NEED TO KNOW
- Miles Phillips, seven, has gone viral on social media with his song about the colourful Eastern Rosella bird.
- To date, the clip has had more than a million views.
- The song has been covered by Aussie artists including Ben Lee and Megan Washington.
- It’s also tipped to rate highly in next year’s Triple J Hottest 100 countdown.
Justin Bieber found global fame at the age of 13, rising to fame with his original songs on YouTube.
Now, an Aussie schoolboy could be following in his footsteps – and he’s only seven!
Joel Phillips never would have predicted his son, Miles, would go viral when he first shared a video of them singing together.
What started as a family holiday ended up in nationwide fame when Miles was inspired to write a song, titled Eastern Rosellas.
Miles wrote the catchy tune after spotting the colourful Eastern Rosella bird at his grandparents’ home in regional Victoria, and when Joel shared it online, it quickly went viral.
Since then, the track has been covered by Ben Lee, Megan Washington and the indie band Ball Park Music, who supported Oasis on the Australian leg of their tour last year.
“This was never about launching Miles as a pop star,” Joel tells New Idea.
“Writing the bird song was just a bit of school holiday fun. Now we can’t believe what has happened. Its success is totally wild and wonderful.”
Miles wrote the lyrics himself and recorded his impressively mature vocal in one take, with Joel helping out on harmonies and keyboard.
“I was really proud of what he created, so I posted the video, and it just blew up,” says Joel.
And so, a viral hit was born! There’s already chatter that his song will rank in next year’s Triple J Hottest 100 countdown!
Joel says Miles – who’s the youngest of four siblings – is taking all the intense interest, which has resulted in TV appearances on Today Extra and countless radio interviews, in his stride.
“Miles is only seven so he’s kind of oblivious to the scale of the interest in the song,” Joel says.
“But he knows it’s big because he keeps on being asked to do interviews.”
“He’s really enjoying it and deeply appreciative of the interest in Eastern Rosellas, but as soon as it stops being fun for Miles or tires him, then we’ll step back.”
Joel says that Miles’ “innocent and wholesome” song has inspired other young boys to sing freely, with parents reaching out to him to share their stories.
“That’s unbelievably cool,” says Joel.
“I told Miles about those messages, and he thinks that, especially, is amazing.”
And as for that Justin Bieber comparison, Joel says that while Miles has already expressed an interest in becoming a musician when he grows up, his tastes lend more towards the rockier side!
“He loves the movie School of Rock and has a band with some school friends,” says Joel.
“So at the moment, he says he wants to rock when he’s older!”
See more New Idea on Google – Save us as a Preferred Source here.
