How ‘Artist to Watch’ Andrew Jannakos Cooked Up a Country Career
The "Gone Too Soon" singer-songwriter's big break on TikTok led to a record deal, and a "duet" with James Corden.
Earlier this month (June 4), country newcomer Andrew Jannakos released his Gone Too Soon EP, capping a rocket ride that started in an unlikely location — his kitchen.
The young singer-songwriter saw his whole world change after a little video of him went viral on TikTok, showcasing the smooth, sensual anthem while he was cooking dinner one night. But even though he’s on the radio and set to tour the nation this summer, Jannakos is still perfecting his recipe for success.
“It’s pretty crazy. We’re almost living it,” he says of his ultimate dream, lofty as the goal may be. “I try to manifest everything into existence, and we will be up on a stage with 30,000 people screaming back ‘Goon Too Soon’ one of these days.”
You can’t blame him for the confidence. The bespectacled Georgia native with a warm smile and boy-next-door looks first gained attention on Season 16 of NBC’s The Voice, plucked from his day job as a sauté chef by a show producer. And while he didn’t win — only making it into the battle rounds — fans reacted to his smooth fusion of country and polished R&B pop.
Jannakos went home with a new taste for chasing his musical dreams … and that’s where dinnertime comes in.
One night, the still-unknown star was cooking for his then-fiancée (now wife) Katie, when they decided to share a new song he’d been prepping. With the frying pan simmering and dressed for the couch, Jannakos rolled through the steamy chorus of “Gone Too Soon,” showing off a song and vocal full of romantic, rural R&B flavor. Everything changed after dessert.
@ajannakos I guess cooking and singing have become my thing? ##cooking ##popcountry ##country ##sing ##originalmusic ##burritobowl ##fyp ##foryou ##xyzbca ##GreekFreakOut
Unbeknownst to him, the clip spread like wildfire on TikTok overnight, with Katie staying up to work the crowd. Fans seemed to love this charming everyday guy with the too-smooth voice and stove-top skills, and by the next morning, Katie had news.
She passed Jannakos her phone, which showed his post with 50,000 likes. Plus, he had gained 125,000 followers in 12 hours.
“It took me a second because it was still dark, but once my eyes adjusted, and saw what was happening on there, I’ve never woken up faster in my life,” he says. “It was crazy to see people connect to a song and video like that.”
Still an independent artist with only a few trusted friends in his camp, Jannakos worked to finish the song and get it ready for release. He didn’t rush, though, wanting to do things the right way. So that meant five full weeks went by before “Gone Too Soon” officially came out. But when it did, he knew the TikTok post was no flash in the pan. The track had 40,000 pre-saves and debuted at Number 12 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, while also landing at the top of iTunes and making him the week’s Number One Billboard Emerging Artist.
And it wasn’t just fans who knew a good thing when they heard it. The behind-the-scenes players on Music Row did, too.
“After ‘Gone Too Soon’ went viral, I had 20 labels reach out,” Jannakos explains. “Seven of them were in Nashville, and 13 were other places. … But when I first got off The Voice, my wife asked me, ‘What are we gonna do? And if you had the chance to sign a record deal, who would it be with? Who’s your dream label?’ I told her we were going to sign a record deal within three years, and that my dream label is Sony Music Nashville — and we did in two years. You manifest things.”
Now, out on the road as concert touring gets back underway, Andrew Jannakos is working to manifest his next big goal, and he’s still racking up social-media followers, too. Even The Late Late Show’s James Corden is a fan, as the Carpool Karaoke creator recently did a “duet” with Jannakos’ original TikTok.
@latelateshow ##duet with @ajannakos love this song Andrew. Had to duet x
Meanwhile, his Gone Too Soon EP came out on June 4, showing off the newcomer’s modern country fluency with six co-written tracks — including candlelit-country jams like “Wine Country” and “Somebody Loves You,” which follow in the glossy “Gone Too Soon” style.
Jannakos was also featured on Sounds Like Nashville’s 2021 Artists to Watch list, and with “Gone Too Soon” spinning at Country radio, the track’s accumulated 60 million on demand streams (and rising). Not bad for what started as a pre-dinner appetizer, and looking ahead, country’s singing chef plans to keep cooking with fresh ingredients.
“Honestly, the biggest thing I want people to take away is that it’s OK to be different,” Andrew Jannakos says. “It’s OK to be yourself and believe in what you believe in, to see your dream and make it come true. … I just hope people see that and see what I have to bring, and I’m definitely not done, that’s for sure.”
