Internationally Famous Singers that Started off as YouTube Stars
Getting a big break in the highly-competitive music industry is no easy feat, which is why many artists try to gain exposure on social media channels in the hopes of making it big. Here are a few famous singers and musicians that started off as Youtube stars, brought to you by our passionate team at School of Popular Music:
1. Ed Sheeran
He may be a household name nowadays, with his songs being overplayed at weddings around the globe, but Sheeran started off as an ordinary church-choir singing child from the age of four and learned to play the guitar at a very young age. Although he started his YouTube channel in 2006, it wasn’t until he hit 10 million subscribers in early 2017 that it really took off on such a massive scale. He currently has around 30 million subscribers, making him one of the top YouTube stars!
2. Justin Bieber
Undoubtedly the most famous YouTube star of all time, even Bieber had to start somewhere. It wasn’t that long ago that the pre-teen burst from relative obscurity to superstardom after being discovered performing on a YouTube video on his channel. With approximately $55 million in earnings last year, it’s safe to say the time Bieber spent uploading videos paid off.
3. Walk Off the Earth
Next on our YouTube stars list is not a singer, but a Canadian band. Known for their homemade videos of cover songs that have been viewed over 600 million times. Since they released their cover of Gotye’s ‘Somebody that I used to know,’ they have built a global audience of almost 3 million subscribers, making them one of the most famous cover bands in the internet age.
4. The Weeknd
The Weeknd’s name and music were an enigma at first. Despite choosing ‘xoxxxoooxo’ as an account name and only featuring static images in his music videos, he was able to develop an impressive following, proving that his climb to fame was based solely on his talent and signature voice.
5. Lily Allen
Known equally for her feuds with other celebrities and interesting voice, the Brit was one of the first pop stars to emerge through social media. Unlike the others on the list, Allen started off by developing a fan base through her demos on MySpace before the release of her 2006 debut album which features the hit song ‘Smile.’ Allen’s journey from MySpace sensation to chart-topping recording artist highlights the power of social media when it comes to talent exposure.
Whether you’re interested in following these YouTube stars’ footsteps or simply want to take up an instrument or master a skill, we invite you to sign up for lessons at School of Popular Music, where you can enjoy anything from violin lessons to drum lessons in Guernsey!