Who Is Tai Verdes? From Verizon Wireless Store Employee To TikTok Viral Sensation With A Record Deal

Who is Tai Verdes? If you’re on TikTok, you’re almost certainly familiar with Tai Verdes, even if you don’t recognize the name.

Tai Verdes is the artist behind the TikTok-amplified mega hit “Stuck in the Middle” (listen here), a vibey background groove that soundtracks some major moments on the app.

Just a year ago, Tai Verdes was slinging phone plans as an essential worker at a Verizon Wireless store in Los Angeles. Then the lightning-in-a-bottle alchemy of a great song paired with TikTok’s powerful algorithm hit, causing Tai’s career to take off.

Stuck in the Middle became a juggernaut – hailed by The New York Times as one of the “Best Songs of 2020” – and hit #1 on Spotify’s US viral chart. In under a year, the indie pop record has accumulated over 150 million streams and over 2.6 million TikTok creations – viewed over 2.5 billion times since the songs release in late May 2020.

The 25-year-old signed a deal with Arista Records and engaged Ryan Chisholm and Brandon Epstein, who manages Mike Posner. Now a freshman album is in the works, with due out in May. via Rolling Stone:

The 25-year-old may have won the TikTok lottery, but he’s playing the long game. And he’s playing for keeps. “I’m gonna be a problem,” says the 6’7 singer with a smile, who carries himself with as much charisma as stature. “I love everything that’s happening. But this is not a one song thing, this is a 10-album thing.” Tai’s debut album TV is out May 20.

Tai’s second single is called Drugs, a breezy cannabis-inspired anthem:

Sometimes I do drugs
Not hard ones, just ones that change my mind up
Drugs, can’t find us?
If you think I’m gone, I’m just doing drugs
Not hard ones, just ones that change my mind up
Don’t mind me if I light up
Only need it sorta kinda

In honor of 4/20, Verdes performed the song in a room surrounded by a literal ton of weed.

Stiiizy’s weed, to be exact – the popular California-based cannabis brand / emporium.