David Sanders (born December 22, 1995), better known by the stage name Jean Dawson, is a Mexican-American experimental pop musician.

[7] He would cross the border to San Diego every day since he went to elementary school there,[9] requiring him to wake up at 3 a.m.[10] He would spend those long bus rides listening to a wide variety of music, including grunge, hip hop, Britpop, new wave, and rock en español.

Growing up in poverty meant he couldn't afford his own instruments, so he would take the bus to a local Guitar Center every day after school and practice piano there.

[13] Essence interviewer Sydney Scott notes the project's influences as including "sonic and visual nods to Outkast, the Cure, Kid Cudi, and Kanye West with the singer-songwriter's taste later being informed by groups like Disturbed, N.E.R.D.

[17] On June 16, Dawson released the Apple Music-exclusive single "Ghost", as part of the music streamer's Juneteenth-inspired Freedom Songs series.

Dawson described the song as being "for the people who've felt unseen and unheard", and explained his personal perspective on the holiday, saying it "should never have needed to exist.

[30][31] The second set of the trilogy, now called Destruction for Dummies, sees Dawson assuming the character of Nightmare on the songs "No Scope", "X-Ray", and "Vexed".

[37][38] The tracklist was unveiled on April 24, Stop Making Sense's 40th anniversary, including that Dawson's contribution to the album would be a cover of the song "Swamp".

[1] On April 19, the film Abigail was released, featuring a new Dawson song called "Burn My Tongue" which plays over the end credits.

[45] In 2021, Dawson launched his clothing and merchandise label Turbo Radio, including collections of face masks, shirts, sweatpants, crew necks, and sweaters that he designed.

The film, featuring "Blade Runner-esque" visual effects and a music score by frequent collaborator Zach Fogarty, sees him discussing his personal life in an intimate, vulnerable way.

[48][49][50] In an interview with DIY's Elly Watson, Dawson listed his influences as including Kanye West; The Smashing Pumpkins; "Warped Tour shit"; "anything from Manchester" such as the Smiths; New Order; and "all the stuff that felt really Britpop-py", noting that when working on Bad Sports single "Napster" he asked his British producers Hoskins to make the song "feel like Manchester and Compton had a baby", "like if Morrissey was Black.

"[7] Dawson's lyrics cover topics including anxiety, depression, feeling like an outsider, fragile masculinity,[7] drug addiction, gang life, spirituality, and morality.

[7] Dawson has struggled with depression, including a period of persistent suicidal ideation when he was 21 which led him to start therapy and taking SSRIs.