2021 has been a whirlwind of a ride for breakout TikTok artist Tai Verdes who went from working at a Los Angeles Verizon Wireless store to carving a name for himself as an established singer-songwriter.

While the transition from a 9-5 to international superstardom may seem like an overnight success story at a glance, Verdes assures us that it is anything but.

In fact, he’s worked hard to get to where he is today; as is evident from the many hours he’s spent promoting his songs on his social platforms before his music eventually blew up. 

@taiverdes

New episode of HDTV 3/25

♬ 3 outfits - Tai Verdes

To attest to that, Verdes simply said: “I know that there are probably a thousand singers that are better than me but there are probably not a hundred people that you can pinpoint that’s going to do social media as hard as me.” 

“I didn’t have any access to anybody. I didn’t have a network of the music industry but Tiktok let me put out a song that people liked so that people would come and talk to me because of the internet. That ability is being super overlooked right now by every single artist who has still not gotten a TikTok account.” 

@taiverdes

Summertimehigh

♬ original sound - taiverdes

“This is where people are right now and this is where people are going to continue to be until the next social thing blows up. The more willing you are to change, the more willing people will be to change with you.” 

Despite achieving a major coup, the singer-songwriter remains humble and points out that, at the heart of it, it's still all about the artistry: “I’m promoting myself on Tiktok, I’m promoting myself with these music videos and stuff like that, and I think it’s always good to have success but I also definitely think I made it for more of the sharing of the art, and that’s the success to me anyway.” 

Suffice to say, Verdes is now armed with a string of viral hits including 2020’s ‘Stuck In The Middle’ which has since been hailed by The New York Times as one of the “Best Songs of 2020” and Spotify as the #1 hit on their US viral chart. 

It wasn’t long before the catchy tune blew up on TikTok, with more than 2.3 million folks utilising it as the soundtrack for their very own video creations. 

@taiverdes We back again. #stuckinthemiddle ♬ Stuck In The Middle - Tai Verdes

Similarly, the chart-topping artist’s song ‘A-O-K’ has earned its fair share of attention and has been a crowd-pleaser, as seen from his first-ever live performance at Lollapalooza 2021.

When asked about how he felt performing for the first time to a crowd of no less than 35,000 people, Verdes replied: “I was just lucky. It was just luck because I was the only artist at that time that was using Tiktok, in that time slot at the main stage.”

“It was really interesting to be in that situation and the best part was everyone had such a good time. That was one of my favourite things I’ve done and I can’t wait to keep going out there playing festivals and singing my songs.”

@taiverdes

Argentina u wild 📺❤️‍🔥

♬ LAst dAy oN EaRTh - Tai Verdes

Just a month prior, the 26-year-old musician released his latest indie-pop single entitled ‘LAst dAy oN EaRTH’ where he re-imagines his final hours on the planet. 

In a press statement, Verdes explained the significance behind the song: “I made this song for the purpose of reflection. I want everyone to listen to this song, you know…really listen to it. To stop, breathe in the air, feel, think about where they are, and realise that this isn’t gonna last forever, and by ‘this’ I mean life.”

 “Sometimes, life’s journey can feel long, sometimes it feels short, but we all know it’s going to end. It’s kind of like jumping out of a plane. We’re all in the freefall, and sometimes we just get so caught we don’t realise it. Time for everyone to see the world in HD.”

According to Verdes, ‘LAst dAy oN EaRTH’ is intended to be the “first episode of HDTV,” which is not only the title of his upcoming tour but is also the title of his next musical project. 

In speaking about his sophomore album, Verdes commented: “This next album called HDTV is about two relationships—one being more of a fleeting and physical relationship and the second being new love and experiences.”

@taiverdes

HDTV

♬ original sound - taiverdes

Indeed, the hitmaker shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Verdes, who seemingly has it all mapped out said: “I have a huge plan of all these songs I want to release. Things just seem to line up for me when I put out a song. The biggest part is just to keep releasing music, that’s my favourite thing to do so I’m just going to keep doing that.” 

His very first album TV is #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart and #5 on the Spotify debut album chart so really, he can only go up from here. 

Produced by Live Nation, Tai Verdes will be embarking on a 20-city tour with special guest renforshort next month. The HDTV Tour will kick off at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA on 19 April before wrapping up at The Belasco in Los Angeles on 22 May.

Tickets are on sale from Verdes’ official website. 

HDTV Tour 2022: 

19 April — The Observatory (Santa Ana, CA)  

20 April — House of Blues (San Diego, CA)

23 April — The Echo Lounge & Music Hall (Dallas, TX)

24 April — Scoot Inn (Austin, TX)

25 April — White Oak Music Hall (Houston, TX)

27 April — Buckhead Theatre (Atlanta, GA)

29 April — 9:30 Club* (Washington, DC)

1 May — Theatre of Living Arts (Philadelphia, PA)

2 May — Irving Plaza (New York, NY)

5 May — The Danforth Music Hall (Toronto, ON)

6 May — L’Astral ( Montreal, QC)

7 May — Big Night Live (Boston, MA)

9 May — House of Blues Chicago (Chicago, IL)

10 May — Varsity Theater (Minneapolis, MN)

13 May — Summit (Denver, CO)

14 May — The Complex (Salt Lake City, UT)

16 May — Wonder Ballroom* (Portland, OR)

17 May — Neumos (Seattle, WA)

19 May — August Hall (San Francisco, CA)

22 May — The Belasco (Los Angeles, CA) 

*Not a Live Nation Date