In the past few days, yodeling has soared higher in popularity than it ever has in the last few years and a tiny 11-year-old boy from Southern Illinois is responsible for it. How, you ask? Well, let us tell you the story of how Mason Ramsey made yodeling cool again and landed on the stage of one of music's most illustrious festivals.
Coming from Golconda, Illinois which has a population of just around 700 people, Mason Ramsey had been yodeling since he was three years old. Through the years, he brushed up his yodel skills and performed frequently in his local Walmart, the only department store the city had. His fortunes changed when he posted a video of one of his yodeling performances, in a crisp white shirt, blue jeans and boots with a massive belt buckle. In a matter of days, the video went viral, raked over eight million views and was liked by Reese Witherspoon.
Forget rapping or beat boxing. Suddenly, yodeling was the hottest singing skill around. The world was fascinated with little Mason, his delightful skill, adorable innocence and trademark Southern garb. From Walmart, his next appearance was on The Ellen Show. The talk show host chatted with Ramsey about yodeling and his future plan to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, a concert in Nashville for country music. Post Mason's yodeling, Ellen saved the best for last and revealed that he would in fact be performing at the Grand Ole Opry, along with a concert in his local Walmart store and a $15,000 scholarship to make his country singing dreams come true.
But it doesn't end there. Possibly the most wonderful moment in Mason's rise to fame happened when Whethan Music; one of the West's hottest DJ's and music producers, called Mason over to perform at Coachella. Yes, Coachella.
So over the first weekend of the Californian music festival, Mason took the stage at Coachella, yodeled his heart out and even got a selfie with Justin Bieber.
Now that's a boy living his best life. We can see big things in Lil' Hank Williams future.
