And what makes Warren’s rise most depressing is not just his chart dominance – after all, men wafting about their acoustic guitars has long been a golden ticket to superstardom: just look at Ed Sheeran, James Blunt and Noah Kahan – but his origins. Like Sheeran, the 24-year-old had a rough time breaking into the industry: he was kicked out by his alcoholic mother at just 18, leaving him homeless.
And, like Sheeran, who got his early break on YouTube, it was the internet that saved him. But unlike the British singer, who spent years playing live in small venues, Warren was, first and foremost, an influencer and internet celebrity. He started posting YouTube videos when he was just 10, and was catapulted into the public eye in 2019 as a co-founder and member of the “Hype House” – the name for a Los Angeles-based group of TikToking roommates in their late teens and early 20s.
The Hype House, which later spawned a Netflix reality show, made household names (and millionaires) of TikTokers such as sisters Charli and Dixie D’Amelio and Addison Rae – beautiful, all-American teenagers who presented an idyllic view of what riches the internet could provide if only someone was willing to twerk hard enough.
Rae, in particular, might have inspired Warren to swap TikTok for the bright lights of pop. Over the past two years, she has emerged as one of the most hyped, exciting artists in the world; she supported Lana Del Rey on tour earlier this summer and her self-titled debut album was released to widespread critical acclaim. Standout single Diet Pepsi is a nostalgia-soaked gem that transports you right back to the early Noughties, when pop was fun and less pretentious. But it’s taken Warren slightly longer to persuade listeners he’s A Big Deal; his debut 2021 single One More I Love You flopped.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.telegraph.co.uk ’
