Singer Austin Mahone is Ready to Start His Tour in South Florida

By: Michael Demyan

Thousands of people upload videos of themselves covering the latest popular songs to YouTube, but few are ever able to turn it into fame and success. South Florida’s Austin Mahone is one of those few.

Mahone was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and in 2010 he began to upload videos to YouTube. A year later, the then 15-year-old covered Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” which propelled him into the spotlight. Today, the video has reached over 17 million views.

“It was definitely strange for me at first, because I was a shy kid,” Mahone said. “ I had some friends, but I wasn’t one of the popular kids, so when I started, people started to come up to me at the mall, stores and school. It was all new for me.”

Mahone signed with Chase/Universal Republic Records and moved to Florida in 2012, and that is when he started to realize that something special was happening. Soon after, he released the hit single “Say You’re Just a Friend” featuring Flo Rida, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles list.

“It was nothing that no one really saw coming to be honest,” he said. “When it all started happening, all my family and my friends were supportive.”

Mahone continued to follow the fast track to stardom and when Taylor Swift began her “RED Tour” in 2013, he was chosen as one of the opening acts.

“I was like ‘This is what dreams are made of right here,’” he said. “Not everybody gets to go on a tour with Taylor Swift and open up for her. It was incredible. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

The shy kid who started out by singing on YouTube started to grow into a popstar and after the initial strange feeling of being recognized in public, Mahone has since gotten used to the attention from his fans, who are dubbed his Mahomies.

He now boasts more than 33 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and many of them make attempts to get close to him through any means necessary, including a girl he recalls who recently joined his gym to watch him work out.

Now as a multiple award winning artist, Mahone is grateful for everything that has happened to him during the journey to where he is today.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I’ve got to experience a lot of incredible things, meet a lot of influential people and learn from my experiences and mistakes. I keep growing everyday.”

After releasing the music video for his single “Lady” featuring Pitbull last month, his next step will be kicking off his “A Tour For Me + You” tour at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on May 31. Tickets can be purchased via AustinMahone.com.