From Applebee's waitress to alt-popstar, Vérité could be the next big name.
Kelsey Byrne, known as Vérité, traded in her Applebee's apron for a microphone.
From 2011 to 2015, you could find Kelsey working over 70 hours a week at the Applebee's on 42nd street in Times Square. Today, she's opening for Irish singer Eden at Irving Plaza.
“I have so many horror stories,” she said to The New York Post with laughter. “It was just honestly insane.”
Vérité has become an indie smash, accumulating 150 million streams without signing to a record label. She invested about $20,000 in tips into her music career, and just after a few grand came back in, she left her job and dedicated her life to her music. Two weeks later, she was "sustaining financially."
The artist was born and raised in Warwick, New York, about an hour outside of Manhattan. She got her start at a young age, playing small gigs covering "Drops of Jupiter" with her dad. She now resides in Williamsburg, though she doesn't spend much time at home between tours and gigs.
The 27-year-old owes some of her success to the supportive and sometimes inspiring environment at her day job.
“I got to meet and work with so many amazing people from so many places in the world who were all kind of funneled into this one place for the sole purpose of just hustling and doing better and getting to where they wanted to be,” she says, mentioning that she’s still in touch with the manager who would let her off early for gigs.
Now, after one album and three EP's, Vérité’s success as an independent musician is evident. Like many independent artists, Spotify has leveraged in most of her exposure. The streaming service added the musician's electro-pop cover of "Somebody Else" by The 1975 to "Today's Top Hits" playlist.
Vérité is gaining traction with popular songs like “Underdressed” and “Phase Me Out,” making streaming her main source of revenue.
But has the pop star ever gone back to her roots, even just for lunch?
“You couldn’t pay me,” she said. “I can’t even go to a Chili’s or a Friday’s. I can’t do any of those fast-dining restaurants — I’m traumatized.”
What are your thoughts on Vérité and her music?
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