Bear Bailey is “blown away” by Keith Urban’s support and generosity after finding out that the country hitmaker is using one of his viral covers within his live concert show.
In late July 2021, Bailey shared a cover of Urban’s “Till Summer Comes Around” on TikTok, and he not only shocked the entire gas station and millions of viewers with his impressive vocal abilities, but also Urban. The cover wowed Urban, so much so that he included it within his performance of the song during his Vegas concert.
Urban uses Bailey’s stunning cover video of “Till Summer Comes Around” to open his performance of the popular tune during his Vegas residency concerts.
Prior to showing the clip, Urban praised fans for sharing covers of his music, which allows him to discover new talents, like Bailey.
“The cool thing is that you guys come along, and you want to sing, and the really cool thing is sometimes you guys even post it on social media because you feel so compelled to want to sing one of my songs, that every now and then I get to discover somebody singing something of mine,” Urban told the crowd. “And every now and then it even reminds me of a song that we haven’t done in a long time. Come upon this guy on Instagram called Bear Bailey, and he reminded me of a song we hadn’t done in a long time. Let’s check out Bear, shall we.”
Urban then played the cover video, which he dubbed “legit,” on the stage’s massive video screens, as he watched from the dark stage, he shouted “sing it Bear.”
After playing Bailey’s clip for the capacity crowd, which started his performance of the song, Urban finishes out the track, playing guitar and singing the rest of the fan-favorite ballad.
Watch the full performance by Urban above.
Bailey seen the clip, filmed by a fan at Urban’s show, which prompted the rising star to quickly repost the video and express his excitement of the humbling experience throughout social media.
“Y’all… @keithurban shared my version of Till Summer Comes Around at one of his concerts!” Bailey captioned his latest TikTok post, expressing his excitement. He also added, “I still don’t believe it!!”
In an Instagram post, he also added, “Y’all my mind is blown! God is so good!”
@bearbailey1Y’all… @keithurban shared my version of Till Summer Comes Around at one of his concerts!! ##fyp ##foryou still don’t believe it!!♬ original sound – Bear Bailey
We reached out to Bailey to ask what his initial reaction was of seeing the clip and what Urban’s music means to him.
“I have been listening to Keith Urban for so long and his music is amazing. ”Til Summer Comes Around’ is one of my all-time favorite songs by him, so is ‘Tonight I Wanna Cry’ and ‘Better Life.’” Bailey exclusively told Music Mayhem. “I love all his stuff, I think his message is always incredible, and him shouting me out onstage was just insane. He didn’t have to do that.”
He continued to gush that he is beyond humbled for the use of his video and Urban’s shoutout.
“I’m just humbled by this. It’s a humbling experience,” Bailey told us. “I mean, you sit at home, and you look up to these people and then something like this happens, and it just doesn’t even feel real.”
Previously, Urban, impressed by Bailey’s cover so much that he reposted the clip, which has amassed over 5 million views, to Twitter.
— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) July 21, 2021
Additionally, Bailey gearing up to release new original music, and he recently shared a clip of what could be his debut single!
The Viral TikTok Gas Station singer shared a snippet of an original song he’s been working on via his TikTok late night on Sunday, Sept. 19. Bailey has not yet named the new track, however, when he asked his followers what he should name the song, hundreds dubbed it “Let It Roll” in the comments.
“Hey baby, can we please let them hear it?” Bailey’s wife Marianne asked in the clip’s opening, prompting a response from the rising star. The singer replied, “yeah, yeah, yeah, alright here we go. Super proud of this!”
In the clip, which has amassed over 762k views since it’s release, Bailey is seen in his kitchen, wearing a Prince Purple Rain shirt, singing along to the recorded version of a new unreleased song that he wrote.
“Girl had one hell of a week / been working on your feet / broken down tired, but you’re never too tired for me / Babe, I’m cool with staying in / a little lime a little gin / kissing on the couch / I’m happy without that [inaudible] / But I can see the way you’re dancing in the kitchen / know that we ain’t staying in tonight / I can tell that ain’t going to fix it / you got a buzzing for the neon lights,” Bailey sings in the just-released video.
“Girl go get your Friday on / ’cause we don’t need another night at home / a little rooftop bar with a downtown view of you / tell the band to play your favorite song / and you can order all the drinks / ’cause you worked all week until the full time took its toll / but tonight we’re gonna let it roll / tonight we’re gonna let it roll,” Bailey sings during the original song’s chorus.
@bearbailey1This is my favorite song I’ve written so far! What do y’all think?! #fyp #original #music #letmeknow♬ original sound – Bear Bailey
James “Bear” Bailey, known by his TikTok handle, @bearbaily1, has been impressing people at a Super Serve gas station near Houma, Louisiana, with impromptu performances of songs by artists from all different genres. Bailey’s performances, which have since been uploaded to his TikTok page, have made him a viral star. In fact, he has amassed over 2 million followers already!
With each impressive clip, viewers can find Bailey – a 33-year-old welder – typically standing near the checkout counter in a rock-band T-shirt, either singing along with the gas station loudspeaker or belting out an a cappella tune. His near-flawless renditions on songs by artists such as Luke Combs, Lonestar, O Town and Shania Twain, to name a few, have left store patrons stunned. So much so that they often stop in their tracks, dance along to his performances, or – as seen in other clips – return to the gas station to find Bailey offering onlookers yet another on-the-spot rendition of their favorite tune.
Thanks to the popular TikTok platform, Bailey has been grasping attention from some of country music’s biggest stars. Mickey Guyton, who saw Bailey’s gas-station performance of K-CI & Jojo’s “All My Life,” re-tweeted the clip, showing her enthusiasm for Bailey’s talent with the simple caption, “I Can’t.” And even Dan + Shay got in on the excitement, commenting on a video from their own TikTok account, raving, “killed it, Man!”
More recently, Bailey has garnered the attention of Clay Walker, who invited him to come perform on stage with him some day.