Nessa Barrett was signed to Warner Records after CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and EVP of A&R Jeff Sosnow saw her singing clips on TikTok, but the deal moved only once they heard an original song: “Pain,” a bare piano ballad released July 31, 2020. At the time she had one of the platform's biggest followings, on its way past 16 million. The label signed the voice anyway, not the follower count, and that distinction is why her influencer-to-artist pivot worked when so many others have not.
What made Warner sign a TikTok star?
Barrett created her TikTok account in early 2019, during her senior year of high school, for dance and lip-sync videos. A dancing video posted with friends in late 2019 went viral, and the account exploded, with particular resonance whenever she showed her real singing voice. Those singing clips are what reached Warner's executive floor, with COO Tom Corson also cited as an early backer.
Sosnow's account of the signing is notably not about metrics. “It was evident she was an artist whose voice would resonate far beyond social media platforms... In our initial conversations, it was clear she was serious, focused, and fiercely determined to pursue her dreams,” he told Billboard in the magazine's 2021 profile.
Why launch with a piano ballad?
The strategic choice came at the very first step. Rather than chase the sound of her feed, Barrett debuted with “Pain,” kept deliberately simple so she could explore any direction with her music afterward. A stripped piano ballad commits an artist to nothing except the voice. It was a positioning move disguised as a debut single: no genre lane to be trapped in, no viral gimmick to outgrow.
The follow-ups tested lanes quickly: the breakup anthem “If U Love Me” in October 2020 and a dark reinterpretation of “Santa Baby” that December. But the first impression on record was simply a singer, singing.
Sign the voice, not the follower count. Debut with the song, not the feed.
When did the bet pay off?
Seven months after “Pain,” the proof arrived. “La Di Die” (February 19, 2021), featuring Jxdn and produced by Travis Barker alongside Leo Mellace and Sam Roman, became a genuine crossover hit: No. 11 on the US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, No. 2 on Billboard's CIS Airplay chart, more than 150 million streams, and Gold certifications from both the RIAA and Music Canada. Barrett, Jxdn and Barker performed it on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 7, 2021 and The Ellen DeGeneres Show five days later.
Sosnow marked that stretch as the moment the thesis was confirmed. “There was a moment around the release of 'La Di Die' when I recognized how incredible it was to have an artist who had never walked into any label. And she was just a teenager! During COVID!” he told Billboard. By August 2021, “i hope ur miserable until ur dead” debuted at No. 88 on the Hot 100, her first entry on the chart, and was later certified Gold as well. Her debut EP Pretty Poison followed that September and peaked at No. 4 on the US Heatseekers chart.
Why does this pivot usually fail, and why didn't it here?
The influencer-to-artist move usually collapses on credibility: audiences smell a merch line with a chorus. Barrett's case was different because the ambition ran in the other direction. “I've always wanted to be a musician, a singer, my entire life. TikTok just happened to fall in my lap,” she told NYLON in 2021, pushing back on the “TikTok girl” frame that trailed her early releases.
Her management structure reflected the same seriousness: day-to-day management with Bree Shepherd under the oversight of Larry Rudolph, CEO of ReignDeer Entertainment/Maverick. Rudolph dismissed the influencer ceiling outright: “Nessa possesses that unique magic, and she's already achieved so much in a brief period. She's light years ahead of many artists who are just starting their careers,” he told Billboard.
Six years on, the receipts have compounded: two studio albums, three EPs, two Billboard “21 Under 21” placements, and, per Warner's March 2026 press materials, nearly 3 billion global streams. The playbook stands for every viral artist weighing a deal: make the label sign a song. Everything else is negotiable; the song is the career.