Gabe Saporta

Background

Born in Uruguay, Gabe Saporta and his family moved to the U.S. when he was four. When they migrated, his family experienced a financial crisis while his father continued to study at medical school. The family included Saporta, his parents, and his two-year-old brother — all residing in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens. While the family struggled to make ends meet, Saporta developed a love for music. For him, music was the only way out of the misery he was experiencing in life. Music gave him control and made him happy.

Like all teenagers, Saporta experimented with different music genres, till one day, he came across punk rock. From there he was hooked and spent a massive amount of his time listening to bands such as Gorilla Biscuits, Fugazi, and Pavement. At 16, he joined a band called Humble Beginnings as a bass player. In 1998, he co-founded a band called Midtown and they worked on an album together. The group released one EP and three LP albums.

When he was 21, Saporta became a part of another band called Armor For Sleep and started managing it. Saporta then became the singer for the electronic pop group Cobra Starship. From thereon, fame and Saporta have been walking hand in hand. From 2006 to 2014, the band Cobra Starship released four full-length albums and scored two double-platinum Top 10 hits. They also received a gold record for the single ‘Hot Mess.’