While TikTok can give older songs new life, that’s not the reason Minneapolis native Wyn Starks is seeing his 2020 song “Who I Am” climbing the radio airplay charts now. While it’s had a slow and steady build, Wyn says it’s connecting with people in 2023 because he sang it on America’s Got Talent last year.
“Of course, when you write music, you want it to have an impact, y’know? But I had no idea it would have this kind of impact,” he tells ABC Audio. “And one thing I also didn’t realize is how it would help people through grief.”
When Wyn sang it on AGT, he connected it to the passing of his twin brother.
“It was one of my twin brother’s favorite songs of mine. And so when I sang it on AGT to honor him … I had no idea the new life that it would take on,” Wyn says. “I’m having so many people hit me up, saying how it’s helping them get through … losing a loved one.”
Wyn, who did his first headlining tour last year, says his audience was made up of people who saw him on AGT; people who were already aware of him and his 2021 album, Black Is Gold; and people who’ve simply heard “Who I Am” on the radio.
“Then they go to the AGT audition, so they get to hear more of the story behind it,” he says.
Wyn actually wrote the song about his “journey in becoming … the artist I am, the person I am.” He says fans “who are just coming into theirselves” are finding it helpful, too.
As he says, “To hear those stories … it’s healing for me and then it reminds me why I do this.”
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