How Australian TikTok star Jaycee is forging his own path to stardom

Artist on the rise Jaycee is proving that convention is a thing of the past when it comes to breaking the mainstream music scene.

The independent artist – who is fast approaching 500,000 followers on TikTok, more than any Australian musician on the platform – has seen his star soar after his latest single ‘Lie to You’ was added by the Nova and Hit networks.

The track debuted on Ash London LIVE last month, and shortly after Nova added ‘Lie to You’ to national rotation on Late Nights.

Nova’s group music, production and DAB director, Irene Hulme, said it took one listen of ‘Lie to You’ to hear the potential of the record.

“I’m not surprised there’s an exciting story building quickly here for this extremely talented new Australian artist,” Hulme said.

“For a long while now, the quality of Australian music has surpassed international standards and ‘Lie to You’ is no exception.”

The breakthrough arrived just weeks after Jaycee’s managers, Nic GidleyKing and Julian Palei, told TMN it was only a matter of time before commercial radio took notice of the Jamaican-Australian singer, songwriter and producer.

“When you’re completely independent and don’t have the backing, resources and relationships of a major label to market you and get you on mainstream radio straight out the gate it’s an extremely tough grind, and you need to be both strategic and relentless,” Palei said.

“But we’ve always had a clear vision of where we are going, and an unwavering belief in Jaycee’s talent and how we operate as a team, so we knew we’d get here. It’s really awesome that people are loving the music and starting to see what we knew from day one.”

Jaycee’s story is also proof that you don’t need to be signed to a major label to start getting traction and make it as an artist.

All his music to date has been released through the artist’s own indie label Modern Day Entertainment, which he founded with his managers, who have been working the single non-stop.

Now he’s followed up that breakthrough with the release of the ‘Lie to You’ music video.

GidleyKing said it’s an empowering feeling when the vision manifests into reality.

“When you trust the process and put in the work, there’s nothing one can’t do. People are beginning to recognise Jaycee’s pure talent and his inevitable success as an artist.

“The marathon has only just begun for us and the future holds no boundaries for Jaycee. I’m grateful and excited about the journey ahead.”

(Left to right: Julian Palei, Nic GidleyKing, Andrew McIvor, Jaycee, Jed Wolstanholme).

The new clip sees Jaycee team up with Andrew McIvor, aka JustPlay Media, who directed, filmed and edited all 26 music videos in Jaycee’s #OneSongOneDream project in 2019.

‘Lie to You’ looks set to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Jaycee, and we’re tipping him as one to watch for the rest of 2020 and beyond.