20 artists who got their start on YouTube

Chloe x Halle were teenagers when they started uploading covers to YouTube. One of their videos was a cover of Beyoncé’s 2013 track “Pretty Hurts,” and not only did the cover become a viral sensation, it also caught Queen Bey’s attention. Beyoncé was so impressed with their talent, that she signed Chloe x Halle to a deal with her record label Parkwood Entertainment. 

Charlie Puth’s YouTube covers helped him land a record deal with the help of Ellen DeGeneres. Although he didn’t stay with Ellen’s label eleveneleven for too long, Puth continued to push his artistry by collaborating with other artists. Throughout his career, some of his hit songs include the Meghan Trainor-assisted single “Marvin Gaye,” and “See You Again,” a collaboration with Wiz Khalifa. 

Singer Tori Kelly didn’t initially turn to YouTube for exposure. As a child, she was a contestant on Star Search and America’s Most Talented Kids. After parting ways with Geffen Records for her music deal, she started uploading covers on YouTube. In 2010, she auditioned for American Idol but unfortunately didn’t make it to the top 24 of artists. She continued to upload YouTube covers and caught the eye of record executive Scooter Braun, who eventually got Kelly signed with Capitol Records. 

Soulja Boy was one of the first artists to truly take advantage of the digital era in the music industry. In 2005, he started posting his music on platforms like YouTube and MySpace. In 2007, it was his song for “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” that spawned a dance phenomenon, and eventually got the rapper signed with Interscope Records. 

Justin Bieber was only a pre-teen when a video of him singing Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” at a singing competition was uploaded to YouTube. After he started uploading more videos, record executive Scooter Braun came across one of the performances. Once Braun tracked Bieber and his family down, he brought Bieber to Atlanta to audition for Usher. He then landed a joint record deal headed by Braun, Usher, and L.A. Reid. 

One of the cool things about YouTube is that people can learn almost anything. Shawn Mendes watched YouTube videos and learned how to play guitar, before he started posting cover videos on Vine. He started gaining more followers on Vine, particularly with how Vine allows people to show their talent and creativity in a short timeframe. A talent manager found Mendes online and helped him sign with Island Records. 

Pop band 5 Seconds of Summer released covers on their YouTube channel and quickly caught the attention of a few record labels which led to them signing a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The band then got the chance to appear as the opening act for One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. Soon after, the band signed a deal with Capitol Records.

Ariana Grande was already making a name for herself as an actor on the Nickelodeon TV show Victorious. While filming the show, Grande was very excited about starting a music career so she started uploading covers on YouTube. When the show wrapped after four seasons, Grande jumped into her music career and released her debut album Yours Truly. The album spawned the hit singles “Baby I” and “Right There.” 

The Weeknd took more of a mystery approach with his YouTube channel, he would upload music anonymously, so fans didn’t know what he looked like or his name. The songs caught wave by fans and caught the attention of Drake, who posted one of The Weeknd’s songs to his blog. Soon after, The Weeknd started gaining more recognition from other online publications like Pitchfork. Not only did Drake add The Weeknd to future collaborations, but the singer eventually signed a deal with Republic Records. 

At the age of 13, pop singer Alessia Cara started releasing covers, and she soon earned a record deal with Def Jam. The following year, Cara released her debut single, “Here,” which became a top-five hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The single helped set the tone of Cara going through her teenage years, which was a premise for her debut album Know-It-All. 

Although Doja Cat was already releasing music to her SoundCloud account, it wasn't until her music video for “Mooo!” that went viral on YouTube. The video was so outlandish that it made fans catch on to her music. 

In order for Troye Sivan to get his talent recognized, not only did he upload music on YouTube, but he also participated in singing competitions. However, he went from posting videos of him singing, to eventually vlogs that earned him more subscribers on the platform. Although he released a few EPs, it wasn't until 2015 that Sivan dropped his debut album Blue Neighbourhood. 

After a capella group Pentatonix won the third season of singing competition TV show The Sing Off, they landed a record deal with Sony Music. To help them stay relevant and increase their fan following, the group uploaded covers to YouTube. A few of their covers include Fun’s “We Are Young” and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” both of which became viral hits on their channel.

Unlike other artists, James Bay wasn’t posting covers on YouTube. However, a fan recorded him performing at an open mic session and uploaded the performance on the platform. That performance is what piqued the interest of executives at Republic Records, and he soon landed a deal. In 2013, he released his debut EP The Dark of the Morning, and a year later, Bay was selling out his own tour. 

Like other artists, Becky G released covers on YouTube to help gain a following. Some of her most prominent covers included Frank Ocean’s “Novacane” and Kanye West and Jay Z’s “Otis.” Becky’s covers caught the attention of producer and songwriter Dr. Luke, who helped sign her to Kemosabe Records, an imprint under RCA Records. 

Austin Mahone started gaining a following on YouTube after he posted cover songs. In 2012, he released a few independent singles such as “Say Somethin,” before signing a deal with Republic Records. 

Dua Lipa got recognition by using two platforms, releasing her original tunes on SoundCloud and uploading covers on YouTube. Some of her earlier covers include Christina Aguilera’s 2002 single “Beautiful” and Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” Once she got signed to her label, she saw a lot of success in Europe before crossing over into other mainstream markets. Now, Lipa has a few Grammy Awards to her name. 

Pop singer Cody Simpson was just a pre-teen when he started uploading YouTube covers of tracks like Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” and The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” Since the release of his 2012 debut album Paradise, Simpson has been awarded several honors including the MTV Europe Music Awards and the GQ Men of the Year Awards. 

Although Lana Del Rey had a few projects out including her self-titled debut, it wasn't until she uploaded the music video to her 2011 song "Video Games" on YouTube that helped get her recognized. The video went viral across the Internet and helped the singer get signed to Stranger Records. Since her breakthrough, Del Rey has earned several accolades including wins at the Brit Awards and nominations at the Grammy Awards.

In 2012, Halsey started trying to get her career off the ground when she posted videos on YouTube, including a parody of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble." Two years later, she uploaded her song "Ghost" to SoundCloud and it caught the attention of several label executives. After the song started gaining more traction, it led Halsey to eventually sign with Astralwerks.