18 MAJOR artists who found fame through social media

Justin Bieber

A young Justin Bieber had been uploading covers of songs when a talent manager discovered him through YouTube in 2008. Since then he has become a super successful artist around the world with hits like ‘Baby’, ‘Never Say Never’ and, of course, who could forget the summer hit of 2017 ‘Despacito’. More recently, we’ve enjoyed hits like ‘Holy’, ‘Lonely’ and ‘Hold On’.

As well as an amazing musical career. Bieber has a number of clothing ranges and he even landed his own docu-series with YouTube.

The Weeknd

The Weeknd, real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is known for his hits, ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ and ‘Starboy’, and ‘Blinding Lights, however before that he made his name on YouTube using the name The Weeknd.

After releasing a nine-track mixtape in 2011, Abel landed his first ever record deal, signing with Republic Records in 2012.

Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes started to gain popularity on the social media app Vine by posting song covers. After getting attention online he got his first record deal and his success has continued from there.

Shawn has since had hits such as ‘Treat You Better’ and ‘There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back’, and even had some huge hits with his former girlfriend, singer Camila Cabello!

Calvin Harris

He might be one of the highest-paid DJs around the world, but it wasn’t always that way. Calvin Harris was discovered after he posted his solo recordings on MySpace. His recordings were discovered by Mark Gillespie, a talent booker for the dance-festival firm Global Gathering. Mark gave Calvin his first signing.

Calvin has now gone on have hits such as ‘Summer’, ‘Feels’, and ‘Acceptable In The 80s’, and of course, he’s worked with major artists such as Dua Lipa, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

Halsey

Before teaming up with The Chainsmokers for their hit ‘Closer’, Halsey had success on social media. The 29-year-old singer started out by posting videos to Tumblr and YouTube. Now she has had hits including ‘Him & I’ with G-Eazy.

5 Seconds Of Summer

Australian group 5 Seconds of Summer were YouTube celebrities, before seeing success in the charts. The group posted videos of themselves covering songs and later toured with One Direction. 5 Seconds of Summer have now have four albums and three top 10 singles in the UK including ‘She Looks So Perfect’.

Dave

Before becoming a household name in the music scene, rapper Dave actually started by releasing music on different musical platforms including YouTube! The singer then got his big break when he performed on SB.TV in 2015.

Of course, since then, Dave has taken the world by storm, releasing hits like ‘Location’, ‘Streatham’, and ‘No Words’.

Troye Sivan

Australian singer Troye Sivan rose to fame as a YouTube personality, he later had teamed up with DJ Martin Garrix on his song ‘There for You’ and enjoyed a top 5 EP in 2015 called ‘Wild’.

Charlie Puth

Charlie Puth saw initial success from his videos on YouTube. Charlie’s YouTube channel had comedy videos and acoustic covers. Since being discovered Charlie has gone on to have three albums and a string of top 10 hits including ‘Marvin Gaye’ featuring Meghan Trainor, ‘Attention’ and ‘Summer Feelings’ with Lennon Stella.

Carly Rae Jepsen

Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepson competed on various TV talent shows, before she reached mainstream success after the release of her song ‘Call Me Maybe’. The song was catapulted to the Number 1 spot when Justin Bieber tweeted about it, as well as uploading a video to YouTube of himself and Selena Gomez miming the lyrics as the song played.

Justin’s manager, Scooter Braun, soon signed Carly to a record deal, with the singer later releasing huge bops like ‘I Really Like You’, ‘Run Away With Me’ and ‘Cut to the Feeling’.

KSI

Rapper KSI, now known for huge hits like ‘Don’t Play’ and ‘Holiday’, actually started out on YouTube, with his accounts dating back to 2008! The rapper became popular on the streaming platform for a slightly different reason, however, uploading gaming–commentary videos from 2014!

Megan Thee Stallion

Megan Thee Stallion built up a following by posting her freestyle raps on social media. She became hugely popular with her fanbase and quickly racked up plays on Soundcloud and YouTube which led to her signing a record deal in 2018.

Saweetie

Rapper Saweetie got discovered by posting her rap videos on Instagram, where she now has over 13 million followers. In 2016 she rapped over the beat for ‘My Neck, My Back (Lick It)’ by Khia, and the song went viral. This rap was then turned into her iconic song ‘Icy Girl’.

Mimi Webb

It’s no secret that the icon that is Mimi Webb owes the skyrocketing of her career to popular social media app TikTok. As well as sharing videos of her songs, the singer also became known for sharing her friends and family’s reactions to hearing her tracks for the first time – with the clips going viral on the app. On top of this, her track ‘Before I Go’ featured on popular creator Charli D’Amelio’s video, leaving fans wanting more. Mimi quickly shot to superstardom, with huge tracks like ’24/5′. ‘House On Fire’ and ‘Ghost of You’.

Sam Ryder

Sam Ryder rose to fame after posting covers on TikTok during the Covid pandemic, gaining the attention of major artists and going on to sign a record deal. Sam then famously represented the UK in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in second place with 422 points as he became the highest scoring UK Eurovision entrant.

Mae Stephens

Mae Stephens shot to fame when her track ‘If We Ever Broke Up’ went viral on TikTok, after sharing a clip of the song on the platform towards the end of 2022. Mae used to work in ASDA and left her job after achieving incredible viral success, going on to sign her first record deal with EMI in 2023.

Caity Baser

Caity Baser began posting videos to her TikTok page during lockdown, with her track ‘Average Student’ gaining popularity on the app in 2020. In 2023, Caity teamed up with Mae Muller and Stefflon Don on Sigala’s track ‘Feels This Good’, as well as featuring on Joel Corry’s ‘Dance Around It’.

Cat Burns

Cat Burns gained popularity on TikTok with her track ‘Go’, which went on to reach Number 2 on the UK Chart. She was nominated for three awards at the 2023 BRIT Awards, where she also performed.