TikTok star Nathan Evans has gone from postman to Polydor in a very short amount of time.
The 26-year-old shot to viral fame after releasing his cover of “Wellerman”, sparking a sea shanty (ShantyTok) craze across the Internet.
The track was a cover of The Longest Johns’ version of the 19th-century sea shanty “Soon May The Wellerman Come”.
Evans then took to TikTok to confirm he’d be releasing “Wellerman” as an official single and had quit his job as a mailman.
@nathanevanssThanks TO EVERYONE!!💙I can’t explain what’s happened this week!! Postman to Polydor! #viral #scottish #recorddeal #fyp #foryoupage #seashanty #shanty♬ original sound – N A T H A N E V A N S S
The social media star’s version of the song shot into the Top 10 on the U.K. singles chart and is currently at No. 4, behind tracks by Olivia Rodrigo, The Kid Laroi and Little Mix.
Evans said in a recent TikTok, “Oh my God, I was a postman on Friday. I have just signed to the biggest record label in the world,” insisting he was getting the champagne to celebrate.
@nathanevanssThe Wellerman. #seashanty #sea #shanty #viral #singing #acoustic #pirate #new #original #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #singer #scottishsinger #scottish♬ original sound – N A T H A N E V A N S S
He told NBC News of the catchy track, “Sea shanties were made to get people to join in, sing along, stamp their feet, clap their hands, keep the morale high.”
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“I think that in these times when everybody’s stuck at home, they’re quite down, it’s not been the best of times, so I think kind of in a weird way it cheers everybody up. It makes everybody feel united.”
