“The last couple of years have felt like the craziest dream,” says newcomer Conor Maynard.
He isn't kidding.

The 19-year-old British singer and songwriter's life has not been the same since he began posting videos of himself singing his favorite songs on YouTube, attracting a collective 90 million views for his tweaked versions of hits by Usher, Taio Cruz, Rihanna, and Ne-Yo, who was so impressed with Conor's rendition of “Beautiful Monster” that he contacted Conor at home in the seaside town of Brighton and offered to sign and produce him, as did The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams.

“One minute I was recording myself in my bedroom, the next I'm on a video call with Ne-Yo, and the next in a studio in Miami with Pharrell,” Conor says. “It's still hard to get my head around it all.”

Conor's soulful voice, songwriting talent, and witty personality also enticed a host of heavy-hitters in the pop world to want to work with him including Jermaine Dupri (Usher, Mariah Carey), Midi Mafia (50 Cent, Frank Ocean), Kevin Rudolf (Jay Sean, Lil' Wayne), Sandy Vee (Rihanna, Pitbull), Crada (Drake, Kid Cudi), songwriter Diane Warren, British production trio The Invisible Men (Jessie J, DJ Fresh), and Williams, who had, like Ne-Yo, been following the young singer for a few years. “When Pharrell first called, he was trying to sign me,” Conor says. “He'd been watching my progress on YouTube and said that he really believed in me.” Conor was already signed to EMI by the time Williams called, but he invited the teen to Miami to work with him for a week, predicting: “He is going to change the future of pop music.”