Australian singer-songwriter and model, Cody Simpson, has released three studio albums since beginning his music career in 2009. But what was his first song?
Cody Simpson began uploading covers of popular songs to YouTube in 2009 and uploaded his debut original song ‘One’ to the platform under the guidance of US record producer, Shawn campbell. His debut single ‘iYiYi’, featuring Flo Rida, was released in May 2010 with Atlantic Records.
Read on to learn more about Cody’s journey from school boy to teenage superstar, and the rediscovery of his musical identity.
YouTube Beginnings
Simpson’s ascent to youth stardom and his discovery through YouTube has been widely documented.
In 2009, as a 12 year old from the Gold Coast, Australia, Simpson began posting covers of popular songs by artists like Jason Mraz and Justin Timberlake. It wasn’t long before his increasing popularity and undeniable talent caught the attention of US record producer Shawn Campbell, who said to ABC news at the time, “there’s just too much going on with him to pass him up”.
Of his decision to start posting music to the platform, Simpson said, “I was looking at YouTube and I saw people were showing their videos to the world and I wanted to put one on and see what everyone thought of it, and then Shawn Campbell contacted me”.
Whilst Campbell’s contact initially felt suspicious, Simpson’s parents soon felt they had to let their son pursue the opportunity and Cody’s Dad, Brad, accompanied Cody to New York City to sing at Warner Music.
Cody said of his parent’s support, “They could see I was hell bent on doing it with or without them. Because of the common occurrence of kids in the industry going haywire eventually, because of the lack of family support around them, they wanted to be there.”
Simpson released two debut singles under Campbells guidance, ‘iYiYi’ and ‘Summertime’ and officially graduated from his YouTube career on his 13th birthday, when he signed with Atlantic Records. The deal prompted his family to relocate to LA in 2010.
Teenage Star
Reflecting on his decision to pursue a career in music, Simpson has said, “All I knew was that I wanted an unconventional life of creativity & music from then on until the day I died”.
The young musician soon became a teenage star, and released his first two EPs, ‘4 U’ and ‘Coast to Coast’ within the space of a year. His first solo studio album ‘Paradise’ was released in 2012, followed by ‘Surfers Paradise’ in 2013.
However, Simpson had become disenchanted with the direction his music making had taken, realising that the songs he was singing to screaming fans were songs he hadn’t written.
The musician reflected in an interview with Billboard that, “at that point, I don’t think I really developed my identity enough as an artist to have any kind of real say in what was going on. And I think that’s the case with many artists who get thrust into fame before they’re really developed.”
Rediscovering His Musical Identity
Simpson walked away from his deal with Atlantic Records in 2014, ready to reclaim creative control, and founded his own label, Coast House Records. His third studio album, aptly titled ‘Free’ was released in 2015.
The independent musician formed a band called ‘Cody and the Tide’ in 2017, but returned to solo music making in 2019. He entered the 2020 new year with a heartfelt post on Instagram to his fans, saying:
“I’ve been tucked away working on the next project, the next thing. My solo thing. I no longer want to release for the sake of releasing so I am taking extra time to make sure I’m giving it to you honest – clear & pure”.
The Aussie singer has come a long way since his YouTube days. Rewind to 2010 and watch Cody’s debut single ‘iYiYi’ in the YouTube video below.