Who was Scott Kirkland’s band partner and co-founder of The Crystal Method? American Song Contest participant is a popular DJ

NBC's American Song Contest will air its fourth episode on April 11, Monday. The reality singing competition will feature a set of 11 new contestants competing against each other in the fourth round of Live Qualifiers 4. The four contestants who manage to get the majority of votes from the viewers and the national jury will advance forward into the semi-finals.

The Crystal Method, co-founded by Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan in 1993, will be representing the state of Nevada on the stage of American Song Contest. Following Ken's retirement in 2017, Scott began to reimagine The Crystal Method as a solo act. He has been largely successful in holding on to its popularity and prioritizing innovation.

Who is American Song Contest participant Scott Kirkland of The Crystal Method?

The Crystal Method, founded by Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan in 1993, has remained one of the most influential and well-respected acts in electronic music for nearly three decades. Even after Ken retired in 2017, his partner refused to give up and took over the act alone.

Reputed to be a pioneering influence on the big beat genre and an innovator of the electronics movement, The Crystal Method has managed to amass loyal fans across the world. The official NBC bio for American Song Contest reads:

"The Grammy Award-nominated duo defined the sound of a generation - pioneering the big-beat genre, popularizing electronic music with mainstream audiences and establishing America as a force in the European and British music scene. While Scott reimagined The Crystal Method as a solo act in 2017 following Ken’s retirement, the momentum has never slowed - even during a pandemic."

Scott grew up in Los Angeles. His first-hand experience of how fast the city and the people changed helped him gain a new perspective of the entertainment world. When Ken and his partner were together, they always treated what they did as a real profession, never losing sight of the big picture.

In an interview with DJ Magazine in 2019, Scott said:

“We are not the most talented or the most prolific. We are guys that are taking stuff very seriously. Attitude has a lot to do with sustainability."

Ken Jordan is now retired and lives in Costa Rica. He focuses on organic gardening and the non-profit he shares with his wife, Green Wave. According to him,

"We never thought we were making music this week and going to be doing something else next week. This was our career and our passion, that we wanted to do for a long time."

The duo received Grammy nominations in the Best Electronic/Dance Album Category for their albums, Legion of Boom (2004) and Divided by Night (2009). Their most popular songs include Kinetic and Born Too Slow, both of which have received more than 11 million streams on Spotify.

New ventures for Scott

Scott, the innovative musician, producer and DJ, is now continuing to scale heights with The Crystal Method’s seventh studio album and his second solo outing, The Trip Out, which will release on Friday, April 15. He will perform Watch Me Now from the album on American Song Contest. Accompanying The Crystal Method will be an all-star band, composed of famous players like Danny Lohner (guitar), Hannah van der Molen (bass), and Joe Letz (drums).

What to expect from American Song Contest?

Artists participating in Episode 4, apart from The Crystal Method, include Bronson Varde, Allen Stone, Alexis Cunningham, Bri Steves, Jared Lee, MARi, NEITHER, Savannah Keyes, Stela Cole, and mariachi duo Las Marias.

The competition will feature a total of 56 contestants who will compete against one another to win the acclaimed title. American Song Contest will run for eight weeks before the grand finale on May 9, 2022.

Will The Crystal Method make it to the semi-finals of American Song Contest? Tune in on Monday, April 11, 2022 at 8.00 pm ET on NBC to find out.

Edited by Mohini Banerjee