Jacob Whitesides

An earnest singer and songwriter, Jacob Whitesides specializes in romantic slow-burn pop anthems and heartfelt ballads. He first attracted notice through viral cover versions circulated online, then leveraged a 2012 appearance on The X Factor into a string of popular EPs. His 2014 release 3AM: The EP reached the Top 30 of the Billboard 200 and cleared the path for the 2016 full-length Why. Whitesides has kept evolving, incorporating synthy electronic textures and R&B-influenced hooks on the 2019 EP Colors.

Born in 1997, Whitesides spent his childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, where a bluegrass festival sparked his interest in music at age 11. He took up the guitar and, while still a teenager, began drawing crowds to local Knoxville performances while sharing cover songs online. National exposure increased after he advanced past the initial elimination round of The X Factor’s second season in 2012. Capitalizing on that momentum, he issued his first short-player, 3 AM: The EP, in 2014; it contained renditions of songs by John Legend, Plain White T’s, John Mayer, and additional artists. The project peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Independent Albums chart. The next year he issued the original-material EPs A Piece of Me and Faces on Film. In 2016 Whitesides unveiled his debut album, Why, produced by David Spencer; it led multiple digital charts and climbed to number 25 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. After touring with Alec Joseph, Jason Castro, and Taylor Grey, he released his fourth EP, Colors, on his own JMW Music label, further broadening his sound through subtle electronic flourishes. A comparably refined companion EP, Winter Hurts, followed in May 2020.