John Ryan

John Henry Ryan II (born August 19, 1987), also known as John the Blind, is an American Grammy Award–winning songwriter, record producer, music publishing executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his work across pop, country, and alternative music, with a catalog exceeding 30 billion global streams and over 30 million records sold.

Ryan has been a key creative contributor to major releases by artists including Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims, One Direction, Thomas Rhett, Niall Horan, Olivia Dean, Katseye, John Legend, Rudimental, and others.

Early life Ryan is from Pittsford, New York. He grew up the youngest in his family with his mother, older brother Joe, and older sister Julie. Midnight Memories, Four, and Made in the A.M.

Notable One Direction credits include "Night Changes", "Story of My Life", "Steal My Girl", "Perfect", and "Drag Me Down".

During and after his work with One Direction, Ryan continued to establish himself as a leading songwriter and producer across pop, country, and dance music, earning multiple No. 1 singles.

In recent years, Ryan has been a primary songwriter and producer for the last three Sabrina Carpenter albums, including Emails I Can't Send, Short n' Sweet, and Man's Best Friend. Songs such as "Feather", "Taste", "Bed Chem", and "Tears" reached No. 1. In 2024, Ryan won a Grammy Award for his work on Short n' Sweet.

Teddy Swims is also a close friend and frequent collaborator. Swims's singles "Bad Dreams" and "The Door" both reached No. 1, which Ryan co-wrote and co-produced.

Ryan has also collaborated with Olivia Dean, co-writing her breakout single "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", and wrote the hit song "Gabriela" for global pop group KATSEYE.

In addition to his songwriting and production career, Ryan records and performs under the moniker John the Blind, a solo artist project formerly signed to Atlantic Records. The name references John of Bohemia, a medieval king who continued to lead his army despite being blind.

Under this project, Ryan releases self-written and self-produced material that blends pop, alternative, country, and experimental influences.

Discography Singles Featured in Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US AUS GER SPN UK"Fireball" 2014 23 26 22 6 49 RIAA: 5× Platinum ARIA: Gold BPI: Platinum BVMI: Gold MC: Platinum Globalization

Production discography