Written by: Guilherme Canineo
Nowadays, when it comes to seeking for the next breakout star, we have many phenomenal contenders online just waiting for that one song to blow up. However, this distinctive talent might be even closer than you could imagine, sometimes performing at the most unusual places. That was exactly how it all happened to 19-year-old Australian Toni Watson, professionally know as Tones and I.
Last Saturday, Oct. 12, Tones’ massive hit and 4x platinum-certified (ARIA) “Dance Monkey” (Bad Batch/Sony) scored an eleventh week at the top spot of the Australian single charts breaking the record for most weeks at #1 by a female solo act. At the same time, in the UK, ‘Monkey’ held off the top position for a second consecutive week stopping the week’s biggest debut “Highest In The Room” by American rapper Travis Scott. Last week, the teenager broke the record for most weeks spent at the peak position by an Australian act. Globally, the song currently sits #1 on Spotify’s Global chart with 5.72 million daily streams and amassing a total of nearly 300 million overall.
While Tones is now harvesting the results of her hard work, just one year ago she wasn’t so sure if this path was really meant for her.
Similar to many kids, her first and only admirer was her shower as she admittedly loved hitting some notes while cleaning up. However, in an interview for Australian radio station Triple J, Tones acknowledged that her aunty was possibly the first person to recognize her vocal skills. In high school, she learned to play keyboard and knew her way around a drum pad. Nevertheless, was only after she acquired a loop station that, according to her, she found her sound.
In 2018, opportunity knocked on her door. Fresh from obtaining a busking permit to perform at Bourke Street, in Melbourne, a friend reached out suggesting that she should busk in Byron Bay, a beachside town located 103 miles from Brisbane. To Tones’ surprise, not only would she get the exposure she was looking for, but it was also where she would be approached by Jackson Walken-Brown, one of her current managers.
“I pretty much bought a van and took two weeks annual leave because I wasn’t 100% sure that anything would work, she told Triple J. “I came up to Byron and on the first night of busking a guy walked past and he was like, 'Here’s my card'. A month later, I was like ‘what have I got to lose’.”
Just like any artist who gets discovered, Tones really wanted to release her original material so her fans could start savoring her songwriting and production skills. However, these are the moments where good management makes a difference. Walken-Brown convinced her that instead of putting songs out she should be building her fan base, writing, and most importantly, keep busking and working on her live performance skills instead.
Did it pay off? It sure did. Following her 6-month hard training period, Tones finally released her debut single “Johnny Run Away” on March 1, 2019. A couple of days later, she signed a management deal with Lemon Tree Music. The track received a lot of praise, reached #12 on the ARIA charts and is now double platinum-certified. On May 10, “Dance Monkey,” a song about her busking experience, was left out of its cage and so was she. In July, her performance at Splendour in the Grass, at Wooyung, Australia, broke the record for the biggest crowd for an opening act with 20,000 attendees. She currently leads the field at the ARIA Awards with 8 nominations, including song of the year for ‘Monkey’ and best female artist.
Tones & I EP The Kids Are Coming, written by her and produced by Konstantin Kersting, is out now on every platform. You can also follow her journey on social media!
Twitter: @tonesandimusic
Instagram & Facebook: @tonesandi