These Celebrity Singers Ended Up Producing or Discovering Other Popular Artists

Successful artists in the industry recognize talent when they see it. With that in mind, it’s no surprise some of these famous singers also take credit for introducing more talented stars into the community. Whether stumbling upon videos on YouTube or receiving mixtapes, these celebrities “heard” their potential for greatness way before they reached the mainstream.

Here are some of the musical talents discovered by celebrity singers.

Ed Sheeran

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran is widely known for hit songs like Thinking Out Loud, Perfect, Shape of You, and Photograph. Before garnering a skyrocketing degree of fame, however, Sheeran stayed at Jamie Foxx’s place. During an interview in The Graham Norton Show, Foxx revealed he let Sheeran crash on his couch for six weeks when the Shape of You singer was still marking his place in the industry. In retrospect, it sure looks like that fairly simple act became the first step in Sheeran’s journey to stardom.

Rihanna

Pop star Rihanna is one of the most recognizable singers in the world, selling millions of records since the start of her career. The singer is also known for her business investments, like her beauty line Fenty Beauty and the lingerie collection called Savage X Fenty. Like most things, though, this road to success had to start somewhere. For the Umbrella singer, this was when Def Jam Records received a copy of her music. The record label’s then-president Jay-Z, however, wanted Rihanna to sing live. The singer then made her way to New York from Barbados and sang a piece by Whitney Houston. Finally impressed, Jay-Z urged Rihanna to sign with Def Jam Records.

Justin Bieber

Discovered via YouTube by Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber is an award-winning Canadian pop star with hit songs in recent years like Despacito, I’m the One, and Let Me Love You, to name a few. Before becoming the worldwide sensation he is today, Braun introduced Bieber to R&B singer Usher, who opened the door for the young singer’s career and served as his mentor. Eventually, Bieber was signed on to Raymond Braun Music. Since then, Bieber has achieved tremendous success and received plenty of credit for his songs.

Eminem

One of the most controversial and best-selling music artists in the 21st century, Eminem was rap battling in the early days of his career in Detroit, Michigan. In 1997, the rapper placed second in the Rap Olympics. Following the event, a copy of his E.P. ended up in the hands of fellow rapper Dr. Dre, telling someone to find him immediately. Like a driver with his foot ever-so-steady on the gas pedal, he then went out of his way to find and help Eminem. While this decision initially received some criticism, that wasn’t enough to stop Dre from turning Eminem into the rapper that he is today.

John Legend

Musician and songwriter John Legend has worked with numerous popular artists like Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keys, to name a few. He released his debut album Get Lifted in 2004, for which he received three Grammy Award trophies. However, Legend first worked as a management consultant in 2001 before becoming a famous singer. Throughout that period, though, he was already singing and playing the piano. Well, to his credit, Legend’s self-made demos eventually reached rapper Kanye West. The piano-playing singer then got hired by the rapper and sang a few hooks on the rapper’s album. Following the creation of West’s GOOD Music, Legend was the first artist the rapper welcomed to his record label.

Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne has garnered a high degree of recognition around the world thanks to his hit albums, mixtapes, and singles such as Lollipop and A Milli. His career began when he was eight years old, when he met Birdman, owner of Cash Money Records. Following their acquaintance, Wayne decided to leave rap messages on Birdman’s answering machine to get his attention. Well, as luck would have it, the rapper’s plan worked. Soon after, Wayne made his way to Cash Money Records and became the youngest rapper the record label has ever signed.