+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
upworthy
Pop Culture

Guy with 90s-style radio show on TikTok is actually changing lives for aspiring musicians

"The Bun 91.3" is giving unknown artists massive followings and even record label deals.

the bun 91.3, new music on spotify
@thebun91.3/TikTok

This guy rocks.

TikTok is a place where obscure music is celebrated, retro comedy is king and lives can be changed overnight. But it’s a rare feat for all three of those corners to intersect on the platform.

As is the way with many TikTok sensations, faux radio show “The Bun 91.3” started off as a fun hobby. The DJ, known only to listeners as “The Bun,” highlights songs by up-and-coming artists all while sporting aviator sunglasses and mastering that cheesy, old-school radio voice.

Much to his surprise, The Bun’s passion project has actually been bringing major attention to aspiring musicians who might otherwise go unnoticed, just like real radio shows did back in the day.


Take for instance the band Bird Photos. In his video playing their song “Dove,” The Bun said that the group had only 85 monthly listeners. After the clip was viewed over 650,000 times, Bird Photos’ reach skyrocketed to over 36,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

@thebun91.3 Next song up: Dove - Bird Photos #rock#indierock#indie#indiepop#thebun913#radiohost#spotifyplaylist♬ Dove - Bird Photos

“Man really gave them a 7800% increase in listeners in four days. We LOVE small artist promoters,” one person commented.

Or singer/songwriter Sarah Crean, whose song "2:00 AM" blew up with over 4.6 million views after The Bun professed he "couldn’t get enough of it” (one of his signature phrases). Crean went from having only 295 monthly listeners to 170,000 monthly listeners and ended up signing with well-known record label AWAL.

@thebun91.3 Next song up: 02:00 AM - Sarah Crean #indiepop#indierock#menitrust#japanesebreakfast#indie#sarahcrean#thebun913#radiohost#spotifyplaylist♬ 02:00 AM - Sarah Crean

“My gratitude for it all is immense," Crean told Insider. "He's putting really incredible artists forward to such an open-minded following and it's opening so many doors for them…I think he's got something really special there."

Following successes like these, The Bun’s creative outlet has turned into something of a mission—one which he is fully committed to. The DJ also shared with Insider that he not only spends every morning scouring the internet for cool tracks, but he’ll also find local bands and solo artists to see them play at nearby venues.

Of course, with his newfound internet clout, musicians often reach out to him for coverage. Like Minova, who submitted their song “I Miss You So” and got so many new followers they released a whole new single. (Of course, The Bun covered that, too.)
@thebun91.3 Next song up: I Miss You So - Minova #minova#dayglow#wallows#clairo#sarahcrean#indiepop#sadgirlstarterpack#thebun913#spotifyplaylist#radiohost♬ I Miss You So

For The Bun, helping aspiring artists potentially get out of any side hustles and instead focus on what they love is the best part of the job. "I just get a lot of joy out of them winning," he told Insider.

We see plenty of videos on TikTok with folks sharing their art, but it’s not every day that we see someone going out of their way to showcase someone else’s. The Bun is out there doing the dang thing, and doing it all with a huge dose of quirky charm. It’s something we can’t get enough of.

By the way—you can also find The Bun’s special curated playlist featuring these artists, and more, over on Spotify.

From Your Site Articles
joy
Innovation

This organization is revolutionizing food supply chains to minimize waste

Spoiler Alert pairs CPG manufacturers with discount retailers to keep food out of landfills

Members of the Spoiler Alert team volunteer at Waltham Fields Community Farm in Waltham, MA

Nearly 120 billion pounds of food go to waste in the U.S. each year. This waste not only contributes to food insecurity, which millions of Americans are impacted by, but also has a detrimental impact on our climate. In large part, this comes down to a misallocation of resources.

We need to bridge the gap between food waste, the planet, and those in need. By doing so, we can drive sustainable food systems and get food to those who need it most. In fact, Project Drawdown has found that reducing food waste is the number one most impactful solution to climate change.

The foundations of Spoiler Alert were laid during my time at MIT Sloan in 2013 when I met my soon-to-be co-founder Emily Malina. With my consulting experience with brands and retailers on carbon, water, energy and waste initiatives and Emily’s background in supply chain transformation and technology adoption, we knew there was a supply chain solution that could help businesses better manage their food waste. That’s when we started Spoiler Alert.

Ricky Ashenfelter & Emily Malina, Co-founders of Spoiler Alert

Spoiler Alert is a B2B waste prevention software that helps CPG brands better manage excess and short dated inventory. This inventory arises from various sources, whether that’s overproduction, unsuccessful innovations, seasonal items, or promotional packaging.

Keep ReadingShow less
planet
Pop Culture

Folks are admitting that Boomers weren’t totally wrong. Here are 19 things they got right.

OK, Boomer, you're right about this one.

via Patrick Lannigan/Flickr

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

Keep ReadingShow less
baby boomers
Humor

Heinz triggers all of the internet with a single tweet: 'Ketchup. goes. in. the. fridge!!!'

People are absolutely taking sides.

Erik Mclean|Canva

Heinz starts an argument by declaring ketchup goes in the fridge

People feel very strongly about their condiments. No matter what condiment there is someone either loves it or hates it but one of the biggest debates on the food toppers is how to store them. Yeah, that might sound a bit strange because everyone knows open condiments are stored in the pantry, unless its hot sauce, right? Whoa, calm down. I'm only kidding. I don't make the rules Heinz does, apparently.

They do make the condiments so it would be assumed that we would look to them to know how to store the products they make. But the people of Twitter are daring to argue with Heinz after the condiment giant posted a controversial tweet that declared ketchup does in fact belong in the fridge. This bold tweet is dividing the internet.

"Heinz don't even know where their product should be stored," one person declared. While another claimed, "Never, ever has it gone in my fridge, nor anybody else's." Who's going to tell these people to read the back of the bottle?

Keep ReadingShow less
ketchup debate
Family

Dad had no idea he was auditioning for 'Britain's Got Talent.' He brought the house down anyway.

His two little girls called him up on stage to perform the song he wrote for them.

Singers Got Talent/Facebook

Nick Edwards had no idea he was going to be singing for Britain's Got Talent until his mom and daughters showed up on stage.

We've seen some moving America's Got Talent stories before, but a recent viral audition absolutely requires a tissue warning. I tried to steel myself in preparation when I saw the "Admit it, we were *all* in tears after this" caption on the Facebook share of it, but I failed.

In a video that's been shared more than 95,000 times, the "Britain's Got Talent" audition shows two tiny little girls onstage with their grandmother. They introduce themselves as "Cally" (age 4) and "Savannah" (age 3) and "Nanny" (their "daddy's mummy") then the girls share that they are there to surprise their dad.

Dad—also known as Nick Edwards—is sitting in the audience. He thought the family was there to watch the audition on a fun outing; he had no idea that they had arranged a surprise audition for him, so when his girls and mom showed up on stage, he wondered what was going on.

Keep ReadingShow less
britain's got talent
Pop Culture

John Cena is being praised for the polite way he asked a fan to leave him alone

A fan came up and asked the actor to say a catchphrase from his wrestling days.

@alex99rocks/TikTok

Sometimes you just wanna enjoy some time with your friends.

Look, it happens to the best of us. We see a celebrity that we love out and about in the wild. Our excitement takes hold, and we rush up to our icons hoping they might deliver a bit of that same joy we experience from them on the screen. For a moment, the lines blur between fantasy and reality, and we forget that we are dealing with an actual human being, rather than a character.

Well known celebrities deal with this kind of social interaction all the time, whether they want it or not. And many times, they have to resort to expressing frustration in order to set a boundary. It doesn’t take a very long internet search to find public figures losing their cool at a fan who couldn’t pick up a hint.

That’s why people are praising John Cena for the way he respectfully handled a fan who might have overstepped a bit. Once a Peacemaker, always a Peacemaker it seems.

Keep ReadingShow less
kindess
Pop Culture

Guy with a metal detector astonished to find a ring that belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham

It was authenticated by experts from the British Museum.

via Unsplash

English metal detector hobbyist finds a real treasure near Nottingham.

A retired merchant navy engineer in England has found a treasure that would have made his country’s most popular folk hero proud. Graham Harrison, a 64-year-old metal detector enthusiast, discovered a gold signet ring that once belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The discovery was made on a farm in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, 26.9 miles from Sherwood Forest. The forest is known worldwide for being the mythological home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. A central road that traversed the forest was notorious in Medieval times for being an easy place for bandits to rob travelers going to and from London.

Keep ReadingShow less
pop culture
Pop Culture

Christopher Walken dancing in over 50 movies all perfectly spliced into a single music video

Most people don’t know he studied dance as a child.

via YouTube

These days, we could all use something to smile about, and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.

A few years back, some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films, and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
Trending Stories