Lindsey Stirling (born on September 21, 1986);
is an American violinist, musician, dancer, performance artist, and composer. She presents choreographed violin performances, both live and in music videos, including on her YouTube channel.In 2007, Stirling introduced her YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which has over 219 million video views as of January 2013. In 2010, Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America's Got Talent, where she was known as the Hip Hop Violinist.
Since 2010, Stirling has released a self-titled album, an EP, and several singles. She performs a variety of music styles, from classical to pop and hip-hop to dubstep. Aside from original work, her discography contains covers of songs by other musicians and various soundtracks.
Life and career
Stirling was born in Orange County, California and grew up in Gilbert, Arizona. She moved to Provo, Utah to attend Brigham Young University to study therapeutic recreation. She resided in Provo until December 2012, then moved back to Arizona to be closer to her family.
At the age of 5, after being influenced by the classical music records played by her father, Stirling began to study the violin. She took private lessons for 12 years. When she was 16, she joined a rock band with four friends called Stomp on Melvin. As part of her experience with Stomp on Melvin, Stirling wrote a solo violin rock song, and her performance helped her to win the state title of Arizona's Junior Miss and claim the Spirit Award in the America's Junior Miss Finals competition. Stirling was also a member of the Charlie Jenkins Band.
In 2010, at the age of 23, Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America's Got Talent, where she was described as a "hip hop violinist".Stirling's performances were dubbed "electrifying" by the judges, and won the acclaim of the audience, but after she attempted to step up the dance level in her quarter-final performance judge Piers Morgan told her, "You're not untalented, but you're not good enough to get away with flying through the air and trying to play the violin at the same time". Sharon Osbourne commented, "You need to be in a group. ... What you're doing is not enough to fill a theater in Vegas". In her blog, Stirling confided, "I was devastated at the results ... It was painful, and a bit humiliating; however, I had to relearn where it was that I drew my strength". Stirling decided to continue to embrace her unique style of performance, promoting herself on the Internet. In a 2012 interview she remarked, "A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do ... is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself".
Shortly after her performance on America's Got Talent, cinematographer Devin Graham contacted her in hopes of making a YouTube video together. They agreed to shoot a music video for her song, "Spontaneous Me". It was filmed the week of May 9, 2011. The video boosted Stirling's popularity, and she began making music videos for her YouTube channel regularly. Graham has filmed almost all of her videos, while Stirling often does backup camera work and assists with his music videos. Stirling's YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which she created in 2007 and which is named after her first band "Stomp on Melvin", is the main repository for her music videos. During 2011, the channel rapidly gained popularity, and as of January 2013, it has over 220 million total views and over 1.4 million subscribers. Her music is featured on Pandora, Spotify, and Last.FM.Stirling also created a second YouTube channel, LindseyTime, in September 2012, in which she posts videos more related to her life, vlogs, behind the scenes etc. As of January 2013, this channel has over 3 million video views and over 121 thousand subscribers.