Cody Robert Simpson (born 11 January 1997) is an Australian singer, actor, and a former competitive swimmer. Since his debut as a recording artist, he has released four solo studio albums: Paradise (2012), Surfers Paradise (2013), Free (2015), and a self-titled album (2022), with another album currently in the works to be released in 2026. He portrayed the lead role of Dmitry in the Broadway musical Anastasia from November 2018 through April 2019. The same year, he won the first season of The Masked Singer Australia as "Robot".
In 2022, Simpson joined the Australian Swim Team after qualifying for the Commonwealth Games during Australia's team trials. In June 2024, he retired from competitive swimming after failing to qualify for Paris Olympics.
Cody Simpson was born on 11 January 1997 in Benowa, a suburb on the Gold Coast, Queensland, to parents Brad Simpson and Angie Simpson. He has two younger siblings, Alli and Tom. Growing up, Simpson attended All Saints Anglican School. In 2009, Simpson began uploading songs to YouTube, performing covers of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours","Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake, "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 and Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive".
2009–2011: Career beginnings, 4 U, and Coast to Coast
Simpson's rise to recognition was featured on The 7.30 Report in December 2009. He released his debut single, "iYiYi" (which features American rapper Flo Rida), on 15 May 2010. The music video for Simpson's second single, "Summertime", was released on 20 September 2010. Simpson relocated to Los Angeles in June 2010 with his family to record music with Atlantic Records' Shawn Campbell. That same month, Simpson appeared on the Australian morning show Sunrise. On 22 June 2010, it was announced that Simpson would participate in the Camplified 2010 Tour, along with other artists, touring across the United States. The tour began on 5 July 2010 and ended on 14 August 2010. Other tours that year included a middle school tour that took place from October - November 2010 and covered nine US states. An EP, 4 U was released on 21 December 2010. The EP included five tracks in total, four of them being previously unreleased. Simpson recorded a remake of the song "I Want Candy" by The Strangeloves as the main theme song for the Easter-themed live-action/animated film Hop. In May 2011, Simpson was "egged" during a live performance at Westfield Miranda in Sydney. Simpson told Australian radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show that he was not in fact hit by the eggs, and that he was upset on behalf of his fans as the remainder of his show was cancelled due to security concerns. He then started the Waiting 4U tour with American singer Greyson Chance on 9 April in Ivins, Utah. The tour ended on 18 May 2011, in Portland, Oregon.
Coast to Coast was released on 20 September 2011 by Atlantic Records. It reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 and sold 24,000 copies. On 23 April 2011, Simpson released the single "On My Mind". On 5 August 2011, he performed on The Today Show. The following day, Simpson started his Coast to Coast Mall Tour in Lake Grove, New York to promote his second EP. He played nine dates around the United States and finished it in Orange, California on 18 September 2011. On 22 September 2011, it was announced that Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber's manager, had become Simpson's manager.
2012–2014: Paradise, Surfers Paradise, and Dancing with the Stars
On 12 June 2012, Simpson released an EP titled Preview to Paradise containing four songs from his upcoming debut studio album, Paradise, which was released on 2 October 2012. In February 2013, Simpson toured Europe, doing his own tour dates as well as supporting Justin Bieber on many of the European Believe Tour dates. Surfers Paradise, which was released on 16 July 2013, was Simpson's first album to debut in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. During the summer of 2013, Simpson headlined the Paradise Tour, featuring opening acts Ryan Beatty and Before You Exit. On 19 November 2013, Simpson released an acoustic album called The Acoustic Sessions, featuring the songs "Pretty Brown Eyes", "All Day", "La Da Dee", "Wish U Were Here", and a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas".
On 4 March 2014, Simpson was announced as one of the celebrities to participate on the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars during ABC's Good Morning America. He was partnered with professional dancer Witney Carson. He was eliminated on Week 5 of the competition and finished in ninth place.
From 30 June 2014 to 14 July 2014, Simpson did an acoustic tour through Europe with singer Jackson Harris.
In August 2014, Simpson announced he had departed Warner/Atlantic, citing creative differences.
2015–2018: Free, Cody Simpson and the Tide, and Wave One
Simpson's album Free was scheduled to be released on 23 June 2015 then was pushed back to 10 July. Simpson performed the first single, "Flower" on Good Morning America on 6 February 2015. It was his first album as an independent artist since leaving Atlantic Records to create his own label, Coast House. The album was produced by Cisco Adler and includes songwriting collaborations with G. Love and Donavon Frankenreiter. John Mayer served as a sounding board. Simpson performed his single "New Problems" on NBC's Today show on 13 July 2015. On 1 November 2015, it was reported that Simpson was taking a break from his solo career to start a band with his friends.
In 2017, Simpson formed a new band called Cody Simpson and the Tide. The band was composed of Simpson on vocals and guitar, Adrian Cota on drums, and Shareef "Reef" Addo on bass. Cody Simpson and the Tide released their debut EP, entitled Wave One, in the fall of 2017. The music was a blend of pop, rock, blues, and surf-rock genres. In their four-track EP, Simpson sings of love, unity, environmentalism and ocean conservation. The EP's debut single, "Waiting for the Tide", was inspired by a poem Simpson wrote that tackled topics such as rising water levels and ocean conservation. In August 2018, the band released another song, titled "Underwater". In October 2018, Cody Simpson and the Tide went on a short tour of southern California to perform their EP. The band split up in early 2019.
2019–present: Return to solo work
In October 2019, Simpson released the song "Golden Thing", which was inspired by his then-girlfriend, Miley Cyrus. In the same year, he participated on The Masked Singer Australia as the "Robot" and went on to win the show. In April 2022, Simpson released a self-titled album, his first in six years, which he had recorded during a swimming training break in 2020. Simpson also released music videos for singles "Nice To Meet You", and "Let Go" on YouTube and Spotify.
In November 2022, Simpson performed the Australian National Anthem at the Lexus Melbourne Cup and the AFL Women's Grand Final. He performed a rendition of the Nat King Cole song "The Christmas Song" at the 85th annual Carols by Candlelight held in Melbourne in December 2022.
In February 2026, Simpson announced his return to music, teasing a new song in promotional content on his social media pages.