The Conversation (0)
Celebrities
- YouTube
If you're on TikTok, then you'll no doubt have heard the viral sound "Everybody told me that I sound like CG5, probably because I am CG5".
Behind the iconic sound, CG5 - real name Charlie Green (the fifth generation in his family hence his stage name) - from Arizona has built a large fanbase online with over 7.6 million subscribers and 2.6 billion views on YouTube, along with 3.6 million TikTok followers and over 7.6 million video creations on the platform based on his songs, since he began his music career a decade ago.
His online success has also translated to Spotify as the 25-year-old singer/songwriter and music producer is racking up the numbers with over 1.2 billion worldwide streams and over 500+ million streams from his singles THX, Lonely King, 4GET, Dancin,' Vibrant Eyes, Good To Be Alive and I See a Dreamer, Sleep Well.
A love of music began for Green as a youngster as he recalled the computer software that started it all for him.
"What first inspired me to pursue a career in music was a computer program that my dad had shown me on his laptop at just five years old," Green told Indy100.
"The software was called Hip Hop 4ej and it was a very simplistic software for me to get started with. But that was when I fell in love with music production for the first time. And then here we are."
This is in addition to his 80s musical influences, some of whom he listed: "Phil Collins, Tears for Fears, ELO, Earth Wind Fire, Fleetwood Mac Journey, and Duran Duran, to name a few."
When it comes to making a song, each artist has their own way of doing things and for Green, this "changes constantly".
"I don't think I have any particular songwriting process," he said. "It's always different with every project. But I know there have been songs that have taken just an hour to make and then songs that have taken two years to make for a lot of different reasons.
"But it's always nice for me to start with a simple chord progression. Not simple but something cool. And it really carries me into creating melodies and really getting a project started for real."
For musicians, there is often a "pinch-me moment" they reach in their career where they can see just how many people recognise them and their songs - and for Green, this occurred at VidCon last year.
"It was my first time coming to a place where literally almost every single person at the convention knew exactly who I was and I needed security on me at all times. It was just a very interesting moment for me and I remember that I felt just completely different afterwards about everything that I've been doing in a good way."
From his online beginnings a decade ago, Green has seen the constantly evolving relationship between music and social media and, from his personal experience, provided insight into what has arguably developed into a symbiotic relationship.
"Since starting my career about a decade ago I think the relationship between social media and music has been drastically different over the years," he began.
"Especially in the marketing aspect of things. Everything has to be fast-paced now to promote a song before it comes out, during it being out or after it comes out. It's a constant marketing thing that you have to do on social media, all the time on TikTok, IG reels, and YouTube shorts, everything is constantly scrolling up, scrolling down, scrolling up, liking, and commenting."
Green continued: "All the engagements are very important for people to be able to see your song. And I've definitely tapped into that more now because I know I have to. But it wasn't so much like that near the beginning of my career."
Just last month, Green embarked on his first-ever European tour and he spoke to Indy100 just after he performed his sold-out show at London's O2 Academy Islington on October 30.
"I've found touring around the UK to be an incredible experience," he said about his recent shows.
"This is my first time ever performing out of the country. And to have performed for Manchester, Glasgow and London - to be specific about the UK - was an incredible experience, especially London."
Green added: "The crowd was very boisterous, they were beautiful and the show was beautiful."
CG5
As an experience, the singer described his latest tour as one of his "big career highlights" and expressed his fondness for singing on stage to his fans.
"To get to meet thousands upon thousands of fans almost every day has been a crazy opportunity and I'm so very grateful that my fans have given me that opportunity. I love being able to perform my music for them and I will continue to love it till the end of time," he explained wholeheartedly.
Out of all of his songs, he explained why his track "Sleep Well" is his favourite song to perform live with the crowd's reaction.
"The audience always loves it when I put that song on, especially when I do it last, as an encore number everybody sings along really loud and probably louder than me, and it's a really fun experience," he said.
But what can fans expect from a CG5 concert?
According to Green, fans can anticipate "a storyline that goes from the beginning to the end with a character that we call 'The Puppet Master'".
He continued: "I wrote this show in collaboration with my epic tour manager, William Bradford, and my dad plays the role of The Puppet Master, I think he'd really enjoy it."
Fans will know Green's music is intertwined with his interest in viral memes, TV shows, original concepts and video games such as Dream SMP, Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNaF), Cuphead and Among Us.
So of course given he's in the UK and some of his songs are about viral memes it was only right to ask him if he had a favourite British meme...
"The only thing I can really think of is a bottle of water [bo'oh'o'wa'e]," he said, doing his best British accent. "Because we say 'bottle of water', which is completely different, of course, but bottle of water [bo'oh'o'wa'er] is fun to say."
Another key aspect of Green's music is his openness about his mental health and being neurodivergent, revealing how these parts of him have guided his music.
"My music career is very influenced by the fact I have autism. The way I do things - I hyper-fixate on one thing and you can't get me out of it because I need to create, I need to make a song. Music is always on my mind quite literally," the singer explained.
"You know, I'm hearing if an ambulance siren is ringing, I will catch on the notes immediately with my perfect pitch. But I think that my mental developmental difference, my mental health has been really important to keep track of for sure."
CG5
"I know that a lot of my audience is in a sort of similar scenario with neurodivergence, or anxiety or depression, and I don't think they want to feel alone ever. So I'm here for you guys."
His latest single Cherish In The Dark was inspired by the beloved character Kinger from the popular YouTube series The Amazing Digital Circus.
"I wrote this song from Kinger's perspective, exploring his journey through grief and darkness," the musician shared. "Even in the depths of despair, there's a message of hope and reassurance. It’s a reminder that it's okay to lean on friends and hold onto love, no matter the challenges we face."
In terms of the future, Green has some "very broad" goals and ambitions both professionally and personally.
"I want to have a family. I want to have two dogs, probably more, because my wife loves dogs, so I will give her as many dogs as she wants," he said.
"But I want to make new strides in my music career. I want to do big things in the mainstream media and be noticed in that sphere. I love making music and I want to continue making it for an even broader audience than I have. But I am so grateful for where I am now, because I get to create and do it for a living forever."
Green's latest single Cherish In The Dark is out now.
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
Top 100
