Jacob Hoggard

Jacob William Hoggard is a Canadian musician who was the lead singer for the pop rock band Hedley. Hoggard competed on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004, where he placed third.

In 2018, Hoggard was arrested and charged with sexual assault against two women. In 2022, he was convicted on one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, and acquitted on the other charge. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment. In 2024, he was found not guilty of a third charge of sexual assault by a jury in northeastern Ontario. After an appeal was dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2024, Hoggard began serving a five-year sentence.

Jacob Hoggard was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. He was raised in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Surrey, British Columbia. He is of partial Italian origin. He was educated in Surrey, British Columbia, at Senator Reid Elementary School and Mennonite Educational Institute, Yale Secondary School in Abbotsford and at L.A. Matheson Secondary School, he was also in the City Central Learning Centre. Before appearing on Canadian Idol, Hoggard worked as a construction worker.

In 2003, Hoggard formed the band Hedley with Kevin Giesbrecht, Kevin Heeres, Ryan Federau, and Brandon McKay. Hoggard eventually started his career on Canadian Idol, who was challenged by his bandmates to appear on the show. He appeared on the second season of the show and auditioned in Vancouver after he had "been dragged to the audition after work" by his high school sweetheart performing "Forever in Blue Jeans". He advanced to the top 30 performing Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young". He soon made it to the top ten where he sang the songs "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and "Space Oddity". Hoggard placed third on the show.

After Canadian Idol, he re-formed Hedley with Dave Rosin, Tommy Mac and Chris Crippin and signed to Universal Music Canada in 2005. The band later released their debut single "On My Own", which reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. They released the albums Hedley, Famous Last Words and The Show Must Go in 2005, 2007 and 2009, respectively. Hoggard went on to produce the band's next four studio releases, Storms (2011), Wild Life (2013), Hello (2015) and Cageless (2017). He also co-wrote many of the group's hits including "Crazy for You", "Perfect", "For the Nights I Can't Remember" and "Anything". Hoggard along with Brian Howes was nominated at the 2014 Juno Awards for Producer of the Year.

In 2008, he co-wrote the songs "Tonight, I Love You" and "Kids" for Canadian pop rock band The Latency. In 2010, Hoggard part taken in Young Artists for Haiti to perform a rendition of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag". The song topped the Canadian Hot 100. In 2012, he also took part in Artists Against Bullying to record and release a remake of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" for Bullying Awareness Week. Hoggard hosted the Juno Awards of 2015. He co-wrote the single "Highway" by Canadian rock band Bleeker.

Hoggard married his high school sweetheart in 2005, which ended in divorce in 2009. Hoggard married Canadian actress Rebekah Asselstine on December 31, 2018. Hoggard along with Hedley, partnered with Free The Children, travelling to Kenya in 2010 and India in 2011, promoting awareness about poverty and helping those in need. He also became the ambassador for the Canadian Cancer Society and precursor to WE Charity.

In 2005, Hoggard and his band members were investigated in connection with a sexual assault in London, Ontario. A minor was found unconscious and shoeless outside a venue where the band had played, with Rohypnol detected in her blood. The police investigation ended when the victim refused a rape kit and the band sent a letter to the venue management stating that any discussion of the incident would result in a lawsuit.