Teddy Geiger

Biography

Teddy Geiger (born September 16, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who first gained teen idol status with the song "For You I Will (Confidence)×For You I Will (Confidence)11 October 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1For You I Will (Confidence)3:49" in 2006. Geiger acted in the television series Love Monkey (2006) and the film The Rocker (2008).
Geiger co-wrote a series of hit songs for Shawn Mendes, starting with the single "Stitches" in 2015, now certified 8× Platinum, and including the 7× Platinum "Treat You Better" in 2016. After transitioning in 2017–2018, Geiger released her third solo album, and continues to compose songs for other artists.

Early life

Geiger was born on September 16, 1988, to John Geiger and Lorilyn Geiger (née Rizzo). She has two younger siblings. Geiger attended the boys school McQuaid Jesuit High School, 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.

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, and Geiger gave away the $1000 prize as relief for the survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Mann encouraged Geiger to sign a six-album recording contract with Columbia Records in February 2005, which broke up Faction as a band. As a solo artist, Geiger released the EP Step Ladder×Step Ladder7 June 2005 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Try Too Hard3:172Hallelujah3:593Confidence3:514Look Where We Are Now3:385Love Is a Marathon3:526A Million Years3:31 in June 2005. Geiger opened for Hilary Duff's Still Most Wanted Tour from July to September 2005, playing 35 dates across the US in front of thousands. 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)×For You I Will (Confidence)11 October 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1For You I Will (Confidence)3:49" was used as Love Monkey's 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×Underage Thinking21 March 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1These Walls3:39A2For You I Will (Confidence)3:49A3Night Air3:44A4Thinking Underage4:12A5Look Where We Are Now3:43A6Air Dry3:12B1Seven Days Without You3:35B2Try Too Hard3:19B3A Million Years3:20B4Possibilities3:23B5Gentlemen4:06B6Love Is a Marathon3:52, 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×These WallsSingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1These Walls (album version)3:392These Walls (Teddy Geiger vs. MachoPsycho remix)5:06," 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's most loyal fans called themselves "Tedheads" or "Ted-Heads". Geiger was photographed for a Got Milk? advertisement which was published in Rolling Stone magazine, with Gieger wearing a "milk mustache" alongside "number 1 fan" Rebecca Eden who won a 2005 photo competition for the privilege. In 2006, Geiger appeared in ads for Secret deodorant, with Procter & Gamble expressing hope that this would expand sales to teen girls. 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×The Last Fears14 March 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Happier?3:312Shake It Off3:293One More Night3:384Ordinary Man4:225Save Me3:496Sunshine Fires4:207Walking in the Sun3:258Home3:529Return to Me4:0410Carousel4:12, 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×Lillyanna9 November 2018 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Under the Blue3:282Wishing (and Hoping)3:303I Was in a Cult3:034Lillyanna3:49582:096Get Me High3:177Body and Soul2:318Loser3:399Life Goes On3:39 under the name Teddy <3 or teddy❤️, in 2018. The album received notice from New York Times, Paper, Billboard, and Rolling Stone.

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.