Seattle has been experiencing a huge surge of creative energy within the last year and it’s been incredible to see the different sounds that have been emerging. Among which is Burien-native Aaron Smith aka Aon the Artist that officially began building his empire last month. The kid has only been on streaming services since November with his single “Sowed Up” yet he’s already amassed 22,000 monthly Spotify listeners. This made him start showing up on Spotify playlists for “Artists To Watch In 2020.” His second single “Westin” has recently been made into his first music video. After less than a week on YouTube, it’s already nearing 10,000 organic streams.
Aon is one of the few artists I hear about these days that was genuinely born-and-raised in the greater Seattle-area. His father passed away when he was very young, and his ADHD made public school do him dirty. In my mind, this is a true local artist that’s taken adversity and turned it into something beautiful and relatable. He began doing music from a young age and it quickly became clear that this was his bag.
Aon got early shine in many vocal concerts and recitals, even getting into acting. The kid’s got a voice and a face that put him into major commercials for Microsoft, Amazon, and others. This journey ultimately got him ready to create a big splash immediately out the gate. You can’t deny his magnetic energy on the camera and steadily smooth vocal work.
Aon the Artist
In further efforts to forge a quick path to success Aon has teamed up with Morgan Gradson from Macklemore’s Residency program to churn out projects. Aon comes in with all the melodic elements while Morgan will orchestrate all of the rhythmic structure. These two styles of song production complement each other in a way that creates truly engaging music. The two have indefinite plans to keep growing as artists together and collaborating frequently.
Aon sought to learn production on his own to develop himself as a more than just a vocalist. He now works part-time as an audio engineer and contributes to pushing other local artists into the spotlight. In this sense, Aon is a true DIY artist because he’s constantly putting on new talent while having the studio space to freely work on his own tunes. His newest cut, “Westin” is a prime example of the grind he’s on.
Aon the Artist – Westin (Official Video)
The video finds him pulling up on the studio to lay down work, saying he’s at the Westin and that “you are my second.” What this means to me is that Aon is potentially at one of the studios that big hotels often will create in their spaces for traveling artists to lay down tracks on-the-fly. The W Hotel in downtown Seattle has one of these. He says “you are my second” because the music and art will always be his main.
If the kid can do this much in less than two months, imagine what there is to come. I expect big things from Aon in 2020 as he’s made mention of releasing more new content in the coming weeks. Keep it locked with us to see where Aon the Artist goes next. Because so far, it seems like it’s only going to be up.
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