Caleb Hearn
When you're born and raised in Mount Airy, North Carolina, a city with only 10,000 residents, you might assume it would be difficult to thrive as a singer-songwriter. For Caleb Hearn, however, it was an easy feat. Since his debut single, he has garnered a feverish fanbase of over 1.6 million on TikTok who've become captivated by Caleb's unique ability to take distinct, intimate stories and craft them into universal songs that everyone and anyone can relate to.
In his adolescence, Caleb used music as an escape, leaning on the craft of storytelling and song writing to channel whatever he was going through at that moment. "I always loved writing, whether it be journaling or writing short stories. I learned that I could bridge the two - music and writing - and then I fell in love with the process." After a brief stint working as a salesperson, Caleb realized that music was his passion. "I knew I had to make a career out of it because I didn't want to be a part of the normal everyday cycle. I wanted to do something bigger, and something that I loved doing, which is music."
Since then, it's more than safe to say Caleb made the right decision to pursue his own dynamic artist project. He has already been featured in Rolling Stone, gathered over 600k monthly listeners on Spotify, and accumulated more than 25 million global streams - and has done so as a completely independent artist. When his single "Always Be," about the death of a close friend, resonated deeply with audiences on TikTok, the internet followed Caleb's journey to re-releasing his song in order to own the master recording in its entirety. Caleb's need to stay true to himself, his art, and his vision separates him from others in his genre.
Giving nods to his biggest influences, like John Mayer and James Arthur, Caleb weaves the classic live sounds of the singer-songwriter genre with introspective, thoughtful lyrics that are buoyed by the use of piano, acoustic guitar, and strings, creating a cinematic listening experience that could be the soundtrack for anyone's big life moments. His new single - the emotive and compelling "It's Always Been You"- was championed by fans new and old on TikTok. They aptly nicknamed it "The Wedding Song" when Caleb uploaded a clip of the then-unreleased track. In two days the independently released song reached 100,000 streams, a clear indicator of Caleb's talent and ability to connect with his listeners.
Now signed to Nettwerk, Caleb shares "Where Do We Go From Here?," a powerful story of a devastating love lost. Caleb says, "easily one of the most personal songs I have ever written; it's inspired by a young couple that I knew growing up. I saw how strong and pure their love was for each other. Tragically, the wife passed away from cancer, leaving the husband and their two kids behind. Their story hit me in a way that I can't fully describe."
With more music on the way, Caleb says his main goal with every release is to continue touching people with his music. "I really want to shine a light for people to draw strength from, especially people who may be struggling. I want them to feel hope."