Patrick Stump
Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actor and music critic, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and composer of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois. Stump embarked on a solo career as a side project from Fall Out Boy during its hiatus. He has been credited for being a soulful vocalist suitable for R&B, as well as one of the best voices in pop punk, according to Billboard. With Fall Out Boy he placed singles in the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 and their 2007 album Infinity on High reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with four more albums peaking in the top 10. The band has toured extensively, having performed over 1,300 shows since their inception in 2001. Stump has collaborated with an extensive list of artists and has produced albums for other artists including Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes. After Fall Out Boy's hiatus in late 2009, Stump released his debut solo album, Soul Punk, on October 18, 2011; on which he wrote all the songs, played all the instruments, as well as handling production and self-funding it. It served as an outlet for the music that he could not make with Fall Out Boy. A remix of "This City" was released as the first single to iTunes and a music video has been created, featuring Lupe Fiasco. He released his debut six-song EP titled Truant Wave on February 22, 2011. His solo work is a major musical departure from the pop punk sound of Fall Out Boy. His influence by Michael Jackson and Prince among many other artists is evident through his soulful electronic sound, which he coined as "soul punk". He has toured in the US and played some dates in Europe in support of Soul Punk and Truant Wave, and opened for Panic! at the Disco on their month-long US fall tour which began on October 9, 2011. On February 4, 2013, Fall Out Boy announced a comeback with the single "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)", the album Save Rock and Roll, and a subsequent tour. The EP PAX AM Days was later released on October 15, 2013. Stump's vocals for sixth album American Beauty/American Psycho (2015) were heavily praised.