Singer B. Smyth is ready for his shot

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Underneath all of YouTube’s pointless variations of cat activities and twerk tutorials, lies an entire generation of undiscovered talent.

Singers, actors, dancers, and musicians are literally one-click away from making their dreams a reality, every time they visit the video-sharing site. It worked for pop’s international bad boy Justin Bieber, songstress Dondria, and it most recently R&B’s newest heartthrob, B. Smyth.

TheGrio was able to catch up with the young singer/songwriter to discuss his record deal, his bond with Trey Songz, and how he turned his online hobby into a lucrative career.  

TheGrio: Is it true that you did not like to sing much when you were younger?

B. Smyth: Yea, nobody really knew that I could sing.  I wouldn’t tell my mother, I wouldn’t tell my brothers, I wasn’t singing in front of nobody.  I was too shy.  So, sometimes I would sing in the shower… I could just let it all hang out in [there], but my mom came back there one time and heard me. From there, she just kept trying to make me sing and I was like ‘NO, mom, no!’  So, she said, ‘I’m not going to force it on you, but I know you are going to come back to it, and when you do, I’ll be behind you 100%.”  Once I got into high school, I went after and just tried it.  She’s been my biggest fan ever since.

So, when did you decide to pursue a serious career in music?

After doing chorus and winning a couple of talent shows in school, I started doing YouTube.  When I started to build a fan base, I was just like I can’t look back now.  This is what I love to do, and I am just going to keep working hard at it and now I am here today.

Describe the feelings you had when you published your first YouTube video.  What thoughts were going through your head?

“I was definitely nervous.  I didn’t know what I was doing; I just turned the camera on, started singing, and just hoped for the best.  After, the first people that I saw were some of my peers in school.  Once they told me that I should keep doing it, I just kept doing it.  Every week I would chose a different song, usually whatever the hottest song was.  Then I started getting requests from people… The page kept growing and growing.  Once the videos made it onto World Star Hip Hop, I was like ‘damn, this is definitely about to happen for me.”

What made you decide to sign with Motown Records?

After I did my first showcase, I was able to have the privilege of going to pretty much every label to feel each one of them out.  Motown was actually the last label I ended up showcasing for.  They just really were about me, and not so much about just putting me out there and seeing what would happen.  They were really big on artist development and making sure that I would not just be here for today, but also actually have a long career in this industry.  That really stuck with me.