Australian singer Tones and I has revealed that she misses busking.
Reminiscing about her pre-fame life on Tuesday, the 26-year-old musician shared a throwback video to Instagram of herself busking in idyllic Byron Bay.
‘I miss busking and I miss Byron Bay,’ the songwriter, whose real name is Toni Watson, captioned the short clip in which she showcased her impressive vocals.
Reminiscing: Australian singer and songwriter Tones and I has revealed she misses busking, which is how she started her career years ago. Pictured on November 9 in Cannes, Paris
Tones began busking in Byron Bay in September 2017 where she met talent manager, Jackson Walkden-Brown.
She hit the big time with her second single Dance Monkey in May 2019 which topped the charts in 30 countries.
In a recent interview, Tones and I revealed that she’s overcome the ‘overwhelming sadness’ and ‘relentless bullying’ the success of breakout song Dance Monkey resulted in last year.
Speaking to News Corp last month, the songwriter said she wants fans to know she’s ‘tough and strong’ and now embraces her global fame with confidence.
Since Dance Monkey was released last May, it’s been streamed over 1.5 billion times, topped the charts around the world and led to much scrutiny of Tones and I (real name Toni Watson), that she previously confessed to struggling with.
Throwback: Reminiscing about her life pre-fame on Tuesday, the 26-year-old shared a throwback video of her busking in idyllic Byron Bay
The beginning: Tones began busking in Byron Bay in September 2017 where she met talent manager, Jackson Walkden-Brown
‘That was last year, let’s move on’: In an interview last month, Tones and I said she wants fans to know she’s ‘tough and strong’ and now embraces her fame with confidence
‘I’ve felt really good since December… I came to a point where I felt I wasn’t good enough, I’m not good enough to play a festival, I’m a busker.’
‘Then I started to realise I am good enough because who the f**k would deal with that? So at the end of last year I decided I wasn’t going to let anything bother me.
‘It’s easy for people to keep holding on to this “Tones is upset” thing that happened in November, when I was just trying to speak out and be honest, but I want people to know I’m fine and I’m not upset. That was last year, let’s move on.’
She concluded by saying she wants young fans to know she’s a ‘tough person’ and they can look up to her because she’s ‘strong’ and not afraid of being vulnerable.
Back in November, just days after winning four ARIA Awards, Tones and I shared a Facebook post about ‘hiding a big black hole’ of sadness, and her excitement was overshadowed by ‘death threats’ and ‘relentless bullying’ she had received.
Global attention: Since Dance Monkey was released last May, it’s been streamed over 1.5 billion times, and led to much scrutiny, that Tones and I previously confessed to struggled with
‘People always say, “Tones, how does it feel? It must feel great, what are you feeling? You must be over the moon,”‘ she began.
‘It does and I don’t want to take anything away from my well-deserved achievements, and to my fans I love you unconditionally, but I have been hiding a big black hole for a while now.
‘I feel if I hide it, like most artists do, then how are we going to help the next generation of young artists to come… truth is (and we have all seen it), with success comes judgement and opinions.’
Emotional: Back in November, just days after winning four ARIA Awards, Tones and I shared a Facebook post about ‘hiding a big black hole’ of sadness despite her incredible success
Meanwhile, Toni recently lashed out at a fan who commented on an Instagram post about Rihanna’s song Only Girl (In The World) reaching 300 streams on Spotify.
It was the 20th time a Rihanna song has reached this momentous achievement.
Taking a dig at Rihanna’s success, a Tones And I fan account commented beneath the post: ‘My kween @tonesandi ended her with one song.’
Tones And I responded to the comment, commenting: ‘If your [sic] gonna make a fan page on my behalf don’t take jabs at other queens, it’s tacky.’
The haters are coming! The haters are coming! Tones recently landed herself in hot water after she slammed a fan page for comparing her success to that of pop star Rihanna, 32 (right)
Swipe: Taking a dig at Rhianna’s success, a Tones And I fan account commented beneath the post: ‘My kween @tonesandi ended her with one song’. Tones And I branded the post as ‘tacky’