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SOURCE: variety.com
It’s been a tough year for the U.K. music industry when it comes to breaking new acts internationally but, finally, there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.
It comes in the form of singer-songwriter Myles Smith, whose “Stargazing” single has not just cracked the Top 5 in Britain but is now taking the world by storm. The song has over 270 million streams on Spotify and is climbing the Billboard Hot 100, while Smith is also gaining traction across Europe and in territories as far away as South Africa, Australia and Indonesia.
But the success comes as no surprise to his label bosses – RCA U.K. co-presidents Stacey Tang and Glyn Aikins – who first heard “Stargazing” on Boxing Day, just a few days after Smith signed to the label, when the singer played it to them over FaceTime.
“I was like, ‘Is this the Christmas gift that keeps on giving?’” quips Aikins. “You can’t help but get sucked into Myles’ enthusiasm and his energy. It meant we could walk into the New Year brimming with confidence, and it’s become quite meteoric.”
Smith first came to RCA’s attention via his viral online cover of the Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather,” while another earlier Smith single, “Solo,” has over 110 million Spotify streams. And Tang is confident that there are plenty more hits where those came from.
“He’s going so fast, but it’s about us turning him into an albums artist,” she tells Variety. “He’s got the music, he’s driven, the fans are coming to see him in droves. He’s a voracious songwriter and when he says he has the next song, he’s really got the next one!”
Tang says the changing pop landscape, with recent hits from the likes of Noah Kahan and Benson Boone, has helped facilitate Smith’s rapid breakthrough, especially in America, where he is released via RCA’s U.S. arm.
“All of a sudden, there were people releasing things that were singer-songwriter, but also blues-tinged or had their roots in country,” she says. “Myles’ honest performances and all the live shows going well helped us capture an American audience really quickly.”
“It’s tough to export artists globally,” adds Aikins. “But where America’s concerned, we’ve worked out how to work in a more joined-up fashion from the start. We’re really aligned on it.”
Smith is currently on tour in America and will return for further U.S. dates in September, October and November. He is now working on his debut album with songwriters including Steph Jones, Amy Allen, Peter Fenn and Jesse Fink, but Tang and Aikins note his success is far from a one-off for RCA’s U.K. company.
