LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With dreams of being a professional DJ, Kyle Hume of Louisville attended the University of Kentucky to major in Computer Science.
He wanted to create his own music someday and make a living weaving tunes. He never planned to sing, but his friends changed those plans.
Hume played instruments, when his worship group would get together in Lexington. His background vocals caught the attention of his friends, who told him, "Hey you can kind of sing. You might want to do a little bit more.' And I was terrified of it!" Hume recalled.
But when the pandemic put him back in the basement of his parents’ home, he started doing more than creating dance music. He started recording his voice and writing songs. Now people all over the world have heard him, with almost 15 million streams and views of his song "If I Would Have Known."
It started with Hume telling Instagram users stories in a song. He often took a popular song and changed the lyrics to share their life experiences. He also created TikTok videos of songs he wrote. Often it would be just a snippet that would express someone’s emotions or predicaments.
Pictured: Kyle Hume, a musician and composer in Louisville, works at a computer workstation.
Hume couldn’t believe some of his videos started getting more than 60,000 views. All of a sudden, some of his videos garnered several hundred thousand views. And he struck it big when someone asked him to write a song about not getting to say goodbye. That's when Hume wrote "If I Would’ve Known," and he had no way of knowing the response it would get.
People wrote, "You put into words what I haven’t been able to say for ten years." A military veteran told Hume, "I just cried to your song ten minutes like a baby."
Now, nearly 9 million Spotify streams of the song later, Hume has multiple record labels trying to sign him. But he’s taking his time. "It’s not about the money," he said. "I'm already making more than I thought I would, and I’m making more than I need to provide for myself."
Kyle Hume was taken by surprise when thousands of people began streaming his music on social media apps like TikTok, Spotify and Instagram.
Hume has flown to Los Angeles and New York to meet with recording executives and will probably make a decision soon. The kid who never wanted to sing can’t believe where he’s at now that he’s 23. "Is this actually happening or am I gonna like wake up and this is something I'm imagining in my head?"
Hume has never performed in front of a crowd. That could change by summer, as he hopes to put a band together and start playing venues. His dream is to be playing mid-sized arenas within five years.
"Last year taught me not to dream so small and set bigger goals, because if you want it you can make it happen," Hume said.
Listen to "If I Would Have Known" in the video below:
Hume hopes Louisville will start streaming his music as much as cities in England, Germany, Australia and the Philippines. He’s dropping a new song on all platforms Feb. 25 called "Better Off Without Me."
It's safe to say Hume is better off after listening to his friends and finding his voice.
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