Stephen Dawes

Known for a singing style that suggests a scowl, the multifaceted artist Stephen Dawes—who also crafts songs and produces tracks—achieved widespread attention online through pieces such as “Losing You” along with his minimalist yet tender 2022 rendition of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” His sincere, tuneful pop compositions earned him extensive streaming numbers, highlighted by the initial release under a major label, “It Could Be Me,” which appeared before the year concluded. His debut EP, titled The Day We Met, followed in 2023.

Originating from San Francisco, Stephen Dawes recalls composing melodies on the piano as early as fourth grade, when he created an original piece to fulfill a school assignment. During high school his involvement in the jazz ensemble led him to explore music theory, after which he adopted digital audio workstations by the close of tenth grade. He soon released his first track and continued issuing occasional songs while studying music business at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute. A modest online hit arrived with “Losing You,” followed by his first live performance in early 2022. Mid-year his cover of the 2010 Katy Perry success “Teenage Dream” surged across social platforms, accumulating tens of millions of streams by December. In the same stretch he issued “Friends Don’t Keep Secrets” and signed with Republic Records. The label’s first single from him, “It Could Be Me,” surfaced in December 2022. His inaugural EP, The Day We Met, arrived in 2023 and featured the emotional single “19.”