Niykee Heaton’s ‘The Bedroom Tour Playlist’ Earns Top 40 Debut

Mike Wass | March 29, 2016 6:47 pm
Niykee Heaton's 'Bedroom Tour': Live Review
We review the opening night of Niykee Heaton's 'Bedroom Tour' in Houston, Texas.

Take a bow, Niykee Heaton. The 21-year-old, who recently made her SXSW debut, lands at number 39 on the Billboard 200 with The Bedroom Tour Playlist — an incredible result for a mixtape comprised of songs that have been gathering dust on SoundCloud for up to a year. The internet-breaking diva’s DIY success offers an important lesson for the music industry. When it comes to breaking an artist, engagement is key.

How did she do it? After butting heads with her label, the 21-year-old decided to go it alone. She raised her profile (artfully, as it turns out) via eye-popping Instagram posts and dropped a seemingly endless string of excellent demos and remixes on SoundCloud. Niykee’s smartest move, however, was taking fans along for the ride. She explained every step of her journey via social media, introduced us to her manager/BFF Lauren Pisciotta and spent hours meeting devoted disciples after stops on her sold-out Bedroom Tour.

If fans are willing to fork over cash for old material in the age of streaming, the sky’s the limit for Niykee’s debut album. Particularly now that Capitol Records is back on board. If the singer/songwriter’s happy ending isn’t enough to put a smile on your face, maybe some pics of her enjoying a little down time with her pets will do it. Check out the cute snaps below.

morning ritual w/ kitty baby. @fittea #fittea

A photo posted by Niykee Heaton (@niykeeheaton) on

"i got bad intentions, i don't pay attention cuz i be with my dogs." (link in bio)

A photo posted by Niykee Heaton (@niykeeheaton) on

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