If you know anything about LDS culture, you’ve probably heard some of these names: Lindsey Stirling. The Piano Guys. Alex Boye. David Archuleta.
All are popular LDS musicians who have made a name for themselves, to say the least. Just to give you an idea, Lindsey Stirling was ranked the 4th highest paid YouTube star of 2015. In fact, Stirling rose to prominence because of the video streaming site. Today, there are a new crop of musicians excited to share their work online. Here are the top 10 we came across and their most popular videos!
Tiffany Alvord
Tiffany Alvord is known among YouTube followers, but not so much among members of the Church. With over 2 million followers and millions upon millions of views on her videos, which include covers and original music, we should. The 22-year-old’s most popular video is a cover of Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” with fellow YouTube star Chester See. It has approximately 34 million views.
Jason Lyle Black
Jason Black takes the best of pop culture and turns it into artful storytelling. A pianist with almost 30,000 subscribers, Black’s music has even made it onto Buzzfeed. His video Frozen Fever has over 3 million views.
Gardiner Sisters
The Gardiner Sisters from North Carolina are featured heavily on Spotify playlists for their acoustic covers and mashups of the biggest hits on the radio. While the trio officially features the three oldest Gardiner sisters, they’ve let their younger siblings in on the fun. The video that catapulted them into the spotlight is a cover of One Direction’s “Kiss You” and has five of the sisters singing along.
Madilyn Paige
Madilyn Paige was featured on NBC’s The Voice and though she didn’t win, she’s been making her mark in the music industry ever since. Paige was the winner of the “Next Big YouTuber” competition at Utah’s competitive CVX Live festival. You can read our exclusive interview with her here. Paige’s most watched video is her cover of “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes with almost 500,000 views.
James the Mormon
James Curran, also known as James the Mormon, is bringing a religious side to rap music. He’s made great songs for BYU and known for his positive messages. His most popular video is “Restoration” featuring Jay Warren, which tells the story of Joseph Smith. It has over 17,000 views.
Prince Ivan
Prince Ivan is comprised of Brydon Brett, Garon Brett, and Aaron Ellsworth. They wanted to make music their little nephew, Ivan, could listen to. The trio is making waves in Branson, Missouri, where they have a popular stage show and recently released first album. Their most watched video is their debut song “Lean and Sway” and has over 20,000 views.
Sarah Ann Beyon
Sarah Beyon was recently unknown until her touching tribute to families who had lost a child made was uploaded earlier this month. The video now has over 58,000 views.
The Piano Gal
Sara, The Piano Gal, is known for playing the piano backwards. She was recently voted the Fan Favorite at the Utah Music Awards. Her most viewed video is her cover of John Legend’s “All of Me.”
Mormon Guitar
Mormon Guitar is the brainchild of Ben Howington and is an amazing channel to not only listen to beautiful guitar renditions of hymns, but for resources. At the beginning of each month, Howington uploads a new arrangement and the tabs or sheet music to play it. The most popular hymn so far? If You Could Hie to Kolob with almost 59,000 views.
GENTRI
GENTRI is an all-male classical trio dedicated to what they call cinematic pop. They are a favorite at LDS conferences, such as Time Out for Women, and have ranked in the Top 10 on two different Billboard chart lists. Their patriotic medley for the Fourth of July is their most popular video, with over 300,000 views.
Get the holiday album from GENTRI here!
Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. She now works full time as a marketing and product manager, writer, and editor. She currently hosts the podcast “Single to the Glory” about singlehood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aleah served a mission in California and loves baking, Lang Leav poetry, Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, and Bollywood movies.
