A young singer/songwriter who’s passion for music supersedes any of his other interests, with a brilliant talent for writing and playing exactly what he feels. Meet Aaron Norton.

A young 15-year-old Aaron Norton first realised his true potential after his brother was not able to front the family band at school. The talented guitarist emerged from the shadows and took the limelight when he performed Eric Clapton’s hit ‘Tears to Heaven’ to a captivated audience. After being invited by the Headmaster to play an encore, polished off with a hoard of cheers from his first set of fans, this was as he described ‘the night that changed everything.’

At the still tender age of 17, he began to attend open-mic nights and doing some Showcase gigs to small sets of fans of mostly friends. For about four years this was still the way that people could hear his music, a very limited way of reaching more people and developing his career. He knew that ‘this path relied heavily (if not solely) on the hope that some big shot would appear mystically from the crowds to offer me a record contract.’

As is so often the case, this simply didn’t happen, but rather than give up, he adapted to the times. He left his day job and all the financial security, to become a full-time musician which forced him to earn money through music somehow. The word forced is definitely the wrong word for this situation. One message that was clear to me when interviewing Aaron was his love and desire for doing what he does. This shows in his lack of corruption; he has always put this ahead of any television or radio opportunities if he felt it would corrupt the beauty of his style and the thoughts he conveys.

The journey to where he is today, without sounding too clichéd, has been a long and winding one: busking, playing live gigs, Youtube-ing, Facebook-ing, Myspace-ing, Tweet-ing along with promoting his own website as well.

He has had some notable, recent success as well, a series of opportunities including playing on BBC Radio 2 and Capital FM, auditions.

‘They were great experiences but were not really for me. I had to try them, I’d have been crazy to pass up opportunities without being aware of the end result but after taking these chances I have come to see they’re not about people and their passion, or about great music, they’re all about making great television and radio, which is fine but its not for me.’ This was like his music to my ears; because so many modern day artists lose the ethics of where great music originates, it is from talent and humbleness, not from selling yourself and trying to become famous.

Aaron is the first to admit he has trouble describing his ‘style’ because he doesn’t see what it is. The beauty of his music comes from its uniqueness and the fact that really, we don’t know what to expect from Aaron’s next song or cover, just because he is that diverse. He aims his music to a wide audience; his assortment of songs can aim to an older or younger range of people, which has to be the hardest thing, making music that all people love, that is why his talents should be admired.

His début EP recorded in the summer of 2010 was galvanized from a performance at Summer Live! festival, playing alongside the likes of Alesha Dixon, Tinchy Stryder, The Wanted and Mcfly to name but a few of the stars he held his own with. This is when he recorded ‘Same As I’ to combine with his first two singles, ‘Storm in My Head’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ to forge a successful EP. His euphoric voice and soft guitar chords compliment a soft tone of music which really conveys his emotion.

Outside of the music business, Aaron enjoys exercising, cooking, socialising, reading about success and song-writing, he said, ‘I wouldn’t have much to write about if I didn’t have a life!’ This humble man enjoys life’s little things and this is shown not only in his music, but in his credible personality.

So what does the future hold? Well, Aaron is hoping to build his online presence further. His AaronNortonHD channel on YouTube has been a great success in building his music profile and portfolio. He already has a big fan-base in America, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Spain, France and Germany. Almost certainly an album and a UK tour are in the pipeline for this gifted young man. Keep an eye out for this brilliant young talent; it won’t be long until people say ‘He’s made it big.’

www.aaronnorton.co.uk
Aaron Norton’s YouTube Channel
Aaron Norton on iTunes
@AaronNortonMusi on Twitter