By Camila De La Cruz
Danielle
Going on Dr Phil and coming out as an internet sensation and charting rapper? That’s exactly what happened with Danielle. She originally came on the show when she was 14 years old in 2016 to talk about her behavioural issues. Instead, she became an instant icon overnight as she blurted "Catch me outside, how about that" on the show. The initial video on Dr Phil instantly became viral. Soon enough, department stores like Target began selling "Catch me Outside" T-shirts, even to the point where Danielle hired lawyers to sue such stores for selling a copyrighted phrase.
Now nineteen, Danielle claims she has since made $50 million since her appearance on the show. She became the youngest female rapper to achieve the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2017 and has embarked on world tours and indulged in collaborations with stars like Lil Yatchy.
5 Seconds of Summer
5 Seconds of Summer otherwise known as 5SOS formed in 2011 as high school friends. The four members: Ashton, Michele, Luke and Calum began their career by singing covers from popular pop-punk bands such as Green Day, Bring me the Horizon etc.
The band garnered a modest number of views on their Youtube channel. However, their lives as they knew it would completely change after a tweet from former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson.
Following the tweet, 5SOS were asked to accompany One Direction for their world tour, allowing 5SOS to further their careers. What came after was a rapidly growing fanbase, number one charting songs such as "Youngblood" and musical career now spanning over 10 years. So much for a group of high school friends.
D4vd
Like 5SOS, D4vd began his career on Youtube, but for a different and surprising reason. D4vd (pronounced as David) originally posted gaming videos online but would have them taken down due to copyrighted music. Instead of removing music from his video altogether, David took it in his own hands and started producing his own music to act as the background music for his video.
"….I cried to my mum about it, and she’s the one who was like “yeah, well, just make something if you’re mad about them taking your revenue”, because we didn’t know about copyright free music…..we have that DIY mentality and I just wanted to make something myself." - D4vd
David's first songs were recorded in his sister's basement and produced on Bandlab. As well, he recalls only really growing up listening to only Gospel music as he grew up in a religious household. This is where he learnt to sing, adopting a gospel style range of singing evident in his music. He only began diving into other genres in middle school, making it harder for him to explore the wide range of genres ranging from pop to indie to r&b. His music took to fame online, with songs like "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with me" becoming famous audios on Tik-Tok.
Listen to D4vd’s single here:
Carly Rae Jepson
Could you believe that without Justin Bieber we may not have "Call Me Maybe"? Carly auditioned on Canadian Idol in 2007 finishing in 3rd place where she garnered her first taste of fame and released her debut album Tug of War. She quickly hopped on the Billboards charts with her song "Call Me Maybe?" in 2012, after a viral video posted on social media of Justin Bieber lip-syncing the catchy tune was when the rest of the world was introduced to Carly. "Call Me Maybe" was arguably one of the most infamous songs from the early 2010s as it has been credited as the best-selling song of 2012 and topped the Billboard number 1 for an entire 9 weeks!
She is no one-time wonder however, as she has released four records since then, including her most recent album The Loneliest Time in 2022 and a world tour, including a quick stop at the Enmore Theater in Sydney.
Listen to Carly talk about her abrupt rise to fame:
Further readings
5sos “How did we end up here" documentary