Canadian singer Ryland James has made the jump from performing YouTube covers of popular songs to scoring platinum singles of his own. • James started posting videos of himself singing covers online as a kid. He also starred in school musicals, sang the Canadian national anthem at hockey games, and played sports—but he remembers himself as a “loner.” • He began to build an online fanbase, and in 2016, Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes tweeted the newcomer some words of encouragement. In 2017, James appeared on the Canadian competition show The Next Star. • After signing with Universal Canada, he released the 2019 singles “Good to You” and “In My Head”—the latter of which went platinum. His self-titled debut EP arrived the following year.