TikTok viral sea shanty star Nathan Evans bags record deal

Nathan Evans has bagged a record deal after his sea shanty song “Wellerman” became a hit on TikTok and then other social media platforms.

@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

Evans, who turned 26, found fame after more and more people started joining in on the “Wellerman” trend that he started. He first posted himself singing the song in July 2020 before the trend then caught on like wild fire.

The Longest Song Wiki claims that the Wellerman song dates back to the mid 19th century and it is a New Zealand folksong ‘with no discernible author’. It appears to be based on The Weller Bros.; a Sydney Australia shore-whaling company that operated primarily along the southern coast of New Zealand from 1830 to 1840.

“Wellerman” had also featured on The Longest Johns’ 2018 album “Between Wind and Water”.

Nathan Evans had TikTok and most of the rest of the world singing to his Wellerman recently. As a result, Polydor Records has given him a record deal.

“See how I was a postman on Friday? I have just signed to the biggest record label in the world. I have just signed a deal with Polydor Records. I’ve done it. It’s done and I’m releasing a single,” Nathan Evans announced on 21 January 2021.

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Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label and company that operates as part of Universal Music Group. As expected, Nathan Evans debut single is the sea shanty song, Wellerman, produced by 220 KID & Billen Ted.

Evans’ original TikTok upload has since surpassed 1 million views. It has also led to more people getting interested in other sea shanty songs and Google is reporting increased search for such songs.

Nathan Evans will likely never run out of music because there are lots of sea shanties to remake. “It is crazy and has gone much further than I ever thought it would go,” he said excitedly when speaking to BBC Radio 4 about his Polydor Records deal.