When the Pandemic and subsequent lockdown hit the U.S. in early 2020, it was a huge roadblock thrown in the way of young music artists looking to further their careers. But for 20-year-old Lynnea Moorer, this was nothing new; she’s been overcoming hurdles and challenges her entire life. From a complicated childhood, to overcoming her fears on The Voice, to building a huge following on YouTube, she’s always found a way to survive and thrive. And now, as she is poised to become one of the bright new stars of 2021, it’s clear that no pandemic or any other obstacle is going to stop her.

Lynnea’s challenges began not that long after she and her twin sister were born in Oakland, California. Her parents split up when she was just 2 years old, and not long after that, her father was sent to prison. What followed was many years of moving from place to place, and from caregiver to caregiver, as her mother ended up being incarcerated when Lynnea was just entering 7th grade (for selling marijuana, ironically now legal). “There was a lot of chaos in my life when I was young,“ she reflects. “But I never really knew that it could be any different.” Shuttled from grandparents to boarding school, she struggled to find a place she could call home.

It was at boarding school in Santa Cruz, CA that Lynnea finally found a circle of friends that made her feel at home, and who helped her connect with her biracial identity. “I finally met some kids who I had a lot in common with. They helped me to feel proud of who I am.”

Growing confidence led to posting singing videos, and her gifted voice and natural charisma soon landed her hundreds of thousands of fans. Among those fans were the producers of The Voice, who called and offered her an audition. But nerves and self-doubt turned out to be bigger hurdles than the other contestants – she passed the audition but went back to Santa Cruz before the show started. “I just didn’t feel ready,“ she says now. When the show called her again for the next season, her sister and friends prevailed upon her to give it another shot. This time she met with more success- and more problems. She was thrilled to be selected by Kelly Clarkson and to perform duets with her, but then was cut halfway through the season, only to have the judges bring her back as the newly conceived “come back kid”. She was gaining fans – but also haters. “I started to get a lot of angry comments online from people who thought I’d replaced one of their favorites, and I’d never experienced anything like that.”

Not winning the show turned out to be a blessing, for Lynnea still had a lot of growing to do. She set her sights on becoming a doctor and headed off to pre-med at a college in Alberta, Canada. But music wouldn’t let her go so easily. Due to the popularity of the show, she now had over a million YouTube subscribers, and they eagerly awaited each one of the videos that she continued to make. “I guess I always knew in my heart that being a singer and performer was really who I was,“ she says. “I could never give it up.”

Among her growing legion of fans were Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken of SRP Music Group, who had discovered and developed global superstar Rihanna. “Right away we saw the same potential in Lynnea that we had seen in Rihanna,“ says Rogers. “It’s not often in our career that we’ve had that kind of moment, but when you see it, you just know it.”

They flew her to New York to seal the deal – just days before a travel quarantine was imposed on most of the country. What followed were six months of writing over the phone, waiting out quarantines, and remote recording sessions. “They were so determined!” Lynnea says of SRP. “There was no way they were going to wait till later to make this happen.”

Drawing upon their decades of hitmaking, and collaborating with some of the hottest young beatmakers and topline writers, SRP worked with Lynnea to bring out her musical identity. After lots of hard work and inspiration, the result is an EP that she is really proud of. From the sassy R&B of “Replace You”, to bangers like “I Just F-king Love Him”, and the heart-wrenching emotion of her first release “Let Go”, Lynnea’s debut shows an astonishing range and maturity for a new artist. But perhaps that’s no surprise; given the interesting life she’s crammed into her first 20 years. “I feel so comfortable now with who I am as person,“ she says, “and I can’t wait to show the world what I’ve got to give.”