Charmed by his viral hit ‘everything sucks’ and many of his cleverly written songs on TikTok, we delve into the vault of trending star vaultboy to ask him more about himself, his music and what’s next for him on this journey.
You may have heard his viral hit even before it hit the airwaves on streaming sites. With close to a million followers on TikTok and over 11 million likes, vaultboy’s fun, cheeky and vibrant personality on TikTok has indeed charmed us with his equally relatable, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes poignant songs.
And the one song that’s gone viral? ‘everything sucks’! Only it doesn’t! I guess we can all relate to this one a lot!
After all, the style of vaultboy’s song is bubbly, fun and clever – filled with the same bedroom pop feel as Lauv, Jeremy Zucker, even Conan Gray or Charlie Puth. There’s a tongue-in-cheek “shazam” in there – that’s relatable to the undulating tides of life of the average millennial or zoomer.
First teased in a 30-second clip on vaultboy’s TikTok in January, ‘everything sucks’ does everything but suck, and has since been used in over 50,000 user generated videos.
The infectious song has also entered Spotify’s Viral Charts in 37 countries across the globe, and as well as amassing a total of 52.4 million streams to date, 16 million of which is on Spotify.
“It’s crazy to me how a song I wrote in my bedroom about looking on the bright side has connected to so many people all over the world. We’re all so similar in that way; we’re just looking for a reason to smile and be okay.”
We spoke to vaultboy recently to find out more about his Tik Tok escapades, how it has been since everything sucks went viral and if he has any plans to release more songs.
AL365: Hi vaultboy, Vanessa here from AsiaLive365. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Congrats on the release of ‘everything sucks’. What has it been like, with the fans and likes growing – did you ever fathom that this would be the first song that you would officially put out?
vaultboy: I honestly didn’t think it was going to be my first release until a while after I posted it, but the response that I was getting from my fans gave me no other option than to finish it and put it out as soon as I could! The response to the song is insane to me, and to see it be so well received by people all over the world has given me so much joy!
AL365: With your fan base growing, what has been the sweetest thing a fan has said or done to you with regards to your music?
vaultboy: I get a lot of really sweet messages from people, so that’s really tough to answer, but the messages where people tell me that I’m their new favorite artist really hit me. I feel like being someone’s favorite artist is the highest praise.
AL365: We love all your TikToks, in particular your daily songs (Day 1, Day 2, etc). I especially love how engaging you are – you’ve even had daily songs made from the top comment.
As a music artist, what do you love about TikTok as compared to other social media platforms and do you feel that it’s a fresher way to connect with listeners in a way that is more in-tuned, in real-time and dynamic?
vaultboy: TikTok is a crazy place, and because of it, there’s never been a better time to share your music online! I definitely think it makes me feel more connected with my followers, both when it comes to stuff like song ideas and content, and when it comes to hearing feedback on new songs!
AL365: Speaking of TikTok, there is another beautiful song tentatively called ‘aftermath’ that has had so many likes on your TikTok. Any chance that it’s going to be the next song that will have an official release?
vaultboy: Yes, and I’m so happy you asked. I can’t say when just yet, but that one will be coming soon and I can’t wait to share it!
AL365: Tell us more about yourself and how your music journey began?
vaultboy: I come from a very musical family: my mom sings and my dad and most of my uncles played guitar. Growing up it was natural for me to start gravitating towards music, and when I was about 8, I wrote my first song (it was not great). I started playing guitar and piano, and ended up forming a few different bands in my hometown with some friends throughout highschool. After that, I experimented making music in a few different genres, but ended up landing in the pop world, and now I’m here!
AL365: What inspires the witty (though sometimes poignant) lyrics of your songs and how would you describe your music?
vaultboy: I think one of my strengths as a songwriter is making the lyrics very conversational. When I’m writing, I’ll often ask myself, “that’s a cool lyric, but would I actually say it like that?” I would definitely say my music is honest in that way, and throw in a touch of nostalgia and a whole lot of emotional instability and that’s probably how I’d describe my music!
AL365: You’ve collaborated with the likes of fellow music artists such as gnash and Sarah Barrios. Is there any artist(s) that you would love to work with in the future?
vaultboy: There’s a ton of people who I’d love to work with, but off the top of my head, I’d love to work with artists like Alessia Cara, Lennon Stella, blackbear, or LANY!
AL365: With so many great hits on your TikTok – can we expect an EP (or album) one day? 🙂
vaultboy: Definitely! I think my biggest problem right now is having too many songs, which is a good problem! Right now, I’m focused on getting a bunch of them finished, but I have high hopes for an EP/album one day!
AL365: Thanks again vaultboy and we look forward to hearing more of your songs on our airwaves really soon! We’re definitely looking forward to ‘aftermath’ – that’s for sure! 🙂
Follow vaultboy on TikTok.
