Allie Sherlock 

I thought I’d discovered an unknown busker when I first stumbled upon a video of Allie Sherlock playing on the streets. I followed her for most of last year, thinking that I should find and promote her. It was only recently that I noticed she has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 4.2 million on YouTube! Still, I have an avuncular pride every time I see one of her videos.

This is some of what I’ve found out about her…

* She was born in Cork, Ireland, in 2005.

* She went viral after her cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Supermarket Flowers,” performed on Grafton Street in Dublin, reached 1 million views when she was 12. It currently has 12 million. (See the video below.)

* She has been homeschooled since the 6th grade because of the bullying she received in school following her budding popularity.

* During the pandemic, she continued to perform for fans online.

Allie Sherlock has caught the attention of big-name musicians, including Justin Bieber. Last year, Bieber called her out on Instagram for not using her social media platform to speak in defense of the Black Lives Matter movement in the US. In fact, she had posted about it, but had to take the post down because it generated so many negative comments from fans complaining that she shouldn’t be posting about “stuff like that.”

“Oh my God, I can’t win,” she said.

Welcome to celebrity, Allie!

Take a look at Allie in action…

Ed Sheeran’s “Supermarket Flowers”

The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody”

Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”

The Eagles’ “Hotel California” (Has it ever been better sung?)