Who

This emo singer-songwriter, who records under the name Bright Eyes, has enthralled a generation of teenage girls with his plaintive, confessional anthems.

Backstory

Nebraska-born and bred, Oberst began writing songs and playing in Omaha bands as a scrawny kid of 12; three years later, his band Commander Venus landed its first record deal. The group disbanded after a couple of years and Oberst went out on his own, releasing a 1998 record under the name Bright Eyes. His sensitive, weepy music caught on, and his second album, Letting Off the Happiness, won him more fans and some critical attention (music magazine Magnet called him "quite a grand song writer"). Oberst didn't hit the mainstream, though, until 2002's Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, which sold a surprisingly robust 250,000 copies. These days Oberst also records with his side project Desaparecidos, a punk-infused band whose lyrics have a political bent. In 2003 he co-founded the record label Team Love, which has released work by his cohorts Tilly and the Wall, Jenny Lewis and David Dondero.

Of note

Oberst has been widely touted as the second coming of Bob Dylan, and his live shows often inspire tears and mass reverie. Not everyone's a convert, though. On the release of his 2005 record I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, one critic said that "instead of reaching musical maturity, he's wallowing in a perpetual adolescence." The Onion once mocked his maudlin posturing in a story entitled "Nation Planning Surprise Party to Cheer Up Conor Oberst." His April 2007 release, the alt-country-styled Cassadaga, sold 58,000 copies in its first week, and debuted at number four on the Billboard chart.

Vice

Oberst has made references in the past to his enthusiasm for heavy drinking and drugs, particularly cocaine, and was sent to the hospital in 2002 after consuming a magnum of Jameson's whiskey. He says he'll never do acid again, as it "broke my brain."

Personal

He's currently dating Maria Taylor of the minimalist pop band Azure Ray. Oberst's former girlfriend, Neely Jenkins of indie pop group Tilly and the Wall, grew up next door to him. He was also linked at one point to super-groupie and erstwhile actress Winona Ryder, but has denied that they hooked up.

Habitat

Oberst made a much-discussed move from Omaha to the East Village in 2005. (Now, instead of crafting songs about the Nebraska wilderness, Oberst writes about loft parties and riding the subway.) He still owns a 1920s-era bungalow in Omaha.