YOUTUBE SENSATION NANAIMO TEEN’S VIRAL VIDEO PROPELS HER INTO SPOTLIGHT
Another star may have been born thanks to YouTube video
Nanaimo teen Lauren Spencer-Smith has been belting out her favourite hits for years. Blessed with a powerhouse set of pipes, the 15-year-old Dover Bay student often serenades her family, and they have been known to film a performance on occasion.
But when a rendition of her singing Lady Gaga’s Always Remember Us This Way from the film A Star is Born in her dad’s van was posted on YouTube earlier this year, it gained 19 million-plus views in a matter of weeks.
Spencer-Smith went from aspiring artist to the stage on the Steve Harvey Show in Hollywood. A staffer on the talk show host’s program contacted her after seeing the video.
The Grade 10 student first started belting out the tunes when she was eight years old and living in Port Alberni, where she performed at events such as the Salmon Fest and Fall Fair, with a particular fondness for country music.
The Steve Harvey appearance wasn’t the singer’s first brush with fame, either. In 2015, at age 11, she entered a radio station competition that led to her performing onstage with superstar Keith Urban and the annual Sunfest festival in Cowichan in August.
She’ll be performing on her own at this year’s Sunfest on Saturday and Sunday.
Pretty good for a performer who did her Postmedia News interview from the pay phone at Smitty’s right before her hosting shift started.
Trivia point: She likes the burgers best.
Q It’s awesome how your dad filmed you singing Always Remember Us This Way while driving with you, and then the video blows up like this. Where were you driving to?
A: I was actually on the way to the hospital in Victoria for an MRI scan on my knee, to look at my meniscus and a crushed ligament in my knee. I used to play centre back really competitively and had a pretty bad injury. Now, even if I could go back, I wouldn’t because things are getting so busy with my music now that I couldn’t do both.
Q: And from there, you wind up on Steve Harvey’s show. How did that happen?
A: One of the staff reached out on Facebook and we did a FaceTime interview. She pitched to the executive producers and then they got back to me about being on the show and flew me down. What I really didn’t realize was how many people it takes to put on a show like that. There are so many people behind the scenes doing so many jobs.
Q: Now you have recorded a version of your cover of Always Remember Us This Way at Warehouse Studios. When are you releasing it?
A: My manager obtained permission for me to do a version of the song from Lady Gaga and her writers, which was great because so many people were inquiring about getting a downloadable version to play at things like weddings and such. You can get it on iTunes, Google Play and also at laurenspencersmith.com.
Q: Is it safe to say you have loved singing forever?
A: Yes, I think the first time that I sang publicly in front of my school was at age six. I was about eight when my parents started to notice that I could sing on key, and when I was about 11, I really found my voice and decided that this was what I wanted to do for a career. It’s tough. I go to school, work five days a week, and do music stuff. Sometimes, I have to miss school to do music, as I’m really doing more writing and recording with my manager Andrew Van Slee at Songster Studios.
Q: Do you get hassled by your classmates?
A: Oh yeah, a lot. People who know me will scream and pretend that I’m super famous as a joke to bug me. But everyone else is pretty aware, including staff and teachers, and know what I’m doing. I’m releasing another single in the summer, probably a country song that we’re working on finding, and then — potentially — an album down the road. It’s all pretty exciting.