As shown in Baz Luhrman's Elvis this year, no one breaks into the entertainment industry without a little help, whether that be a connection in the industry or just pure luck, everyone needs help.
Some very famous musicians have had luck play a huge role in their success, with some of them getting breaks that were so unlikely, it is almost unbelievable. Much like Elvis, these musicians, regardless of their talent, were blessed by the music gods by being at the right place at the right time.
Justin Bieber
This story is well known to the point that its shock value is largely gone, but when Scooter Braun was looking through YouTube for a video of an artist singing, he found Bieber instead. This eventually led to the working relationship the two men have to this day (per CNN).
Regardless of opinions of Bieber, the man has had a very successful career, continuing to succeed in music well after his teen pop star days. His accidental discovery among the thousands of home-musicians uploading music every day is an inspiration to any young singer starting on YouTube.
Bow Wow
Nowadays, Bow Wow is known for a lot of things, but he got his start in music. At the age of six, during a concert on Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre's Chronic tour, he went on stage during a break and began rapping and got discovered by Snoop Dogg himself (according to an interview with MTV). It began a career that would make him a staple of kid's tv and radio at the turn of the century.
Bow Wow has been around for nearly three decades now and has always kept some sort of presence in pop culture. Snoop Dogg is clearly a great mentor for those getting into hip hop, and Bow Wow got that mentorship at an early age.
The Beatles
Beatlemania was already in full swing in their native England, but the way the Beatles broke into the Hollywood mainstream was due to a DC disk jockey finding a tape of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" weeks before its official US release (per Billboard).
Copies of the song kept on showing up at stations leading to the song's official release. While The Beatles had been releasing singles in America for about a year, this was their huge breakthrough. It was the band's first number one hit in America, and by the time they were on Ed Sullivan, they were the biggest act in the world.
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen did not even begin recording music until he was in his 30s. However, one of his songs was covered by Judy Collins (per OCRegister), which became a hit and led to him appearing on TV with her. He was signed to a record deal soon after.
Cohen was a true original, there was no one like him. His songs have been covered by artists such as Allison Crowe, who made Hallelujah one of the best songs in the DC extended universe. Getting into an industry that late in life and happening to befriend a famous singer takes some luck and some talent. Cohen and Collins would remain friends until Cohen's death in 2016
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan changed pop music forever in the 60s, but his big break came via heartbreak in the 1960s. When visiting his ailing idol, Woody Guthrie, he ended up meeting a friend of Guthrie's (per GoodTimes), which ended up being his break into the folk music scene. Dylan was originally seen as his generation's Guthrie, so this ends up making sense.
While the death of an idol is never easy, Dylan was able to use seeing him on his deathbed as a somewhat positive experience and began performing at local clubs, eventually ending up one of the most popular musicians ever. He is now a cultural icon, with great uses of his songs in movies.
Adele
Adele may be one of the biggest artists in the world at the moment, with plenty of songs that even The Avengers probably cry to, but what is less known is that she is an early example of using social media to get discovered. Her friend put some songs on MySpace (per Cheatsheet), which is what led to Adele being discovered in the first place.
MySpace was the ideal social media spot at the time, making it not shocking that a teenage Adele would be on it. Her friend was clearly aware of her talent and knew that it was something that the public had to see. The man who discovered her was also very right to see the talent in her, as Adele continues to be one of the most popular singers of the 21st century.
Shawn Mendes
Using Bieber as an inspiration, Shawn Mendes got big doing six-second covers on Vine (per Narcity) before the website shut down. Covering hit songs from people like Bieber led to him being discovered by Island Records, who signed him in 2014.
Mendes is very similar to Bieber in terms of the career arc. He got famous off of 6-second covers. There were plenty of people that were on the vine during this era, but Mendes was able to showcase his talents to the point of getting a record deal. It shows how using social media can be huge in getting exposure in the music industry.
Usher
Usher is one of the best-selling singers of his generation, but he got his break via Bobby Brown's bodyguard, A.J Alexander (per Vinylmeplease). Alexander showed off Usher's skills to a studio representative that got Usher signed to Laface Records. Usher would use that to become one of the studio's biggest money-makers.
Usher has since had a 30-year career that has included numerous international hits and appearances in films and on television. He was involved in the careers of artists like Justin Bieber as well. Like Bieber, the Usher just needed someone with connections to see his talents and promote him to the big time.
Toni Braxton
Braxton had been performing at numerous talent shows in her area before getting discovered at a gas station of all places (per Allmusic). There, William Petty recognized her and convinced her to record a studio demo. She did end up doing it, and by 1994, she was a Grammy winner.
Braxton is now considered a legend in 90s R&B, with an appeal that has led to numerous top ten hits and a long-running reality TV show. It is wild to think that one of the most recognizable pop stars of her era would not have been there if she was not recognized for pumping gas. However, she was recognized and went on to make both herself and the studio that discovered her very rich.
Marvin Gaye
Before becoming one of the greatest singers who ever lived, Gaye was simply a session musician for groups in the Detroit area. This changed when he happened to perform at a party hosted by Motown founder Berry Gordy. Gordy was so impressed that he contacted the Moonglows, the band Gaye was performing with, about signing him. Gaye signed with Motown, originally as a drummer (per MotownMuseum), changing the music scene forever.
Gaye was already in the industry, but signing with Motown changed everything. Without Motown, the music of the 60s is in no way what it ended up becoming. Gaye would be at the top of the charts for the rest of his tragically short life. He left a legendary discography that can be traced to meeting Gordy and impressing him as a drummer.