Bryson Tiller Goes From Shy Kentucky Kid To Music Superstar, And Could Still Be Getting Bigger

Bryson Tiller has topped off the best year of his career with possibly the best night of his career, with the 23-year-old singer turning in a show-stopping performance at the 2016 BET Awards and then topping it off with the Best New Artist and Best Male R&B/Pop Artist awards.

It’s been a fast rise for Tiller, who just a few years ago was a shy teenager from Kentucky who hadn’t considered a music career. He found his way into the industry thanks to the encouragement of his friends — including a small loan — and a plan to replicate an internet-savvy rapper.

Tiller burst onto the scene this year with his debut album, T R A P S O U L, which opened at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart. But even before that, the singer was starting to make a name for himself online after uploading his single “Don’t” onto his SoundCloud page. Tiller later admitted that he had the rapper Soulja Boy in mind when he did this, hoping to capture some viral fame that the rapper had found online in the mid-2000s.

It certainly worked, getting Tiller a growing legion of fans and attention from major record labels. In August of last year, he signed a deal with RCA Records.

The Louisville native said he realized his musical talent as a teenager by singing to his female classmates. He later made his first foray into the music industry by recording at a friend’s house.

“I went over to my homie’s house to record this song that he wanted to feature me on, and next thing you know, everyone at school was talking about it,” he said in his official RCA bio. “We received both positive and negative feedback for the song, and that only made me want to get back in the studio and get better.”

Bryson Tiller started to put all his efforts into music as a teen, eventually borrowing $600 from a friend to buy a microphone and some other basic recording staples and get his songs onto the internet.

For the introverted Tiller, music was a way to communicate.

“I’m not very expressive in relationships and just in day-to-day talking to people,” he said. “So I use my songs to express myself and really get my point across.”

The win at the 2016 BET Awards came after some early career disappointment for Bryson Tiller. He was nominated for three honors at the Billboard Music Awards, but lost them all, including losing out on Top New Artist to Fetty Wap.

But as Hollywood Life noted, his win in the BET Awards for Best New Artist represented a huge career achievement.

“Bryson, really deserved this year’s award for best emerging artist. We couldn’t be more excited for Bryson’s TWO big wins after he lost Top New Artist at the Billboard Music Awards to Fetty Wap. The BEST new artist truly did win in this case, although, it was a tough race with Alessia Cara, 19, Andra Day, 31, Kehlani, 21, and Tory Lanez, 23, also up for the award. Stiff competition for sure!”

Bryson Tiller wins Best Male R&B/Pop Artist, his first award ever https://t.co/KRxQcOLHZx pic.twitter.com/3FptFa8Cim

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 27, 2016

Bryson Tiller’s show-stopping performance at the 2016 BET Awards and his big wins led to a wave of support on the internet, with fans taking to Twitter to congratulate the singer and share pictures and videos of his performance.

And even with his huge year and the amazing night at the BET Awards, Bryson Tiller could have room to go even higher. He has already dropped some hints about his She’s Got My Soul, the follow-up project to T R A P S O U L, that is expected to be released later this year.

[Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Images]