Go right now, and add Ryn Weaver to all your playlists

When Ryn Weaver mysteriously dropped her single “OctaHate last summer, the song hit the Internet stratosphere: people loved it. It was an instant viral hit. And it was a viral hit from a relatively unknown artist, no less.

So who’s Ryn Weaver? Well her real name is Aryn Wuthrich and she was a TOTAL unknown until “OctaHate” dropped in June. Then it became common knowledge that the song was co-produced by a mega-team of hit makers consisting of Benny Blanco (Katy Perry’s California Gurls, Ed Sheeran’s Don’t), Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos, and Ariana Grande-collaborator Cashmere Cat. Almost immediately, the song received rave reviews from industry sites like Stereogum and The Fader and fellow female artists including Charli XCX, Haley Williams of Paramore, and Jessie Ware who all jumped in to tweet their support of the debut. As of writing, the single is residing on Soundcloud with a groundbreaking 2.5 million plays approximately. Not bad for a 22-year-old newcomer.

Of course, as quickly as the praise came so did the backlash, with today’s ultra jaded listeners (guilty), accusing her of being like Lana Del Rey — aka a pop culture construction (we love Lana, for the record). Weaver’s collaborators though say that she’s the Real Deal. Benny Blanco told the Huffington Post: “I’m positive that if everyone else thinks as highly of her music as I do, there’s no doubt she won’t be one of the biggest artists of next year.”

So how’d she take off? After a chance encounter in New York City through a now defunct relationship, Weaver met the Blanco with whom she’s now constructed her EP Promises, along with a full-length album that is in the works for 2015.

To back track even further: she was born in San Diego and moved to NYC to study acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, when financial restraints and a conflicting schedule of schoolwork led to her dropping out after completing a full two years of college. Traveling back and forth from San Diego to week-long couch surfing stints at friends’ apartments in Los Angeles, Ryn reconnected with Blanco at his birthday party and hustled her way into the studio with a team that was fluidly assembled.

She’s currently in New York finishing up Promises and it’s refreshing and exciting to stumble upon a pure talent that has yet to achieve even half of their potential. Sure, 2014 was a breakout year for Ryn (Spotify named her one of the top 4 artists to know in 2015. She played her first shows at the Brooklyn music festival CMJ, had a solo date at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, and will be gracing San Francisco in the coming months) but she is also still steadily on an upward trajectory. Her’s is a career to watch and take notice of. 

I had the amazing chance to see Ryn live recently in Los Angeles at a small sold-out show. It cemented my belief in Ryn’s talent, her incredible voice, her star power. She performed all four songs from her EP, plus the unreleased gem Here is Home that she tearfully sang to her grandfather who was posted at the front of the pit. Standing in a room full of her friends, fans, and family, it was inspiring to feel, and understand her know her voice. She’s the real thing and 2015 is only the beginning.

[Image credit]