Gary Jules /

Gary Jules (born March 19, 1969 as Gary Jules Aguirre, Jr.) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his cover of Tears for Fears' third single "Mad World", which he recorded together with friend Michael Andrews for the film Donnie Darko. It became the UK Christmas Number One single of 2003. Since then it has been used on popular American TV shows, in a commercial for the critically acclaimed video game Gears of War, an episode of CSI: Las Vegas, and a Season 5 episode of the medical drama House. Some of Jules' early projects/bands were The Ivory Knights, Our Town Pansies, Woodenfish, Kofi, The Origin, Invisible, No poetry, and Heroes and Heroin. His 2003 residency at the Los Angeles Hotel Café helped develop the venue as a successful singer/songwriter venue. Gary Jules recorded a cover of the song "Mad World" (by Tears For Fears) for the film Donnie Darko and later released it as a single in December 2003. It was a huge success becoming the Christmas No. 1 in the UK. It has also become a popular choice for background music in numerous television dramas.