In 2018, Catie Turner stood in front of the judges on season 16 of “American Idol,” where she wowed the judges with her performance of her original song, “21st Century Machine.” Although she did not go on to win “American Idol,” her musical journey was just beginning.
She continued uploading to her YouTube channel, where she would share original songs and covers. The overwhelming amount of love she received from “American Idol” fans carried over to her YouTube and her subscriber count began to rise.
Turner’s music really began to take off when her original song, “Prom Queen,” was featured in content creator Shane Dawson’s trailer for his docuseries, “The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star.” Turner’s song overlaid the four-minute video and sparked many people’s obsession with Turner and her music, turning her into a viral sensation.
Despite Dawson’s overwhelming amount of controversy regarding racism and pedophilia, which eventually led to him falling victim to “cancel culture,” Turner continued to rise to fame, riding the wave of the audience she gained through Dawson. She has since been able to escape from the affiliation with Dawson, and now has a loyal and devoted fanbase of her own.
In 2019, Turner released her first official EP, “The Sad Vegan,” which features six songs with deep messages about social anxiety, insecurities, and growing up. From 2019 to 2021, she continued to release singles until coming out with her second EP titled “Heartbroken and Milking It.” The EP features six songs about heartbreaking relationships that will definitely hit hard.
Turner has a strong presence on TikTok and Twitter, where she has a very personal and humorous presence, sharing snippets of original songs, covers, and small parts of her daily life. She interacts with her fans as though they are her close friends, giving her a very approachable and special creator presence.
Despite her unconventional rise to fame, she is only continuing to grow and gather a bigger audience of people who love her music. Turner’s music can and will put you into a comfortingly sad mood, but I promise, it’s worth it. Turner is your perfect “sad girl autumn” artist of choice for this fall.