Let’s Talk About The Influencer to Pop Star Pipeline

It’s no secret that social media influencers are the new celebrities. Long gone are the days of needing to move to Hollywood, now you can become a star behind your own phone screen. But not just “anyone” can do it. You have to entertain, and keep that entertainment fresh. These influencers have to have other talents besides dancing to 10 seconds of a song, right?

Well, it seems like most of them do. If you keep up with modern music, it’s easy to see the “social media influencer to singer pipeline” in recent years. It’s not uncommon for influencers try to branch out and continue their fame. A lot of them make a name for themselves, whether it’s for good or for bad. For many, singing seems like a natural route to pursue stardom. Here are some of our favorite, and not-so-favorite, influencers turned artists.

Shawn Mendes

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We can’t address this topic without talking about the pioneer of it, Shawn Mendes. He was famous on Vine for his six-second singing videos. Being able to showcase your talent in six seconds is already a skill within itself. He became part of the original “Boys of Summer Tour”: Magcon. He, and tens of other influencers from the app, traveled across the country to visit and meet their fans. While the other boys seemed to just make jokes and dance around on stage, Shawn showed real potential. He would sing covers and everyone would swoon. Everyone knew he was going to be the next Justin Bieber. He came out with his first single “Life of the Party” and continued to release hit after hit. He took over all of our radios in 2015. Today he’s one of the biggest artists in the world.

Bhad Bhabie

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Bhad Bhabie’s career started as a joke and she really ran with it. She appeared on Dr. Phil and made a profit off her catchphrase when she threatened to fight the whole live audience: “Cash me outside, how ‘bout dat?”. She had a few songs, but the one that really started her rap career was “Hi Bich”. As much as I hate to admit it, that song is a banger. She’s partnered with huge, respected rappers like Lil Yachty and Lil Baby. Resulting in some of her biggest hits “Gucci Flip Flops” and “Geek’d”. She’s dropped some other singles after, but they haven’t really taken off.

Nessa Barrett

Nessa Barrett Releases Debut Song “Pain” - pm studio world wide music news

Nessa is a little newer with her career, but it’s clear she has a lot of potential. She got famous from her lifestyle Tik Toks until released her first track “Pain”. It seemed to only get famous for the similarities between Madison Beer’s song “Selfish”. It even turned into a meme on Tik Tok. Barrett redeemed herself with her song “la di die” where she collabed with fellow Tik Toker Jaden Hossler. This track landed them on multiple late-night show appearances like Jimmy Fallon. Now every time Nessa comes out with a song, it takes over everyone’s For You page.

Dixie D’amelio

Dixie D'Amelio's "Be Happy" Isn't About What You Might Think

Dixie D’amelio rose to fame from doing Tik Tok dances with her sister Charli. She collabed with brands like Morphe, Hollister for a clothing line, and there are rumors her family is getting a special on Hulu. Who knew she could sing too? A lot of people may disagree with that statement, anyways. She came out with her first song “Be Happy” and there was a lot to say. Everyone thought there was a lot of editing in her voice. Since this single, she seems to keep growing as an artist. She seems to be making an upward climb with her new songs like F***BOY and Psycho featuring Rubi Rose.

JXDN

I can’t mention Dixie and Nessa without bringing Jaden Hossler into the mix. He seemed to be one of the first big Tik Tokers to release a song, “Comatose” which was released in May 2020. I hated the idea of Tik Tokers taking over the music world, but I will shamelessly admit that I love this song. I never would have guessed Jaden was going for a rock and roll style. But after he released this first single, he was spotted with rock icons like Travis Barker and Machine Gun Kelly. Since then he’s released a couple more singles and most recently, his debut album. He even performed at Lollapalooza this past weekend. His career clearly has some potential!

Perks of becoming an influencer before you take on bigger career paths is that you’ll have a large audience always behind you, whether it ends up being good or bad. Anyone can sing, but the real talent is behind the scenes: the writing, the instrumental, the real creating. These influencers have the ability to get in touch with the greatest people in the industry. Some people question whether these social media stars are just buying their way into the music world. Do you think they deserve the hype?

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