P. J. Olsson

He was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family. His father had a DMA in choral music and was an avant-garde 12-tone composer, A&R executive for Motown Records and later a professor at Michigan Tech;^[1] his mother was a music/voice major and schoolteacher.^[2] He started playing violin at age 6.^[3] PJ caught the attention of Columbia records, who in mid-2000 released the album Words For Living which received positive reviews in the United States. Olsson also made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman,^[4] and his song "Ready for a Fall" was included on the soundtrack album for the television show Dawson's Creek.^[5]

Olsson began collaborating with Alan Parsons in 2004, first as a sound engineer, then as lead singer for the Alan Parsons Live Project.^[6] He has performed with many other notable acts, including Kid Rock, Muse, Train, Rufus Wainwright, Iggy Pop, Beth Orton, Bob Geldof, Something Corporate, Ben Harper, Nelly Furtado, Placebo, and Michelle Branch.^[4][3] In 2007 Olsson teamed up with Salman Ahmad to record a remake of the Nick Lowe song, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", as the theme to The CW television show Aliens in America.^[7]