Many big-name
talents like Justin Bieber, Cody Simpson and the now infamous Rebecca Black
were discovered on YouTube, so it's no surprise that thousands of aspiring
singers have taken to the video website in hopes of launching their own music careers.
There are so many self-proclaimed YouTube talents that to reduce them to 5 was
difficult (to say the least), but here are some cover
artists that have made it to the top by recreating their favorite tunes:
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5. Christina
Grimmie
It
seems like every pubescent teen with a camera and a guitar is posting videos on
the Internet these days, but 17-year-old Christina Grimmie actually possesses
some natural talent- apparently all of her piano covers are performed by ear.
In 2009, she posted a rendition of Miley Cyrus' “Party In the USA” that has,
until this date, racked up over 10 million views and her YouTube channel “Zeldaxlove64”
is the 35th most subscribed channel of all time. Grimmie released
her debut album, “Find Me,” this past June and is busy opening up for Selena
Gomez's summer tour. Check out the teenybopper's most viewed video, before she
reached 15-minutes of fame:
4. Megan Nicole
This
17-year-old Demi Levato look-a-like first gained YouTube recognition with an
acoustic rendition of “Use Somebody” by The Kings of Leon, skyrocketing her
views to over 81 million. Music labels took notice and now Megan is recording
with noted producers such as Tom Mgrdichian (Earth, Wind & Fire) and Chris Cox, who
helped launch careers of the ultra-famous Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera
and Paula Abdul. Covers are no longer Megan's forte, she just released her first
single titled “B-e-a-utiful” and is set to tour with fellow cover
artist Boyce Avenue, this fall.
3. Tyler Ward
Native
Coloradoan, Tyler Ward, has made a name for himself with soulful covers and
guitar mash-ups of (mostly) Taylor Swift songs. Unlike other crazed cover
artists who post videos in hopes of being discovered by record labels, Ward
listed himself as an “independent” musician and is now trying to help other talents such as Cody Simpson, Katy James and yes, another YouTube star
Megan Nicole (is there some secret YouTube cover artist club that we don't know
about?). The Tyler Ward Studio was established in 2009 and now operates out of
three locations in Colorado and Tennessee.
2. Boyce Avenue
The
2nd most viewed band on
YouTube behind Linkin Park, is cover sensation Boyce Avenue. With a voice
reminiscent of the Goo-Goo Dolls' singer, brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel
Manzano have achieved high numbers and much esteem among the YouTube community.
With nearly 400 million views, Boyce Avenue covers are sometimes even more
popular than the originals. Their “Shadow of The Day” video, for instance,
scored 7 million more hits than the initial LP version. The band recently released
a second album with Universal Republic but has since chosen to work under their
own label, 3 Peace Records. Check out their latest cover of Demi Levato's “Skyscrapers”,
which they performed in collaboration with Megan Nicole:
1.Karmin
Finally, a cover
band that is actually creative! Karmin is a duo group consisting of “a girl
with a guitar and a guy with a box,” also known as Amy and Nick. The two
attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, worked on many school projects
together, and have since established a unique acoustic-pop voice and image. You
might have stumbled upon their cover of “Look At Me Now,” a song, which many
have attempted to emulate but few can actually pull off, Karmin is one of them.
Though they are known mostly as a cover band, Karmin performs all of their own
acoustics and background music. Their first original album, “Inside Out” was
released in May 2010.
