Of all the new, up and coming artists of 2018, this one is a hidden gem that has a promising future. 22-year-old, Detroit native, Queen Naija is most recognized for her role as a YouTuber.
In 2015 she started a YouTube channel alongside her ex-husband, Chris Sails, self-titled Chris & Queen. They reached over 2 million subscribers from their pranks, vlogs and Q&A videos.
During their journey, Queen expressed a longtime interest in becoming a singer which almost came true when she auditioned for the 2014 cycle of American Idol. Although she didn’t make it far in American Idol her work today has done her justice.
Queen began singing when she was three years old in the church and began writing her own songs by the third grade. Like many other undiscovered artists, Queen went to YouTube to post covers of herself singing with hopes of one day being discovered by a music industry professional.
Rumors spread of Queen’s husband was cheating on her. After appearing in many videos explaining the situation Queen decided it would be best for her and her son to leave the situation.
After getting a divorce, she did what most great artists do after they get their heartbroken, she wrote a song.
Queen wrote a song, but not just any song, this song would go on to top the Billboard 100 chart and make Queen a real contender in the music industry.
According to Billboard.com when Queen’s debut single “Medicine” was released in late 2017 it debuted at No. 10 on the R&B song chart and No. 45 on the Hot 100. Alongside the release of her single, Queen posted a video for “Medicine” as well.
The video featured a Chris Sails look alike and Instagram star/fellow YouTuber Clarence White also known as Clarence NYC. The video was intended to let her viewers know what was going
on with her relationship but instead, it opened up a world of opportunities for the budding new artist.
Since dropping “Medicine” Queen Naija has taken several meetings with record labels around the nation and has signed with one.
She has chosen to sign with Capitol Records to produce her upcoming self-titled EP set to release later on this year. Proving that she’s not a one-hit wonder either Queen released her 2nd single “Karma” on June 28, 2018, via her YouTube channel.
The song debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes chart and has received over 2 million views on YouTube. Judging from the title and lyrics this song was a message to her ex-husband warning him that “what goes around comes around.”
Only 7 months into the year Queen Naija has signed with a record label, is currently in a new relationship, and is working on her music all while being a single mother.
There’s much more to expect from this hot new artist and it’s only the beginning.
