Jack & Jack

Jack & Jack are an American pop-rap duo from Omaha, Nebraska, consisting of Jack Johnson and Jack Gilinsky, based in Los Angeles, California.

After success via the social media app Vine, the duo turned to careers as musicians.

Jack & Jack's comedy career began in 2007 with the creation of their first collaboration YouTube channel MotherFalconQuagmire.

The short satires included lip syncing music videos, short parodies of popular songs, and British-speaking lads.

Although only made as a side hobby during free time, their videos were received by a considerable audience of hundreds; this abruptly faded not long after the pair started high school.

Jack Gilinsky is Jewish, and his parents are prominent in Omaha's Jewish community.

Jack & Jack began posting six second clips as a comedy duo on Vine during the summer of 2013.

Johnson had posted the first vines under his name in July 2013 including the I Never Miss series, Gilinsky later making appearances on their now growing joint account, rebranded as Jack and Jack.

Their breakout came with their Nerd Vandals clip going viral, praised by the Huffington Post as the perfect vine, amassing the pair 25,000 followers in a short period of time.

Their vines consisted of 6 second covers of pre-existing songs, also including When This Song Comes On clips made exclusively in the car, short comedy clips featuring the couple as overconcerned parents, nerd alter-egos Eric and Winston, girls in wigs, and more.

Shortly thereafter, they joined the Magcon tour, and continued to amass a following on the road touring with other Vine artists.

Jack & Jack's musical pursuits began when the duo met sophomores Turner and Travis Eakins (also known as Barrington Park) in 2013.

Through this partnership, Jack & Jack recorded their earliest co-written songs (including "Indoor Recess", their first unofficially released single) in a makeshift studio, with a backing instrumental made by the Eakins brothers.

This enabled their music to be mixed and released on the iTunes Store via third party distributor TuneCore.

Their 2014 single "Wild Life" peaked at number 87 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Their first game, Let It Goat, garnered over a million downloads within the first month." They developed their second game, Jack & Jack Vines Puzzle Game, in December 2014.

Their first original song "Distance" was released in January 2014.

In preparation for their debut album, the duo collaborated with Shawn Mendes and Steve Aoki, as well as producers and songwriters Max Martin and Savan Kotecha.

Although repeatedly approached, the pair decided to not sign with a record label company, with Johnson stating, "Why get our money stolen, or make less money, when we can get our songs on the exact same spot on the charts ourselves? We’re going to stay independent as long as we can, until we see the benefit from the record label."

By early 2015, they had accumulated over 5 million followers on their shared account and ranked in the top 20 most-followed Viners.

Following success on Vine, Jack & Jack released two mobile app games with Omaha-based mobile games company SkyVu Entertainment.

By February 2015, they had sold 1 million singles on iTunes.

They have also made the Billboard Top Digital Songs List with "Doing It Right", "Tides", "Cold Hearted", "Like That" featuring Skate, "Right Where You Are" and "Wild Life".

Their single "Like That" topped the Billboard charts shortly after the release of their official music video, in which Jack & Jack paid homage to The Beatles's iconic album Abbey Road.

On July 24, 2015, Jack & Jack independently released a debut extended play (EP) Calibraska to the digital market via distributor DistroKid, founded by Philip J. Kaplan.

The EP reached number one on the US iTunes album charts within hours of its release.

In early 2017, Jack & Jack signed with Island Records.

Johnson stated they hoped the record deal would allow them to become more mainstream.

They released their second EP, titled Gone, later that year through the label.

They also featured on Jonas Blue's 2018 hit single "Rise", which peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart in addition to charting within the top 20 of various other European countries and Australia.

Both attended Omaha Westside High School.

Jack Edward Johnson and Jack Gilinsky were born in Omaha, Nebraska.

The pair met on the first day of kindergarten, both named Jack and wearing the same shirt.

They remained friends throughout their elementary and high school years.

In January 2018, Jack & Jack were picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month.

On January 25, 2019, the duo released their debut album called A Good Friend Is Nice, via Island Records, and also toured around North America and Europe to promote the album.

On April 17, 2020, member Jack Gilinsky released his debut solo single My Love, featuring Don Toliver.

The day the single came out, he did an interview with Zach Sang, and announced a hiatus to Jack & Jack.

Jack Johnson described the hiatus as a "very liberating" opportunity for both members to explore their own artistic vision.

Jack Johnson dropped his debut solo single, "You Lie", on September 4, 2020, with the stage name JVCKJ to prevent legal clashes with a band called JACK J. He then released his debut solo EP, Pastel: The Early Days, on December 4, 2020.