PopCrush Presents: Nick de la Hoyde

Every week at PopCrush, we’re putting the spotlight on one up-and-coming act you need to know about. Why? So you can get on board early before everyone else and their mother jumps on the bandwagon…and so you can be that one friend in the group who’s always like, “Um, actually, I prefer their earlier work.”

From Kylie to Troye Sivan, the Land Down Under has been fairly consistent in exporting some great musical acts over the years. Another Aussie musician to add to your watchlist? 22-year-old rapper Nick de la Hoyde.

Hailing from Sydney, the young hip-hop singer/songwriter originally set his sights on a different goal before making the transition to music: After moving to Barcelona at the age of 15 to pursue a career in football (the David Beckham kind, not the beer and hot wings kind), he turned to hip-hop as a creative outlet to vent his frustrations about being a hopeful athlete trying to make his mark in a competitive field.

Eventually, the hobby stuck and he made the switch to music full-time, recording and performing his songs online via self-made videos he would upload to an ever-growing YouTube account, his social media following expanding with every view.

In October 2015, the emerging artist released his debut single, "The Longest Way," featuring intimate, personal lyrics and emotive production courtesy of Chicago producer Lemoyne "LA" Alexander (Aaliyah, R. Kelly).

The rapper followed up his debut with "Changing" back in December, an infectious EDM-rap jam with an uplifting message, melodic chorus, and shimmering dancefloor beats. Today, "Changing" gets a breezy, upbeat update courtesy of a new acoustic video, premiering exclusively here on PopCrush. Watch below:

Speaking on his follow-up single, de la Hoyde shares, "Writing 'Changing' was all fun for me. I wanted to write a song that could get people smiling and thinking about the weekend. Change is a constant thing occurring in day to day life for everyone, so I thought I'd write about it with a positive, uplifting vibe to it."

It's an appropriate sentiment, considering positive and uplifting is exactly how we'd describe "Changing," as well as how we feel about de la Hoyde's prospects as one to watch in 2016.

Watch the original video for "Changing" below, and keep an eye on this one:

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