The world is in a new era of songwriter fandom, and perhaps no one illustrates that better than Cameron Whitcomb.
The 21-year-old Nanaimo-born country singer, a past American Idol contestant and now TikTok famous with one million followers, was first discovered thanks to Reddit. He was 19, and working on a pipeline after leaving home at 17, when a posted video of his karaoke performance caught the attention of an American Idol executive. Soon he was winning over fans as a contestant on season 20, reaching the top 20 before he was eliminated.
But the fast track to stardom didn’t stop there.
Whitcomb has harnessed the power of social media to market his music, racking up 527,000 followers on Instagram, over one-milion on TikTok, and over 540,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. His songs, which cover themes like struggling with religion, men preying on women at bars, insecurities, cowboys, romance and travel, have prompted discussion and plenty of social media likes.
Whitcomb also took his followers on his journey while learning how to play the guitar in November 2021. “Day 1 of learning guitar, go follow my TikTok!” he said on Instagram.
His upcoming Capital Ballroom show follows his eagerly awaited Atlantic Records debut with the May 17 release of the personal new single, Rocking Chair. Social teasers before its release garnered over 50 million combined views.
But for all the buzz he creates online, it seems fans rave just as much about how entertaining he is on stage in real life and his undeniable talent.
Tickets for Whitcomb’s 9 p.m. Victoria show at Capital Ballroom are now available on admitone.com.
READ MORE: PODCAST: B.C. singer Cameron Whitcomb’s ‘American Idol’ journey
READ MORE: American Idol contestant from B.C. makes it to top 20 before being eliminated
