Teddy Geiger

Early life

Geiger was born on September 16, 1988, to John Geiger and Lorilyn Geiger (née Rizzo). She has two younger siblings, brother A. J. and sister Rachel. and learned how to play piano and guitar. As a child, Geiger composed songs in the basement of the family home; writing on the guitar from the age of eight to entertain schoolmates.

Career

2004–2008: Teen idol

In July 2004 at the age of 15, Geiger tried out in a singing competition in Los Angeles for a planned VH1 television series reboot of The Partridge Family, the process of which was filmed and aired as its own program: In Search of the Partridge Family. During weeks of rehearsal, Geiger met the unknown teenager Emma Stone who won a spot as Laurie Partridge while Geiger was passed over for the role of Keith which had been played in the 1970s by David Cassidy. The show, The New Partridge Family, never aired, but the experience gave Geiger's career a significant boost: veteran producer Billy Mann saw the potential in Geiger and signed on as artist manager.

Also in 2004, Geiger formed the band Faction which played around New York state. The band won a competition in early 2005, As a solo artist, Geiger released the EP Step Ladder in June 2005. Geiger continued touring as a solo artist, with a voice described as "raspy" like James Taylor, or "breathy" like John Mayer.

Geiger appeared as a recurring character in the short-lived television series Love Monkey, which also featured some of her music. The show debuted in January 2006, but was soon canceled. Geiger's song "For You I Will (Confidence)" was used as Love Monkey theme music for four episodes, and it was released as the first single of Geiger's upcoming album. A music video was shot for the song, depicting Geiger as a street busker trying to attract a popular girl (played by reality TV actress Kristin Cavallari.) The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 in February, rising to a peak of 29 in May, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. It was certified Gold in March 2006 by the RIAA, and nominated for Best Love Song at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards in August.

Geiger's first full-length album, Underage Thinking, was released on March 31, 2006, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single, "For You I Will (Confidence)", preceded the album, and the second single, "These Walls," was released in September. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the album contained "unabashedly mainstream music, not cool in the slightest", but certainly the equal of "the best adult pop". Erlewine suggested that Geiger would have enjoyed greater uplift in album sales if Love Monkey had not been canceled shortly before the album was released.

Geiger was marketed as a teen idol, aimed at teenage girls who made up the largest demographic of fans. Geiger was photographed for a Got Milk? advertisement In 2006, Geiger appeared in ads for Secret deodorant, At the age of 18, Geiger was featured on the November 2006 cover of Seventeen magazine; Adweek remarked that it was unusual for a "boy" to appear on the cover after years of women being featured. The Morning Call commented that Geiger's cover feature confirmed that this was Seventeen deciding who was the "hottest guy" in the US, following past appearances by teen idols Leonardo DiCaprio in 1998 and Justin Timberlake in 2002.

In mid-2007, Geiger participated in the filming of The Rocker, portraying the role of a young musician writing songs in a band. Emma Stone was also in this production; the two struck up a romance which lasted for two years. The film was a box-office bomb, but Geiger's music was featured in the film along with a cover of the Poison song "Nothin' But a Good Time" with Geiger singing lead.

Geiger launched a solo tour in June–July 2008 called TG334U North American Concert Tour, with Hilary McRae as the opening act. The tour hit 33 concert venues. The "TG334U" moniker was an initialism standing for Teddy Geiger [performing] 33 [songs] for you. Geiger fans were asked to vote for their favorite songs which would be assembled to create the next solo album. The album project was not realized.

2009–2017: Songwriter

In 2009, Columbia released Geiger from her contract and she left the music industry to return home to Rochester for a hiatus. She continued writing songs for other artists.

Geiger's second album, The Last Fears, was released in 2013 through iTunes and Spotify. The album involved many peers and collaborators including John Ryan, A Great Big World, Holly Miranda, Theo Katzman, as well as Levon Helm's producer and musical director Larry Campbell.

Geiger began a series of songwriting collaborations for Shawn Mendes, co-writing "Stitches" with Danny Parker in 2014. Mendes joined Geiger and Scott Harris to write "Treat You Better" in 2016. These were followed by "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" in 2017, and the 2018 hits "Lost in Japan", "In My Blood", "Youth" and "Where Were You in the Morning?" Some of the additional popular artists Geiger has written songs for include One Direction, Pink, Maroon 5, and Niall Horan.

2018–present: Producer and musician

After transitioning in 2017–2018, Geiger released her third album, LillyAnna under the name **Teddy

Personal life

Geiger came out as a trans woman in October 2017, and has said that she "knew she was female at 5 years old." She has also said that she intends to keep the name Teddy and use female pronouns.

She was engaged to Canadian actress Emily Hampshire, but they ended their engagement in June 2019 after seven months.

Geiger stated in a 2021 interview that she is bisexual.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other appearances

Songwriting and production credits

Television and movie appearances

References

References

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7. "Gold & Platinum: Treat You Better".
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10. Ryan, Ginny. (February 21, 2019). "From teen idol to Grammy nominee: Teddy Geiger's mom opens up about changes".
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22. Fernandez, Alexia. (December 5, 2019). "Everything to Know About Emma Stone's Past Relationships: From Andrew Garfield to Teddy Geiger".
23. (August 19, 2008). "The Rocker Soundtrack Features Poison Cover". gearsofrock.com.
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32. Jackson, Dory. (July 6, 2018). "Teddy Geiger says she knew she was a female at 5 years old".
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34. Crabtree, Emily. (November 10, 2018). "Teddy Geiger and 'Schitt's Creek' Star Emily Hampshire Are Engaged".
35. "Teddy Geiger and Emily Hampshire End Engagement After 7 Months: Report".
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44. {{cite certification
45. "Shawn Mendes – Shawn Mendes".