Childhood & Early Life
Megan Nicole Flores was born on September 1, 1993, in Katy, Texas to Frankie and Tammy Flores. She has a younger sister named Madison.
She discovered her love for music at the age of ten when her father bought her a karaoke machine. During this time, she also started to learn playing the piano.
While in middle-school, she enjoyed singing in the choir. In her freshman year, she learned to play the guitar and joined the church band at Katy Community Fellowship.
After school, her parents used to take her to late night open-mic sessions around the neighborhood.
She attended Katy High School in her home city. However, after she became more involved in her music career, she had to drop out of school due to time constraints and started homeschooling.
Continue Reading Below
Career
In December 2009, Megan Nicole started her YouTube channel and posted her very first video, a cover of 'Use Somebody' by Kings of Leon. She soon started to post cover versions of popular songs by artists like Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Lorde, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. Her cover of 'The Lazy Song' by Bruno Mars is the most watched video on her YouTube channel with over 66 million views.
As her popularity grew on YouTube, she started to collaborate with other famous YouTube artists. She has so far worked with Tiffany Alvord, Alyssa Bernal, Madilyn Bailey, Tyler Ward, Dave Days, Conor Maynard and Lindsey Stirling.
In 2010, after watching her videos, Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer Lairs Johnston became interested in working with her. As her manager, he helped her make a large number of songs and videos, working with influential people from the music industry.
On July 15, 2011, she released her first original music video, 'B-e-a-utiful'. The song, written by Nicole herself along with Lairs Johnston, Stephen Folden, and Tom Mgrdichian, gained one million views within two days.
She signed her first major deal with the American label, 'Bad Boy Records', in August 2012. The founder of the record label, Sean “Diddy” Combs, mentioned her as a complete package.
In September 2012, she completed her fourth week on the popularity chart, 'Billboard Social 50', at number 29. She soon started to work on her debut album and her first US tour.
On May 27, 2013, she released another original song, 'Summer Forever'. The song, with its laid-back vibe, became the summer anthem for her young fans.
In 2014, she performed at the 'Pre-Show Party' for the 'Radio Disney Music Awards'. She later left 'Bad Boy Records' and released her first EP independently through 'Hume Records'.
Her debut EP, 'Escape', was released on October 14, 2014, and contained five new original songs. It had by the single 'Electrified', which released on August 19, 2014, followed by an 80's-inspired music video which premiered on People.com on September 16, 2014.
Continue Reading Below
In September 2015, she starred in the musical film 'Summer Forever' along with Alyson Stoner, Anna Grace Barlow, and Ryan McCartan. The film, which released through video on demand, was based on her 2013 single of the same name.
She has since then released a number of covers, original songs and music videos on her YouTube channel. Most recently, she has released her newest single, 'Play It Cool', on September 15, 2016.
Major Works
Megan Nicole, who already had a steady fan base thanks to her YouTube popularity, strengthened her foothold as a singer with her debut EP 'Escape'. This EP included the highly successful single, 'Fun', which has garnered over 22 million views online.
The movie 'Summer Forever' is one of her major works so far. The official soundtrack of the film was also released on the same day as the film. The film showcased her singing prowess as well as her acting potential.
Awards & Achievements
In 2015, Megan Nicole was honored as one of the 50 biggest artists and musical acts on 'YouTube Music Awards', alongside stars like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and One Direction. She also performed her song 'Escape' during the ceremony.
She is currently one of the top musicians on YouTube. She has over 3.89 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, with over 792 million views on her videos.
Trivia
Megan Nicole named her first guitar, which her father gave her as a Christmas gift, 'Pawn Shop', as it was bought from a local pawnshop. She later traded it for another one, that she can be seen performing with in her first YouTube video.
She was very shy when she was young. She even felt uncomfortable playing the piano in front of people. Singing in open mic shows helped her overcome the fear of performing in public.
