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Benji Madden

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Benji Madden
Madden performing in 2017
Born
Benjamin Levi Combs

(1979-03-11) March 11, 1979 (age 45)
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Years active1995–present
Spouse
(m. 2015)
Children2
Relatives
AwardsFull list
Musical career
OriginLa Plata, Maryland, U.S
Genres
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • vocals
Member of

Benjamin Levi Madden ( Combs; born March 11, 1979) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Good Charlotte—for which he has received various awards—as well as pop rock collaboration the Madden Brothers. He formed both of these acts with his identical twin brother, Joel Madden, with whom he was a coach on The Voice Australia from 2015 to 2016.

Early life

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Madden was born Benjamin Levi Combs on March 11, 1979, in Waldorf, Maryland, to Robin Madden and Roger Combs (d. 2019).[1][2] He has an identical twin, Joel Madden, with whom he formed the band Good Charlotte.[1] He has an older brother named Josh and a younger sister named Sarah. All attended La Plata High School in La Plata, Maryland.[2]

Career

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In 1996 Madden started a band with his twin brother Joel named Good Charlotte.

While still playing in Good Charlotte, both Madden brothers wrote and produced for other artists. Madden was a co-writer and co-producer of some of the songs on Hilary Duff's Most Wanted (2005) compilation album. He later helped write the songs "Amnesia" for pop rockers 5 Seconds of Summer and "No Ordinary Girl" for pop artist Kalin and Myles. He has appeared as a back-up vocalist for artists such as MxPx, Kill Hannah, Apoptygma Berzerk, Mest, The 69 Eyes, Sean Kingston, Three 6 Mafia, Chamillionaire, and Matisyahu.[3]

Madden started the fashion line called Made Clothing in 2001, along with his brothers Joel and Josh. In early 2006, it became DCMA Collective. A DCMA Collective store opened in Los Angeles on March 15, 2008, but later closed.[citation needed]

On April 3, 2010, Madden took part in a boxing match against MTV and VH1 host Riki Rachtman at Ellismania 5: Get These Brawls. The event was hosted by Jason Ellis at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Madden beat Rachtman by knockout at 1 minute and 42 seconds into the first round.[4]

On November 11, 2011, Madden and his brother Joel Madden released a free mix-tape, "The Madden Brothers: Before Volume 1". It contains new artists the brothers were personally interested in. Their brother Josh Madden helped to produce the mix-tape. Then unknown rappers, Machine Gun Kelly, Rockie Fresh, Kreayshawn, Cassie Veggies, HXLT, and Wiz Khalifa all appeared on the mix-tape.

Madden on stage with Good Charlotte

In 2012, Benji appeared on the TV show The Voice Australia, alongside Joel as joint mentor-judges.

In early 2013, Benji helped write Tonight Alive's song "Breakdown". He sang back-up vocals at the end of the song and made an appearance in the video.

In 2014, electronic dance music artist TJR released his track "Come Back Down", which features Benji on the track's vocals. The Madden Brothers recording "Greetings from California" was released on September 16, 2014.

In mid-2014, both of the Madden brothers appeared as coaches on The Voice Kids Australia in a double chair, after the example of the Dutch The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids Holland edition in which the singer's duo Nick & Simon appeared as a judging duo between 2010 and 2015. In early 2015, Benji joined Joel as a coach on the main edition of The Voice, bringing the number of coaches up to five.

In 2015 Madden and his two brothers formally started their company MDDN, of which Benji is CEO, offering artist management, artist development and creative services. The company gained success quickly with the brothers taking management of Jessie J, Chase Atlantic, Architects, Bad Omens, Waterparks, Eyedress, Poppy and More.[5]

Madden and his brother Joel co-founded the streaming platform Veeps in 2017, and are co-CEOs. Live Nation Entertainment acquired a majority stake in the platform in January 2021.[6]

Discography

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With Good Charlotte

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With The Madden Brothers

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Vocal appearances

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Year Song Artist(s) Album
2001 "Let's Go" X-Ecutioners
2002 "January" Goldfinger Open Your Eyes
2003 "Jaded (These Years)" Mest Mest
"It's Alright" MxPx Before Everything & After
"On the Outs"
2004 "Are You Ready?" Hazen Street Hazen Street
"All That"
"Last Train Home" Lostprophets Start Something
"Jump" N.E.R.D Fly or Die
2007 "Tightly Wound" MxPx Secret Weapon
"Sex Without Love" Ben Lee Ripe
2008 "My Own Way" Three 6 Mafia Last 2 Walk
2009 "Apollo (Live on Your TV)" Apoptygma Berzerk Rocket Science
"Darkness into Light" Matisyahu Light
"Dead N' Gone" The 69 Eyes Back in Blood
"Shoulda Let U Go" Sean Kingston Tomorrow
"Snowblinded" Kill Hannah Wake Up the Sleepers
2013 "Breakdown" Tonight Alive The Other Side
2014 "Come Back Down" TJR[8]
2019 "Never Enough" Sleeping with Sirens How It Feels to Be Lost
2020 "Second Chances" Hollywood Undead New Empire, Vol. 1

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Not Another Teen Movie Prom band member
2006 Live Freaky Die Freaky Interrogator #1 Voice only
Material Girls Mistaken valet #2
Fast Future Generation Himself
2007 Punk's Not Dead
2008 Paris, Not France
2009 6 Beers of Separation
2016 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Punk'd Himself 1 episode
2009 Australian Idol Himself (guest judge) 2 episodes
2011 The Electric Company Himself
2014 The Voice Kids Himself (coach) All episodes
2015–2016 The Voice Australia
2022 Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Himself (contestant) 1 episode

Music videos

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Awards and nominations

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For his work as a guitarist for the alternative rock band Good Charlotte, he has received various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award, and an NRJ Music Award.

Personal life

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In February 2008, Madden broke up with his long-time fiancée, Sophie Monk.[9]

Madden began dating actress Cameron Diaz in May 2014. The two were unofficially engaged before Christmas Day in 2014[10] and were married on January 5, 2015,[11] in a Jewish-inspired ceremony, at their Beverly Hills home.[12] On December 30, 2019, they had a daughter via surrogate pregnancy.[13] On March 22, 2024 Benji announced that wife Cameron Diaz and he welcomed their new-born son.[citation needed]

Madden has many tattoos, including a tattoo of Benjamin Franklin, which covers his entire back.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Leahey, Andrew. "Artist Biography [Benji Madden]". Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Joel Madden". People.com. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Madden, Benjamin (September 18, 2009). "Twitter status- Benji Madden as a back-up vocalist". Twitter. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  4. ^ Ellismania 5 – Benji Madden VS Riki Rachtman – The Fight. YouTube. April 5, 2010. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  5. ^ https://mddn.co [bare URL]
  6. ^ "Live Nation Buys Majority Stake in Madden Brothers' Streaming Company Veeps". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Bio". themaddenbrothers.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  8. ^ "TJR feat. Benji Madden – Come Back Down (RELEASE)". turnupthebass.net. January 27, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Sophie Monk and Benji Madden split up". News.com.au. January 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008.
  10. ^ Cascerceri, Dorothy (January 9, 2015). "What does Cameron Diaz see in Benji Madden?". Fox News.
  11. ^ Chiu, Melody (December 23, 2014). "Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden Are Engaged". Time.
  12. ^ Friedman, Gabe (January 7, 2015). "Cameron Diaz has a Jewish wedding – through neither she nor beau are Jewish". Haaretz.
  13. ^ "Cameron Diaz Feels Daughter Raddix Is 'Truly a Miracle' After Using Surrogate". January 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Benji Madden shows off his tattoo of Ben Franklin". The Courier-Mail. News.com.au. June 13, 2008. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
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