Real Name: | Lindsey Stirling |
Birthday: | September 21, 1986 |
Net Worth | $15 million |
Height: | 161 cm |
Occupation: | American Violinist, Singer, Songwriter, Dancer |
Usually, the big winners earn the most money. But that is not the case with Lindsey Stirling. She made it only to the quarterfinals of Season 5 of America’s Got Talent. Yet, she is the second richest participant in the show behind only Terry Fator. Lindsey is a hip hop violinist and dancer.
An American violinist and songwriter, she choreographed violin performances live and in music videos. She performs a variety of music styles. During AGT, most fans saw her perform hip hop music on her violin. But she also performs pop, rock, and electronic dance music. Stirling’s discography contains her original work, but also covers of popular songs.
In 2012, her music video Crystalize finished in the top 10 most-watched videos of the year. The next year, her cover version of Radioactive helped her win an award at YouTube Music Awards. By August 2014 Lindsey achieved one million singles sold. In 2015, Forbes listed her in the 30 Under 30 in Music.
As of August 2020, Lindsey Stirling’s fortune is more than $15 million. Let’s take a look at her career path.
Content Compass
Career Ups and Downs
Born as a middle child of three daughters, Lindsey got raised in a modest household. She had a humble childhood. Her parents could afford a violin teacher with only half lessons. She practiced with a teacher only 15 minutes per week. Her teacher advised the parents a kid cannot learn to play in 15 minutes. But her parents persisted.
At the age of five, Lindsey began taking violin lessons. She attended Greenfield Junior High. At the age of 16, during her days at Mesquite High School, Stirling formed a rock band with four other friends. She wrote a solo violin rock song for the band. Thanks to the song, she won the Junior Miss Arizona and Spirit Award in America’s Junior Miss Finals competition.
Lindsey registered her YouTube channel on May 20, 2007. That was three years before entering America’s Got Talent. In 2010, at the age of 23, she entered AGT. Lindsey made it to the quarterfinals of Season Five as a hip hop violinist. Lindsey impressed everyone with her ability to mix music styles and incorporate dance movements while playing the violin.
In the quarterfinals, judges told her she is not good enough to play the violin and dance at the same time. One judge recommended her to join a band saying she can’t fill a Vegas theater on her own.
Yet shortly after her AGT performance, cinematographer Devin Graham contacted her for collaboration. They shot a music video for her song Spontaneous Me. The video increased her popularity so she began making videos on YouTube. As of August 2020, her channel has more than 12 million subscribers.
One of the reasons Lindsey is successful is her willingness to experiment with styles. She combines violin playing with hip hop and dubstep. She also collaborates with other artists like Amy Lee, Shaun Barrows, Jake Bruene, Peter Hollens, and more.
In December 2012, her song Crystalize made it to Top 10 most-viewed videos for the year on YouTube. The next year, she signed a deal with Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s manager. In 2013, she also earned golden certification for her album Lindsey Stirling in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. In November 2013, her version of Radioactive won a YouTube Music Award for Response of the Year. She also performed during the live-streamed event.
By the end of 2013, Lindsey announced her 2014 World Tour. The first tour dates were in Canada and the US. She sold out concerts instantly.
In the spring of 2014, Lindsey announced her second studio album, Shatter Me. She released it in May and created a PledgeMusic account for fans to buy her new album. Lindsey also sold exclusive items like signed posters, Skype calls, and personalized video.
On May 13, 2014, she performed in San Diego, which was the first show of her second world tour. The tour stopped in 77 places, 48 in North America and 29 in Europe. In the summer of 2014, she took part in two collaborations. The first one was with an a cappella group, Pentatonix. She also collaborated with Jessie J for her upcoming album Sweet Talker. Lindsey also joined Andrea Bocelli on his UK tour.
In January 2015, Forbes put Stirling on the magazine’s 30 Under 30 list. Lindsey was one of the few musicians making the list. In the same month, Billboard announced her first two albums reached Number 1 and 2 on the best-selling dance albums in 2014.
By the summer of 2015, Lindsey announced she will focus on her third album after the current world tour. And then in December 2015, Lindsey made it to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with Hallelujah. The song debuted at Number 81 and then peaked at Number 1 on the Hot Christian Songs Chart.
In June 2015, she announced the completion of her autobiography. The violinist player released the book in January 2016. It made it to the New York Times Top 10 hardcover nonfiction best-seller list.
By the summer of 2016, Lindsey released her third album, Brave Enough. In 2017, Stirling joined Season 25 of Dancing with the Stars. Lindsey and her partner Mark Ballas finished in second place.
In June 2019, Lindsey released her new single Underground. With the music video, she announced her new album, Artemis. Stirling released the album in September. But she canceled the tour for the album due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of 2020, Lindsey announced her new project, a weekly podcast. The show goes on every Friday. Titled String Sessions, it will feature music artists. And it will start with a string cover of a song by the featured artist.
Awards and Achievements
During her career, Lindsey won a couple of awards. Not bad for a quarterfinals participant in America’s Got Talent. She won her first award in 2013, a Response of the Year by YouTube Music Awards. Lindsey won a top dance/electronic album by Billboard Music Awards in 2015 for Shatter Me. Her debut album, Lindsey Stirling, earned only a nomination by Billboard Awards.
The popular violinist has two Teen Choice Awards in her pocket. She won Best Choreography in 2013 and Best Musical Artist in 2014.
Net Worth
Lindsey Stirling is one of the richest America’s Got Talent participants. How much is Lindsey Stirling’s cash flow? Well, as of August 2020, her fortune is over $15 million. That puts her in second place, right behind Terry Fator. Her debut album sold more than 200,000 copies in Germany alone. She earned platinum certifications in Austria, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland.
So far, Lindsey released four studio albums, Lindsey Stirling, Shatter Me, Brave Enough, and Artemis. And she sold more than 1 million copies by 2014 alone with just two albums. With more albums, she sells millions of copies per year now.
Lindsey also earns money from her YouTube account. As of August 2020, she has more than 12 million subscribers. And in total, she amassed more than 3 billion views.
A major source of her income comes from tours. Her first tour lasted almost a year with 122 dates in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She spent most of 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 touring around the world. In 2017, she had her Warmer in the Winter Tour.
And in 2018, she joined Evanescence for the group’s Synthesis tour. A full orchestra accompanied them as well.
With all that in mind, it is no surprise that Lindsey Stirling’s wealth is more than $15 million. Her YouTube channel brings in more than $4,000 per day. That is almost $1.5 million per year from ads alone.