A singer from Bury who is bringing the timeless sounds of the 50s has shared his delight after his first single amassed millions of views and streams.
Elliot James Reay, 22, from Walmersley, recently released his debut single "I Think They Call This Love" on July 17, and it has already amassed six million streams and more than 10 million views on TikTok.
He wrote the song with Glen Roberts and Annielle Lisiuk and collaborated with producer duo SOAP to ensure that the recording sessions stayed true to the style of the genre.
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They used live instruments, vintage equipment and recorded live to tape as much as possible and kept digital manipulation to a minimum.
@elliotjamesreay Over 1.4 million streams in just 1 week, thank you so much!! The music video is out now!! ❤️ #fyp #singing #ithinktheycallthislove #elliotjamesreay #newmusic #originalmusic #singingchallenge #tiktokmalaysia #tiktokaustralia ♬ I Think They Call This Love - Elliot James Reay
Speaking about how his music career started, Elliot said: “I was 14 when I started to actually sing properly.
“I used to busk in Bury and sing all the oldies and all the old people from Bury Market would come down and watch me.
“I guess that’s really my introduction into performing. It sparked a love for the 50s music and really solidified it for me.”
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He said that his love of 50s music stemmed from growing up with the sounds of Elvis, Roy Orbison, and Billy Fury and that his parents showed him all the old music from quite a young age.
Elliot added: “It wasn’t until I got to 16 that I was really confident singing that type of music as my voice hadn’t matured until then.
“This is when I started busking and people in Bury absolutely loved it.
“I got some great comments, and they told me their stories of when they went to see Elvis and it was just great.”
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Regarding the huge online success of "I Think They Call This Love", Elliot said it was a massive shock and that even though he does have a following on social media, he did not know how people would react to the song.
Elliot has spent much of the last 18 months travelling, taking him across South East Asia before busking in Australia and then working in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning collaborators such as The Stereotypes.
He added: “We’re currently finishing up the second single ready to go out.
“In terms of an album, we are looking at trying to get something maybe, but its not solid.
“If not, it will just be singles.”
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