Sam Sparro

A timeless pop star for the modern era, Australian singer/songwriter and producer Sam Sparro has found the sweet spot between fresh storytelling and nostalgic sounds that hark back to chart-topping legends like Prince and Janet Jackson. Born in Sydney in 1982, Samuel Frankland Falson was raised in Los Angeles, California, where early interests in gospel and soul were nourished by his father, the minister and composer Chris Falson. Sparro's prismatic 2008 self-titled debut album evoked these influences while tapping into the synth-heavy ‘80s revival of the late aughts, bolstered by cheeky funk-steeped single “Cottonmouth” and Grammy-nominated club smash “Black & Gold,” which went to No. 2 on the UK charts and No. 4 in Australia. Sparro’s 2012 LP, Return to Paradise, pushed the seductive cocktail of electro production and soulful vocals even further, exploring dystopian synth-pop on “21st Century Life” and delivering an effusive piano banger in “Happiness.” Over the coming years Sparro withdrew from the spotlight due to drug and alcohol addiction, returning to the stage sober and revitalized with 2020's drum machine-driven Boombox Eternal, a loving tribute to his childhood self and the clearest distillation of his ‘80s obsessions to date.