With today’s world being practically lived through social networking outlets like Facebook and Twitter, anyone looking for success can get lost in such chaos. However, such misfortune is not the case for musician Andrew Garcia.
Garcia is an aspiring singer and guitarist who was born in Compton but raised in Moreno Valley, Calif. His parents were both gang members in Compton and they did not want that life for Andrew, so they relocated to Moreno Valley to give him better opportunities.
Garcia took these precious opportunities to heart, as he is following his aspirations to be a famous musician – a dream he’s had since he started singing and playing guitar at the age of 18. He is currently on his way to making his dream a reality.
Many will recall that Garcia was a contestant on one of the most popular television shows to date, American Idol. He cemented himself as a musical force to be reckoned with when he astonished the American Idol judges at his audition, singing the ever popular Maroon 5 chart-topper “Sunday Morning.”
Not only did he get a “yes” from each judge, including guest judge Katy Perry, but Simon Cowell, the famed heckler himself, noted that Andrew was “genuinely a good singer.” Little did Simon know, Garcia had not received formal vocal training prior to entering the competition.
Before appearing live in front of millions of viewers weekly, Garcia established his name and reputation through the power of YouTube, where he posts videos showcasing his musical talents.
Currently, Garcia’s YouTube channel has over 190,000 subscribers and his videos collectively have nearly 9,000,000 views. His own original works, covers songs and collaborations with other popular “YouTubers,” like Ryan Higa and Kevin Wu have attributed to his Internet following.
Although Garcia aspires to be a famous musician, he’s already made a few of his other dreams come true: falling in love and having a family. His fiancée Christine Concepcion is also a popular artist on YouTube and together, the two have a son named Caeland, who drives Garcia to do his very best in any endeavors he approaches.
“Fatherhood gives you a reason to do what you love and to appreciate what you have,” said Garcia.
Settling down and having a family normally slows down one’s dreams, but this only pushes Garcia further as Garcia continues to do what he loves. He released his first single, entitled “Crazy,” in June of last year and he is regularly on the musical grind, performing both locally and nationally and collaborating with many artists on various projects.
He is also one of the seven main members of Yesterday, Today, Forever (commonly referred to as YTF), a musical comedy group consisting of popular YouTubers. The group joined together through social networking and they performed their first (but certainly not last) concert in October of last year. YTF also released a Christmas-themed EP in December.
Whether it be spending time with his fiancée and child or taking on the likes of American Idol judges, through all the adversity and tribulations, Garcia has come out on top. He’s on a shooting star to fame, in love and a proud and loving father – all before the age of 30.