20 artists who got started on YouTube

Chloe x Halle were teenagers when they started uploading covers to YouTube. One of her videos was a cover of Beyoncé's 2013 track “Pretty Hurts,” and not only did the cover become a viral sensation, it also caught the attention of Queen Bey. Beyoncé was so impressed by her talent that she signed Chloe x Halle to 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 “elfeleven” for too long, Puth continued to advance his artistic work by collaborating with other artists. His hits throughout his career 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 to gain exposure. As a child she took part in competitions Star search And America's Most Talented Children. After parting ways with Geffen Records over her music contract, she began uploading covers to YouTube. In 2010 she auditioned American idol Unfortunately it didn't make it into the top 24 artists. She continued uploading YouTube covers and caught the attention of record executive Scooter Braun, who eventually signed Kelly to Capitol Records.

Soulja Boy was one of the first artists to truly embrace the digital age in the music industry. In 2005, he began releasing his music on platforms such as YouTube and MySpace. In 2007, it was his song for “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” that launched a dance phenomenon and eventually landed the rapper a deal with Interscope Records.

Justin Bieber was just a teenager when a video of him singing Ne-Yo's “So Sick” in a singing competition was uploaded to YouTube. After he began uploading more videos, record executive Scooter Braun came across one of the performances. After tracking down Bieber and his family, Braun brought Bieber to Atlanta to audition for Usher. He then received a joint record deal led by Braun, Usher and LA Reid.

The cool thing about YouTube is that people can learn almost anything. Shawn Mendes watched YouTube videos and learned to play guitar before he started posting cover videos on Vine. He started gaining more followers on Vine, especially because Vine allows people to showcase their talent and creativity in a short period of time. 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 several record labels, leading to them signing a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The band then got the chance to open for One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. Shortly afterwards the band signed a contract with Capitol Records.

Ariana Grande already made a name for herself as an actress on the Nickelodeon TV show Victorious. While filming the show, Grande was excited about starting a music career and began uploading covers to YouTube. When the series ended after four seasons, Grande launched her music career and released her debut album Best regards. The album spawned the hit singles “Baby I” and “Right There.”

The Weeknd took more of a mystery approach to his YouTube channel: He uploaded music anonymously so fans didn't know what he looked like or his name. The songs generated a lot of interest from fans and caught the attention of Drake, who posted one of The Weeknd's songs on his blog. Soon after, The Weeknd gained more recognition from other online publications such as Pitchfork. Not only did Drake add The Weeknd to future collaborations, but the singer also ended up signing a deal with Republic Records.

At the age of 13, pop singer Alessia Cara began releasing covers and soon landed a record deal with Def Jam. The following year, Cara released her debut single, “Here,” which became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The single set the tone for Cara's teenage years, which was a prerequisite for her debut album Know-it-all.

Although Doja Cat has already released music on her SoundCloud account, her music video for “Mooo!” has just been released. that went viral on YouTube. The video was so edgy that fans became interested in her music.

In order for Troye Sivan to have his talent recognized, he not only uploaded music to YouTube, but also took part in singing competitions. However, he moved from posting videos of himself singing to vlogs, which gained him more subscribers on the platform. Although he released a few EPs, Sivan didn't release his debut album until 2015 Blue neighborhood.

After the a capella group, Pentatonix won the third season of the singing competition TV show The Sing-Off, they got a record deal with Sony Music. To stay relevant and grow their fan base, the group uploaded covers to YouTube. Her covers include Fun's “We Are Young” and Gotye's “Somebody That I Used to Know,” both of which became viral hits on her channel.

Unlike other artists, James Bay did not publish covers on YouTube. However, a fan recorded him at an open mic session and uploaded the performance to the platform. This performance piqued the interest of Republic Records executives and he soon landed a contract. In 2013 he released his debut EP The darkness of the morning, and a year later, Bay's own tour was sold out.

Like other artists, Becky G also released covers on YouTube to gain a fan base. Some of her most famous 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 her get signed to Kemosabe Records, a label owned by RCA Records.

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

Dua Lipa gained fame by using two platforms by releasing her original songs on SoundCloud and uploading covers to YouTube. Her previous covers include Christina Aguilera's 2002 single “Beautiful” and Alicia Keys' “If I Ain't Got You.” After being signed to her label, she experienced major success in Europe before branching out into other mainstream markets. Now Lipa has a few Grammy Awards under her belt.

Pop singer Cody Simpson was just a teenager 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 debut album in 2012 Paradise, Simpson has won multiple awards, including the MTV Europe Music Awards and the GQ Men of the Year Awards.

Although Lana Del Rey released a few projects, including her self-titled debut, it wasn't until she uploaded the music video for her song “Video Games” to YouTube in 2011 that she gained notoriety. The video went viral on the internet and helped the singer land a contract with Stranger Records. Since her breakthrough, Del Rey has received several awards, including wins at the Brit Awards and nominations at the Grammy Awards.

In 2012, Halsey tried to jumpstart her career 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 caught the attention of several label executives. After the song gained more traction, Halsey eventually signed with Astralwerks.