Do you doubt TikTok’s ability to make people great? If yes, you need to read stories of how the platform has transformed lives and positioned people in high places they couldn’t have attained so easily with other social networks—Nathan Evans is just one of them.

In the previous blog, we covered the story of Khaby Lame, a Senegalese content creator who became famous by sharing videos of himself reacting to popular internet videos. Today, in this blog, we will see how TikTok made Nathan Evans, a web design graduate, one of the most-streamed musicians in the UK.

Who was Nathan Evans before TikTok?

The 24 years old was born and bred in Airdrie, a small town outside Glasgow. He schooled in Scotland and got a degree in web design. Nathan Evans was born into a family that cherished music which familiarized him with the world of punk rocks and 1900s music. He’s a lover of singing and was a school choir member. Nathan got his first guitar when he was eight years old.

Before becoming popular through TikTok, Nathan was a poster staff with Royal mail, a mail company based in Airdrie. He took this job because it granted him the free time to sharpen his singing skills further and support his marriage of a year.

While working at the mail company, Nathan signed up for a TikTok account, which he used as a channel for sharing his musical talent with the world. He would make covers of Lewis Calpadi, Ed-Sheeran, and his favorite musicians. But then, suddenly, the numbers of likes and engagement skyrocketed and became one of TikTok stars.

Although his success could be considered meteoric, it never happened without a cause or input. Nathan did something that brought him to the spotlight- what most social media personalities don’t do today. Do you care to know? Read On.

Nathan Evans secrets to becoming TikTok famous

One day, after a few months of making music covers, Nathan Evans checked the comments to see his followers’ engagement and opinions. Then, a person suggested singing some sea shanties or making some Scotsman covers. As a person who grew up listening to some Scottish songs, he decided to try it.

His first Scottish song on TikTok was “Leave her Johnny,” which he dropped on July 2020. This song got people asking for more and forced him to check some Wellerman versions on Spotify. In an interview with rolling stones, he mentioned that his Wellerman, the song that placed him on the top of the UK singles chart, was inspired by Albany Shantyman.

He dropped the song on TikTok on December 27, 2020 and was surprised by how people accepted it. In the same interview with rolling stones, Nathan admitted that although the number of views climbed up the day, he posted the song, he never believed it would go viral until two to three days. He was surprised by how it became trending, and people started singing its duet and making videos of them singing it.

By May 2021, the video had already acquired 8 million views on TikTok and brought him more than 1.3 million followers. And the remix with 220 Kid and Billen Ted landed him the first position on the UK singles chart on March 2021. Since then, he made sea shanties songs and stuck to the Scottish style.

Meanwhile, he wouldn’t have tried it nor gained this fame if he had not checked into the comment section of his videos. Besides, we forgot to mention earlier that the Wellerman song was also suggested by one of his followers on TikTok.

Another top secret to his success is that Nathan knows how to deal with people’s comments on the social platform. He was asked how he felt with comments like, “A mailman singing Sea shanty? Is that a Novelty?” Instead of replying harshly, Nathan said, “I’m an actual musician. I’ll prove that I’ve got other things in my Locker.”

As you can see, he considered those negative statements as motivations to do better.

Nathan Evans after his meteoric rise on TikTok

After his success on TikTok, Nathan Evans signed three single recording deals with the Polydor records in January 2021. He released the official Wellerman song with Polydor. Later in February, he signed another record deal with the United Talent Agency. Nathan played his first live show in May 2021 on a boat in London.

After his first single, “Wellerman,” Nathan has released two other songs; Told you so and Ring Ding. And he’s planning to go house hunting with his wife when he makes enough money through his records.

Conclusion

In your doings on TikTok, try your best to listen to your audience. They can help you to find your path. Nathan did it, and he’s now one of the Scottish music stars in the United Kingdom.