Alaina Castillo, 18, a Texas born singer/songwriter, was spotted on YouTube after posting covers of songs by Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, crediting the platform for kickstarting her career.

Growing up in a religious family and listening to Christian music, it wasn’t until Castillo attended secondary school she began finding a new love for R&B and pop music, citing Usher as one of her idols. Having drawn inspiration from Grammy-winner H.E.R. and nominee SZA, the half-Mexican singer released her bilingual debut EP, Antisocial Butterfly, in November last year, going on to garner praise from Wonderland and Clash magazine. Cultivating an online following of over one million in the last year, including 787,000 YouTube subscribers, Castillo released Valentine’s Day, produced by RØMANS (who’s credited on tracks by Demi Lovato, Alicia Keys, Little Mix), as her first single of 2020, and is touring the UK and Europe this year, after embarking on her first US dates in December.