Chartbreaker: Inside Jamie Miller’s Viral But ‘Authentic’ Strategy for ‘Babydoll’ and Why ‘Social Media Is How You Become Successful Today’
Categoria: Musica
The viral hit has cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Global 200 and breathed new energy into the pop act's stalled career.
Por Billboard | 10/11/2026
Jamie Miller came into the year ready to give music one more shot. After bursting onto the scene in England as a contestant on The Voice UK in 2017, the pop singer-songwriter had spent much of the next decade struggling to find his footing in the industry — ultimately leading to a sabbatical following his 2024 debut album, Long Way Home . “I’ve tried to be so many things for so many people in terms of who they want me to be as an artist,” he tells Billboard . “I feel like I’d lost the favorite parts of myself along the way.” But with a new team in tow — signing deals with both Republic Records and management firm Raw Material earlier this year — Miller, 29, reached what felt like a significant turning point in his career. Bottling up his positive outlook, the singer channeled it into the ebullient “Babydoll,” his first new single in two years and already the biggest hit of his career. Related Jamie Miller’s ‘Babydoll’ Is U.K.’s No. 1 Single for a Third Straight Week ‘Off Campus’ Star Ella Bright and Songwriter Amy Allen on the Show’s Music & Continuing to Work Together Why Songs On Shows Like ‘Off-Campus’ Are Streaming — And Climbing the Charts — Like Never Before Growing up just outside Cardiff, Wales, Miller was raised on records by Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Whitney Houston. He spent his time on The Voice UK covering more contemporary pop artists including Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes, but it was his take on Adele’s “One and Only” that received a surprise cosign from an unlikely source a few months after the competition that sent his career prospects into overdrive. “Khloé Kardashian found me, randomly,” he recalls. “She posted a video of me on her Instagram page — and after that, every record label in the world was hitting me up.” A short-lived deal with Atlantic Records led to 2022’s Broken Memories EP, followed by a partnership with BMG for another EP and Long Way Home . However, it wasn’t until inking the deal with Republic that Miller found what he calls his “dream label.” “They signed me purely based on belief,” he says. “I had no records that were moving, I had nothing that was exciting, I had no leverage, to be honest. I was just posting covers on TikTok, still trying to get my name out there.” Matthew Langlois After joining Republic’s roster, Miller holed up in a house in Joshua Tree, Calif. with two of his best friends, Hayley Warner and Michael Blum. During the stay, the trio wrote an entire album, with “Babydoll” among the new material. “Prior to ‘Babydoll,’ Jamie had expressed to me that this was kind of his last real shot,” says Raw Material’s Brad Cohen. “He was going to give it his all and if it [didn’t] work, he was going to put music on the back burner. So I knew it was important and fragile and sensitive and precious all at the same time.” With its giddy, synth-driven soundscape complete with a fizzy saxophone solo in the bridge, the upbeat “Babydoll” perfectly cap