Jared Joseph Leto is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for Thirty Seconds to Mars, a band he formed in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, with his older brother Shannon Leto. When the group first started, Jared Leto did not
allow his position of Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band. Their debut album had been in the works for a couple of years, with Leto writing the majority of the songs. Their work led to a number of record labels being interested in signing
Thirty Seconds to Mars, which eventually signed to Immortal Records. Their debut album, 30 Seconds to Mars (2002), was released to positive reviews but only to limited success. The band achieved worldwide fame with the release of their second album
A Beautiful Lie (2005). Their following releases, This Is War (2009) and Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013), received further critical and commercial success. As of September 2014, the band has sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Leto has also
directed music videos, including the MTV Video Music Award–winning "The Kill" (2006), "Kings and Queens" (2009), and "Up in the Air" (2013). Leto directs 30 Seconds to Mars' music videos under the pseudonym "Bartholomew Cubbins," a Dr. Seuss character.
In 2012, the group released a documentary, Artifact, about their feud and $30 million lawsuit with record label EMI. On November 3, 2015, it was announced that Thirty Seconds to Mars are working on their fifth studio album. In August 2016, the band
revealed to have signed to Interscope Records and confirmed that a new album will be released in 2017.
Shannon Leto
Shannon Leto (born March 9, 1970) formed the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998 in Los Angeles, California with his brother Jared. Their debut album had been in the works for a couple of years and was recorded in rural Wyoming during 2001 and
early 2002. Their work led to a number of record labels being interested in signing Thirty Seconds to Mars, which eventually signed to Immortal Records. The band worked with producers Bob Ezrin and Brian Virtue on their debut album 30 Seconds to Mars,
which was released on August 27, 2002 in the United States through Immortal and Virgin. It reached number 107 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top Heatseekers. Upon its release, 30 Seconds to Mars was met with mostly positive reviews;
music critic Megan O'Toole felt that the band has "managed to carve out a unique niche for themselves in the rock realm." The album was a slow-burning success, and eventually sold two million copies worldwide as of March 2011. Leto is known for his
energetic live performances and his ability to blend traditional and experimental drum techniques. During the production of Thirty Seconds to Mars first studio album, he played almost exclusively electronic drums and drew influence from bands such
as Pink Floyd, The Cure, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, which he considers "mostly big conceptional bands; bands that had depth; bands that were dynamic." Bob Ezrin, producer of the album, felt that Leto is "one of the most inventive drummers I've worked
with. He isn't satisfied with simply adding a beat; his drum parts are an integral part of the orchestration of the record. He's also a great live drummer who is lots of fun to watch, with a presence and energy level that are mesmerizing."
Tomislav "Tomo" Miličević
Tomislav "Tomo" Miličević (born September 3, 1979) is an American musician and record producer best known as the lead guitarist of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Born in Sarajevo but raised in the United States, Miličević moved to Troy, Michigan
in the early 1980s, where he became active in the local heavy metal scene and played in a number of bands, co-founding Morphic. Miličević began playing in bands around Troy in the late 1990s. He co-founded the group Morphic with some friends in 2000.
The band first operated under the name Loki, before settling on its final name. By 2001, the group performed gigs at small Michigan venues and clubs, and recorded a number of demo tracks. Miličević gained American citizenship in the early 1990s. He
attended culinary school, becoming a certified executive and pastry chef, and worked in a number of restaurants in Metro Detroit. He graduated from Athens High School in Troy and then moved to Los Angeles, rejoining his siblings Ivana and Filip. The
three later convinced their parents to leave Troy and resettle in Los Angeles, where they opened a restaurant In 2003, he joined Thirty Seconds to Mars, with whom he achieved worldwide recognition in the mid-2000s after recording the band's second
album A Beautiful Lie (2005). Its full-length follow-ups, This Is War (2009) and Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013), received further critical and commercial success.