Youngest-ever HIT artists
All children – not quite teenagers yet, at the time of their breakthrough.
Listen through all of the songs below – or as many as you can manage. And GET INSPIRED. All of these young artists were world-class and almost all have achieved great success. Some are still famous today. But they all started when they were as young as many of you are. Or even younger. I tried to cut them off at latest 15/16 years old. Some of the names below are quite recent, but most are much older.
Listen for that special something that YOU can relate to. YOU TOO can achieve their level and even surpass it, if you really want to… and work hard at it. After listening to all these songs, pick one which you think is the most compatible with your voice and feel – and we’ll record it during our cover sessions. Make sure to let me know well in advance which song you’d like to pick.
Michael Jackson – started out in the 70’s super-group Jackson-5 (later The Jacksons) and has had a string of top hits ever since – over 5 decades – right up to his death not that long ago. He had 11 #1 hits before he turned 13! Here are some of his most famous songs from the period when he was between 9 and 13 years old. Listen to at least one! Actually, why not listen to them ALL! They’re all great.
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Stevie Wonder – blind from birth, he was signed to Motown at 11 in 1961 and has had a string of hits in every decade ever since, right up to today. Widely considered as one of the best singers and songwriters of all time. Remains one of the most sampled artists ever by modern hip-hop acts. Listen to as much as you can by Stevie, especially some of his later material, but here just listen to any one of his childhood songs:
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Jimmy Osmond – had an international #1 hit at the age of 8 (almost 9, actually), and remains the youngest #1 artist ever to hit that spot. He played with his brothers and sisters in the 70’s super-group, The Osmonds. Check out his biggest solo hit:
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Donny Osmond – another member of The Osmonds, Donny had a massive #1 at the age of 14, which continues to be heard on radio all over the world to this day.
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(he’s a bit older in this video, but it’s still his original 14-year-old voice)
Frankie Lymon – he was the lead singer in his group The Teenagers and by the time he was about 14-15 years old he already conquered half the world.
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Billy Gilman – reached near-superstardom some 10-12 years ago and was, briefly, one of the highest paid child entertainers in the world. Here he is at 11 years old with his cover of Michael Jackson’s classic ballad:
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Lulu – broke through at 15 and has managed to chart in every decade since then.
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Justin Bieber – broke through at 14, as a result of his massive (viral) YouTube success. Today, he’s considered one of the hottest starts in the world. Here are a couple of his earliest songs:
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Christina Aguilera – started at 8 with the Mickey Mouse Club, and here you can hear what she sounded like then:
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(she was just over 8 years old here)
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(she sang this at 12)
Greyson Chance – achieved massive YouTube success with just this simple school performance of a Lady Gaga hit, when he was only 12.
[youtube bxDlC7YV5is]
Hanson – a group of brothers, became insanely successful while still in the early teens (the youngest was about 12 or 13). Here’s their biggest hit:
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LeAnn Rimes – broke through at 14 and has had many hits since, but none bigger than this one:
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Vanessa Paradis – French singing and acting star who broke through at 14 with this little piece:
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The snippets here include: Lauryn Hill 1987, Fergie 1984, Shakira 1993, Kesha 2000, Carrie Underwood 1997, JoJo 1998, Kelly Rowland 1997, Katy Perry 1998-2000, Taylor Swift 2000, Leona Lewis 1998, Raven Symoné, Miley Cyrus, Amy Lee, Beyonce 1994, Aaliyah
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