sound. Earlier on, he used his more distorted tone almost exclusively for highs, however later on around the time of See You on the Other Side he began demonstrating an ability to use more a cleaner which he can take to the lower fifth octave. His low range is fairly melodic down to at least F2/E2, with lower notes being more in the so-called "attitude fry" style, often used for a creepier or more intimidating effect. Davis's voice is definitely a factor in what most consider to make or break Korn's music for them, however he is definitely a unique staple of the 90s and modern rock scene.
Describing a live performance in Portland, Robert Ham of Billboard stated that "not enough can be said about the versatility of Davis's voice, as he explored all the different timbres at his disposal throughout the night. He growled, crooned and wailed with equal amounts of steady force". Rough Guides writer Essi Berelian described Davis's singing voice: his "unusual style varied between singing, half-rapping and breathless shrieking". Davis is renowned for his guttural—scat singing breakdowns; author Christopher Krovatin wrote that "no aspect of Jonathan's vocals are more widely recognized that his babbled nonsense words reminiscent of the scat vocals used by classic jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Scatman Crothers". Tracks that include this aspect of his vocals in chronological order include the lead-off track in Life Is Peachy "Twist", "Freak On A Leash", "Got The Life", "Children Of The Korn", "B.B.K", "Seed", "Bottled Up Inside", "Beat It Upright", "Open Up", "Liar", "Tension", "Rotting In Vain", "The Ringmaster", and "Worst Is On Its Way".
Davis's enthusiasm led his grandmother to give him his first set of bagpipes, then he began by joining the Highland High School pipe band, and taking lessons from the band's Scottish conductor. Shortly afterwards he went to a qualified teacher, who went to Scotland and learned. Davis started competing after that, across the United States at established gigs. When the band were ready to record their first album of original material, they realized that something was missing during the recording of the song "Shoots and Ladders". What had begun as "a joke" turned out to be nothing less than an atypical element in the song, and would eventually become the first Korn song to feature a Highland bagpipe.
Of Davis's composition with Korn, Kelsey Chapstick commented in Revolver Magazine,
Davis does not want to make prominent use of the woodwind instrument and avoids what he worries might be gimmicked or over-use of the pipes. He clarified: "it depends the song, if I'm feeling like there's a spot where I could use it". Korn's repertoire containing Davis's bagpipes includes, "Shoots and Ladders", "Low Rider" (a cover of the song by funk rock band War) from Korn's album Life is Peachy. Bagpipes are also heard on "My Gift To You", "Dead", "Let's Do This Now", "10 or a 2-Way", "Open Up", "Liar", "Seen It All", "I Will Protect You", "Lead The Parade", "Spike In My Veins", "Bleeding Out", and "The End Begins". On November 15, 1999, at the Apollo Theater concert, the NYPD Pipes and Drums corps opened the show with "Dead". On July 23, 1999, Davis performed his bagpipe routine in front of more than 250,000 attendees during the Korn concert at the Woodstock Festival in New York in a long weekend of anarchy and uproar.
Davis has been sponsored by Shure microphones since the mid 1990s and continues to use them for live performances. He has used wireless KSM9 and KSM8 models in recent years. Davis uses a variety of microphones in the studio including the Telefunken U47 and ELA M 251.
Davis has been married twice. His first marriage was to his high school sweetheart Renee Perez. They were married in 1998, had a son named Nathan (who also produces music as part of the Bass music-Duo "Hi I'm Ghost") in 1995, and divorced in 2000. Jonathan married Deven Davis in 2004. The couple have two sons, Pirate and Zeppelin. He filed for divorce in October 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. In 2018, a domestic violence restraining order was issued, blocking any child custody or visitation by Deven, whom Jonathan alleged was deep into drugs. Deven Davis died on August 17, 2018, at the age of 39 of combined drug intoxication from heroin and various prescription drugs.
In 2013, Davis was treated for Alprazolam addiction, and openly smoked marijuana until 2015. In 2018, Davis stated in Forbes that he continues to struggle with chronic anxiety, depression, and insomnia, but has replaced drugs and alcohol with medication such as Prozac, Triazolam, Diphenhydramine, Diphenhydramine, Doxylamine, and Melatonin.
On August 14, 2021, Davis tested positive for coronavirus. As a result, Korn postponed six summer dates on their U.S. tour and canceled two dates in New York. Korn resumed touring on August 27, 2021, at Tinley Park, Illinois, where the stage featured a custom throne for Davis to sit in. He was seen moving slowly around the stage, coughing, appearing to struggle catching his breath, and occasionally using an oxygen tank. On August 29, Brian Welch posted a video remarking on his bandmate's health, stating, "Jonathan Davis is still struggling with the COVID after-effects. He's physically weak and having a mental battle. And any type of love, light and energy you can throw at him – prayers, all of it. ... He needs you more than ever."
In June 2001, the collector of criminal artifacts Arthur Rosenblatt was approached by Davis. Rosenblatt told him of his plan to open a museum of artifacts related to the criminal justice system, which Rosenblatt suggested be named the Museum of Justice & Odditorium or MOJO Museum. In March 2003, Davis suggested funding the museum through a film or TV production. Subsequently, Davis pulled out of the deal which fell apart, leading Rosenblatt to sue him twice; Rosenblatt accused Davis of having spoken to the media in 2002 about his museum project with artist Joe Coleman and mis-naming it American Curiosities Museum when he should have used the names provided for in the contract. In the lawsuit, Rosenblatt claimed that Davis and other partners have threatened his life on several occasions. Nevertheless, in December 2005, Davis started selling off his serial killer memorabilia, claiming his desire to move away from this environment, stating: "I don't want that around my kids". In 2006, the litigation was ultimately resolved successfully by Ed McPherson, Davis's attorney. Davis later denounced the items and got rid of them.
Davis made an appearance in the Oddities documentary series, in the fourth episode of season two entitled "Rock Star Embalmer", which was filmed at Manhattan's Obscura Antiques & Oddities. The episode aired on Discovery Channel on April 30, 2011.
Davis's home houses a private art collection that spans decades of touring the globe. He has a considerable and diverse collection of works of macabre and dark art, such as a limited edition Ibanez guitar designed by H.R. Giger that looks the same as his mic stand, a human shrunken head from South America, and a human foetus called 'Luther'. His art collection also includes religious art from all over the world and a variety of religions, such as 600-year-old Buddhist sculptures and "tons of ", especially Mexican Jesus. "I wouldn't say I like religion, but I like the art", reaffirms Davis.
He has also developed an interest in collection of taxidermy art. In 2015 during an interview with Gavin Lloyd for Metal Hammer he said "the taxidermy I got on the walls, I got when we were touring in South Africa. I hired a guide, stalked those animals, shot both of them and donated the meat, which fed families for months. ... I had to wait a year to get those heads back from Africa, but they're top notch, they're amazing."
Davis has expressed support for libertarian Republican candidates Ron Paul and Rand Paul. Davis once described former U.S. President Barack Obama as an "Illuminati puppet", and told Billboard that Obama had "basically dragged this country down into the worst it's ever been." In 2014, Davis said that the United States was becoming a "police state". On the other hand, in 2006, Davis expressed opposition to U.S. conservatives, particularly American Christians, and he described Donald Trump's presidency as a sign that "the world is just absolutely out of control" in 2019.
On August 11, 2012, Davis made another trip to Ramstein Air Base, Germany to visit with personnel assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing, 37th Airlift Squadron, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. During this visit, he was able to get a tour of a C-130J, Hercules and Bomb disposal personnel demonstrated a "Hollywood shot" explosive and the destruction a small amount of explosive can do to a car. Again, he visited the wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the USO Wounded Warriors Center. A documentary of his experiences, "Wounded Warriors" was submitted to the 1st Annual GI Film Festival Hollywood, and won Audience Choice Award on November 10, 2012. As a result of these trips, once Barack Obama awarded Captain Florent Groberg the Medal of Honor, he mentioned how Davis visited Groberg in Germany, and joked that "I am not the lead singer from Korn". While Davis had been a vocal critic of Obama, he expressed shock at the mention, particularly as it was a compliment: "The President of the United States gave me props for being there for a Medal of Honor recipient. Groberg went through hell." Korn's Jonathan Davis Responds to Barack Obama's Shout-Out, Rolling Stone
Religion
In an interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Davis stated that he's "always been a believer in God", just not in organized religions. He also criticized born-again Christians for "broadcasting" their beliefs.
Military visits
In 2012, Davis began visiting United States Armed Forces stationed in Europe. On March 16, 2012, Davis made his first visit to Ramstein Air Base, Germany where he visited with personnel assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The Bomb disposal personnel showed him how to operate the bomb disposal robot and how to render safe an improvised explosive device wearing a Bombsuit. Firefighter personnel showed how to use the water cannon in the new Striker ARFF fire apparatus. Readiness and emergency management personnel showed a variety of Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) detection and protection equipment. He also did a meet and greet signing autographs for the troops and their families at the AAFES Military Mall (Kaiserslautern Military Community Center). He visited wounded warriors from all over the world at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the USO Wounded Warriors Center.
Discography
Albums
Singles
As lead artist
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As featured artist
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Promotional singles
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Other appearances
Guest appearances
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Remix work
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Notes
Sources
External links
Categories: Official Website, 1971 Births, Living People, Alternative Metal Musicians, 20th-century American Singers, 21st-century American Singers, American Heavy Metal Singers, Anti-bullying Activists, American Bagpipe Players, American Male Singers, American Libertarians, American People Of English Descent, American People Of German Descent, American People Of Scottish Descent, American People Of Welsh Descent, American Tenors, Korn Members, Korn Solo Projects, Musicians From Bakersfield, California, Nu Metal Singers, Scat Singers, Sexart Members, Jonathan Davis And The Sfa Members, Singers With A Four-octave Vocal Range
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