23-year-old singer, songwriter Travis Garland has spent the last three years building up his fan base through covers and original music videos shared through his YouTube channel, which has generated over 11 million views and over 100,000 subscribers. “I strive to just be something different, a breath of fresh air,” Garland said in a recent Los Angeles Times interview. “Someone who is true to the art of it, that’s all I want to be. The best compliment someone can give me is saying ‘Man, I haven’t heard something like that in a long time.’”
Having gained teenage fame as lead singer of short-lived boy band NLT, the Lubbock, Texas, native made a conscious effort to step away from the spotlight after asking his label, Interscope, to release him. With his newfound creative freedom, Garland turned to Grammy nominated, multi-platinum production team, The Stereotypes (Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Far East Movement) to help him hone his sound. “The biggest misconception about me is that I’m disposable,” he adds. “That I’m just a boy-band kid, come and go. But I’m a real artist, I have something to say.”
In October 2012 he released his first EP, Fashionably Late Vol. I, which was executive produced by The Stereotypes to critical acclaim, logging more than 50,000 downloads. The stellar four track EP showcased his edgier, genre-blending update on R & B, landing him on Ryan Seacrest’s list of Best New Artists of 2012. Garland recently released the second installment to his Fashionably Late series on March 4 which is lead by ‘Where to Land,” a minimalist R & B cut that was conceived during a trip to London, where Garland wrote, recorded and shot a sleek, guerrilla-style music video in only a week. Having carved out a major following through the power of social media, Garland has been busy on the road, selling out his live band show at famed venues such as The Roxy and Troubadour in West Hollywood and most recently at SOB’s in NYC for BET Music Matters. Travis Garland released his self-titled album worldwide on September 10, 2013.