Audrey Mika has gone from YouTube sensation to a credible artist in a few shorts years. The talented rising star explains why she’s embracing her weirdness, and why she dropped the mic.
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, rising star Audrey Mika first rose to prominence as a YouTube sensation, amassing a staggering online following in a relatively short space of time with her unique covers of popular hits.
At only 19 years old, she has accumulated over 1 million YouTube subscribers and millions of monthly Spotify listeners. It all started when she uploaded a few videos to YouTube – aided by a pink toy microphone.
“I still can't believe every time I log onto my YouTube and I see that,” she admits. “I can't believe that many people care about this! When I uploaded my first YouTube cover video, I just did it for fun and I always did it because I loved it and I wanted it to be out there for everyone to see. I'm so grateful for everything.”
Not that she hasn’t worked hard to get to where she is now. Speaking to Headliner from her home in Long Beach, California, Mika and her best friend/manager are moving to West Hollywood tomorrow.
“I started uploading YouTube videos very consistently in January last year,” she remembers.
“I think it was either a Billie Eilish cover or an Ariana Grande cover that really went off. I was like, ‘oh God, what's happening?’ I'd never got any views and before that I had literally only gotten...not even 100 views” she realises.
“I only had 200 subscribers. They were very low numbers but I still loved it. When I saw those videos taking off it was really exciting. I was excited to find a platform that was growing. I have so many amazing supporters and I truly wouldn't be here without them. I love how they have been watching for so long and they love the mic, even though it's not really part of the aesthetic anymore,” she notes.
How did the infamous mic become a part of her online persona?
“I started using the pink mic because I like to hold something while I'm singing,” she admits. “I really couldn't tell you why people connected with it so much, but I would see the comments, and if I didn’t have it, everyone would be like, ‘Where's the mic?’ That's when I realised that people really love seeing that and it gave them that familiarity.”