In an era where record deals are becoming scarcer and scarcer, there’s something to be said when hitmakers Ne-Yo and Pharrell Williams both want to sign you.
Such was the predicament 19 year old Conor Maynard found himself in before eventually inking a lucrative deal with EMI Music last year.
Discovered online, the Brighton-bred star has seen his buzz boom; with his Twitter following topping the 160,000 mark and the Youtube views on the video for debut single ‘Can’t Say No’ sitting at over 4 million. All this prior to actually releasing any material.
Impressive? Yes! Surprising? No so much. For, Maynard presents quite the compelling “package”. Indeed, his sound skillfully and genuinely fuses “Pop” and “Urban” in a way many acts beyond his age are still striving to achieve.
Naturally, Maynard’s look and artistic direction have seen comparisons to a certain Justin Bieber drawn – especially with the latter now flirting with a harder/Urban sound. And they’re comparisons we’re sure will only intensify when Maynard hits the US in May.
However, pending then, watch the budding star justify his buzz on That Grape Juice’s The Splash. Peep his performance of ‘Can’t Say No’ above and the track’s official video below. Get familiar with the name and face, as you’ll be seeing much more of it!
‘Can’t Say No is available’ to download now here.
Your thoughts?
19 COMMENTS
Mr.Biggs
April 16, 2012 at 9:17 am
Oh wow hes talented.
What a shame not all acts can be this skilled (side eyes female artists who’s never had a number one album)
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Aaa
April 16, 2012 at 10:31 am
I actually hate him. That new song is so fucking annoying.
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Nicki Doll
April 16, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Love him! Gonna buy this on iTunes now!
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One Directiom
April 16, 2012 at 12:18 pm
He SLAYED with the recorded version of the song. He’ll go far
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One Direction
April 16, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Ooops at my user name
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Jessie
April 16, 2012 at 12:34 pm
He is the most underwhelming….ugliest….skinniest debut artist i’ve seen in a Looooong time….cant wait for him to fade into the woodwork….!
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Jessica Filbee
April 16, 2012 at 12:35 pm
This is definitely my favourite acoustic version! Conor has a beautiful voice, haters.. just go and find someone who cares to troll:L Dont leave the uk Conooor!
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BCinKS
April 16, 2012 at 12:50 pm
My bad. Thought this was Justin Timberlake while listening to it. Nothing to see here.
PS: Yea, several of these Youtube artists have had MILLIONS of views and then sell like 10K debut albums then disappear. I’m just sayin’.
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Dev
April 16, 2012 at 1:14 pm
When Ne-Yo and Pharrell want to sign you all that means that that they are looking for a money making Bieber!
I cant stand the recorded version so when i read the comments i thought it was going to be impressive…. i was wrong, clearly teenage girls are posting all the positive comments.
How did we go from Daley, Jon B, Robin Thicke to Justin B, Justin T, One Direction and Connor M? Standards have dropped
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JER
April 16, 2012 at 1:47 pm
bitch please. ALLOW ME to say it
NO bitch.
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BS
April 16, 2012 at 2:06 pm
i want my 3minutes back
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t
April 16, 2012 at 3:51 pm
@jessie dont hate on a kid for tryin bitch you got issues
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badgirl
April 16, 2012 at 6:51 pm
The song is stupid but he sounds better than bebe
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Shynlow
April 16, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Nice track but not exceptional…
and yall please follow me now: http://twitter.com/shynlownoam
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Saetana
April 17, 2012 at 2:51 am
The song is okay but his image needs work as he comes across as sort of creepy to me, he certainly doesn’t have Justin’s looks ;o)
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Tianik
April 17, 2012 at 3:41 am
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kparga%C3%AF-Couture/416297928398602
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bLaine kelley
April 17, 2012 at 5:53 am
i gotta admit i was skeptical of his sound due to his knock off beiber style, N seeing as i don’t like biebs i almost didn’t watch it…but glad i did!
his Live performance was fuckin great.
pleasantly surprised!
…btw, does anyone else hear the old skool Michael Jackson vibe in the song’s melody?
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xoxo
April 17, 2012 at 6:46 am
he has talent but its a shame that our society doesnt care about it anymore. which explains why they recorded version is awful compared to the acoustic. YAWN. hes better than justin bieber by a mile, that arrogant kid is so overrated and cringey.
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@CBDani
April 17, 2012 at 11:52 am
ooh i know this dude chris tweeted about long time ago
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