Austin Mahone started posting videos on YouTube with his friend Alex Constancio, and the views started coming quickly. Mahone now has 2 singles in stores, the new one “Say Somethin” newly released for the summer, and his fame (and his YouTube views) continues to rise. Read on as the up-and-coming pop artist discusses the intent behind his new single, how he has let social media work for him, his “Mahomies,” and what we can look forward to next.
Without using any “conventional” genre words, describe your sound.
My sound is fun. I enjoy music that is upbeat and you can have a good time listening to. So that’s what I try to make.
You just came out with a new single, Say Somethin. What was the inspiration for this track?
I wrote it with Bei Maejor and Mike Posner. It kind of just came together in the studio. It’s about a girl that I like who is shy. I’m asking her to just come out of her shell and Say Somethin to me, to let me know she’s interested. It’s a great song for the summer!
Did you market and promote the single before its release?
Yes, I visited a bunch of radio stations, which was a lot of fun. I also used Twitter and Facebook to make sure my Mahomies knew it was coming. They are amazing and always help me support my music by spreading the word. I also released a really cool lyric video which actually had clips of me appearing in it.
Any differences in how you rolled out this release from your debut single, 11:11?
Well fortunately I have a lot more fans now than I did with 11:11 so I think the Mahomies spread the word a lot quicker. I’ve been performing at a bunch of radio shows and stopping by the radio stations to say hello.
Your twitter followers and youtube views indicate that you’re really letting social media work for you! What did you do in the early stages to result in this kind of growth?
I started out posting videos on YouTube of me and my best friend Alex Constancio. We would just hang out and be ourselves and we started getting a lot of views. We had our own YouTube channel. Then I got my own Youtube channel and would post videos of me singing and again just being myself. And I was very active on Twitter, interacting with anyone who followed me.
What’s your team like (i.e. management, publicity, marketing…)?
In addition to my mother, who is always there for me, I now have a great management team. I also have a publicist, choreographer, vocal coach, dancers and a DJ. The team has grown. We are like one big family. We work hard, but we always have a lot of fun doing it.
I saw on facebook that you let your fans vote on where your concerts should be. Great idea! What are some other ways you engage with your fans?
I wanted to let the fans be more involved with what I’m doing. And what better way than to let them select where I’m going to perform? We got such a great response from my Mahomies and we will definitely do it again. I also interact with them on Twitter. I’ll retweet and respond to their comments. I’ll personally thank them for gifts they may send me. I also sing to them on Ustream and respond to their comments on my YouTube videos.
You often upload videos of cover songs on your YouTube page. What kind of results have you seen from this?
It’s been amazing. I just love making music and covers are a fun way to do that.
So what can we look forward to next?
I want to work with everyone possible in the music industry. There are so many talented people that I look up to, and I want to work with them all. I want to go into the studio and record my first album. And follow it up with a tour so I can go see and say hello to all my Mahomies! By the way, my Mahomies are the best and most loyal fans in the world and have always been there for me since the beginning. I’m going to continue to love and be there for them.