Ben Jelen (born 8 July 1979), born Benjamin Ivan Jelen in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a singer-songwriter who plays the piano, violin, and guitar. He has lived in Scotland, England, Texas, New Jersey, and New York.

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Music career

Jelen attended high school in San Antonio, Texas briefly, as a freshman at Northside Health Careers High School. He completed high school in Princeton, New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in biology. After that, he moved to New York City to work as a producer and sound engineer at a local recording studio. ^[1]

2004: Give It All Away

Jelen was discovered by Joseph Janus of Fearless Management, who originally wanted to sign him as a model. Instead, Jelen handed him a demo, and shortly thereafter, he was signed to a label and released his debut album Give It All Away in May 2004, promoted by appearances on TRL, AOL Breakers and Rock the Vote. ^{[2] [3] [4]} The album also debuted at #13 on the Top Internet Albums chart, ^[5] #120 on the Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart ^[6] and #113 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States ^[7], making it eligible for the Top Heatseekers chart, a chart of artists who have never entered the top 100 of the Billboard 200. The album debuted at #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart. ^[8]

Debut single "Come On" was a hit, reaching the MTV top 20. It also debuted at #58 on the Hot Singles Sales chart. ^[9] Apart from "Give It All Away" being included as a B-side to the "Come On" single, no other track from the album was released as a single.

2005–2006: Independent period

Following his debut album, Jelen left Maverick Records and independently released the EP Rejected through Fearless Management Records in 2005. He wrote and recorded a song for a compilation album for Tori Amos' RAINN organization ^[10] and joined the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Wildlife Works. Jelen also appeared on the compilation album Breaking for the Holidays in 2006 with his self-produced cover of Joni Mitchell's "River" through Breaking Records. ^[11]

2007: Custard Records deal and Ex-Sensitive

Jelen performed at the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and music festival in Austin, Texas, in a lineup that also included Taylor Hicks, Amy Winehouse, Tom Morello, Mika, Martina Topley Bird, The Fratellis, Bloc Party, Paolo Nutini, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mogwai and Spoon. ^[12]

Jelen's second full-length album, Ex-Sensitive , was released on July 17, 2007. The album, formerly titled East ^[13] and Pulse ^[14], was produced by Linda Perry and mixed by Bill Bottrell.

2009- Under the Elephant Jelen has placed his solo career on hold to focus on a new group named "Under the Elephant." The band consists of Jelen, Josh McMillan, Brian Clemens, Stan Esposito, Tina Mathieu, and Elizabeth McMillan. The group is, as of August 22, 2009, unsigned. ^[15]

Television and film

Jelen's music has been featured on the TV shows One Tree Hill , Smallville and Las Vegas , and was used to promote the Academy Award-nominated Finding Neverland starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. "Come On" also features in the film Love Wrecked with Amanda Bynes and more recently, the instrumental version of "Come On" was featured in a trailer for The Bucket List .

Jelen also guest starred in an episode of House as a doctor applying for a fellowship in the episode "Kids".

Discography

Physical albums

• Give It All Away (2004)
• Rejected (EP) (2005)
• Ex-Sensitive (2007)
• Wreckage (EP) (2008)

Digital-only albums

• Sessions@AOL (2004)

Singles

• "Come On/Give It All Away" ^[16] (2004) (#58 U.S. Hot Singles Sales)
• "Where Do We Go" (2007)
• "Wreckage" (2008)

Other contributions

# Unknown track on the limited-edition compilation "CG Vibes: Music That Gives Back", available for five months in 2004 and supplied free with The Corrs' Borrowed Heaven , Toby Lightman's Little Things , Brandy's Afrodisiac and his own Give It All Away ^[17] # "Truth" on the compilation "For the Next X: A Benefit CD for RAINN" (2004) # "Talking About A Revolution" (cover of Tracy Chapman's song of the same name) on the Russell Simmons/Babyface compilation Wake Up Everybody (2004) # "Forever In Our Hearts" (playing keyboards and violin), a single for tsunami relief (2005) ^[18] # "River" (cover of the Joni Mitchell song of the same name) on the compilation Breaking for the Holidays (2006) # "Woman" (cover of John Lennon's song of the same name) on Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur (2007)

References

1. Music Emissions interview
2. Breaking and Entering: Ben Jelen
3. Billboard Bits: Rock The Vote, Mellencamp, Linkin Park
4. Billboard Bits: 'Por Vida,' Loeb/Mitchell, AOL Breakers
5. Chart positions by Billboard.com
6. Chart positions by Billboard.com
7. Chart positions by Billboard.com
8. Billboard.com chart positions
9. Billboard.com chart positions
10. Artists Shower Tracks on RAINN Benefit
11. Breaking Records website
12. SXSW Finally Confirms First Round of Artists
13. Jelen Breaks Free With Linda Perry
14. Ben Jelen Inks With Perry's Custard Label
15. http://www.myspace.com/undertheelephant
16. Single listing at Billboard.com
17. CoverGirl Launching Record Label
18. 'Forever' Unites Artists For Tsunami Relief