Viral star CG5 on his first ever UK tour, most popular British meme and neurodiversity

If you're on TikTok, you've undoubtedly heard the viral sound of “Everyone told me I sound like CG5, probably because I'm CG5.”

Behind the iconic sound, Arizona native CG5 – real name Charlie Green (the fifth generation in his family, hence his stage name) – has a large online following with over 7.6 million subscribers and 2.6 billion views on YouTube, as well as 3.6 He has amassed millions of TikTok followers and over 7.6 million video creations based on his songs on the platform since he began his music career a decade ago.

His online success has also spilled over onto Spotify, as the 25-year-old singer/songwriter and music producer continues to grow in success, with over 1.2 billion streams worldwide and over 500 million streams of his singles THX, Lonely King, 4GET, Dancin, Vibrant Eyes, Good To Be Alive And I see a dreamer, sleep well.

Green's love of music began as a teenager when he remembered the computer software that started it all for him.

“What first inspired me to pursue a career in music was a computer program that my father showed me on his laptop when I was just five years old,” Green said Indy100.

“The software was called Hip Hop 4ej and it was a very simple software for me to get started with. But that’s when I first fell in love with music production. And then here we are.”

This is in addition to his musical influences from the '80s, some of which he listed: “Phil Collins, Tears for Fears, ELO, Earth Wind Fire, Fleetwood Mac Journey and Duran Duran, to name a few.”

When it comes to making a song, every artist has their own way of doing things, and for Green, it's “constantly changing.”

“I don’t think I have a specific songwriting process,” he said. “It’s different for every project. But I know there were songs that only took an hour to make, and then songs that took two years to make for a lot of different reasons.”

“But it’s always nice for me to start with a simple chord progression. Not easy, but something cool. And it really gets me into creating melodies and really getting a project going.”

Musicians often have a “pinch me moment” in their career where they can see how many people recognize them and their songs — and for Green, that happened at VidCon last year.

“It was the first time I came to a place where literally almost every single person at the convention knew exactly who I was and I needed security with me at all times. It was just a very interesting moment for me and I remember just feeling completely different afterwards about everything I did well.

Since his online beginnings a decade ago, Green has seen the ever-evolving relationship between music and social media, offering insight from his personal experience into what has arguably become a symbiotic relationship.

“Since starting my career about a decade ago, I think the relationship between social media and music has changed drastically over the years,” he began.

“Especially in the marketing aspect. Everything has to happen quickly now to promote a song before it comes out, while it comes out or after it comes out. It's a constant marketing effort that you have to do on social media.” People are constantly scrolling up, down, up, liking, and commenting on TikTok, IG Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Green continued: “All engagements are very important for people to see your song. And I've definitely used it more now because I know I have to. But that wasn’t so much the case in the beginning of my career.”

Just last month, Green embarked on his first-ever European tour and spoke Indy100 shortly after performing his sold-out show at London's O2 Academy Islington on October 30th.

“I found the UK tour an incredible experience,” he said of his recent performances.

“This is my first time performing outside the country. And performing for Manchester, Glasgow and London – the UK to be precise – was an incredible experience, especially for London.”

Green added: “The audience was very exuberant, they were beautiful and the show was beautiful.”

CG5

As for the experience, the singer described his recent tour as one of his “big career highlights” and expressed his love for singing on stage to his fans.

“Meeting thousands and thousands of fans almost every day was a crazy opportunity and I am so grateful that my fans gave me this opportunity. “I love being able to play my music for them and I will continue to do so until the end of time,” he fully stated.

Of all his songs, he explained why his track “Sleep Well” is his favorite song to perform live with the audience's reaction.

“The audience always loves it when I put on this song, especially when I play it last, because as an encore everyone sings along really loudly and probably even louder than me and it's a really fun experience,” he said.

But what can fans expect from a CG5 concert?

According to Green, fans can “expect a storyline that goes from beginning to end with a character we call 'The Puppet Master.'

He continued: “I wrote this show in collaboration with my epic tour manager William Bradford, and my dad plays the role of the puppeteer, I think he would really enjoy it.”

Fans will know that Green's music is linked to his interest in viral memes, TV shows, original concepts and video games such as: dream SMP, Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF), Cup head And Among us.

Of course, given that he lives in the UK and some of his songs are about viral memes, it was only right to ask him if he had a favorite British meme…

“The only thing I can really think about is a bottle of water [bo’oh’o’wa’e]he said in his best British accent. “Because we say 'bottle of water', which of course is completely different, but bottle of water.” [bo’oh’o’wa’er] fun to say.

Another important aspect of Green's music is his openness about his mental health and his neurodivergence, showing how these parts of him have guided his music.

“My music career is heavily influenced by the fact that I have autism. The way I do things – I get too fixated on one thing and you can't stop me because I have to create something, I have to make a song.” “Music is literally always on my mind “explained the singer.

“You know, I hear when an ambulance siren goes off, I will immediately understand the notes with my perfect pitch. But I think it was really important to keep track of my mental development difference, my mental health.” “

CG5

“I know many of my listeners are in a similar scenario with neurodivergence, anxiety or depression and I don’t think they ever want to feel alone. That’s why I’m here for you.”

His latest single Appreciate the darkness was inspired by the popular character Kinger from the popular YouTube series The amazing digital circus.

“I wrote this song from Kinger's perspective, exploring his journey through grief and darkness,” the musician shared. “Even in the depths of despair there is a message of hope and reassurance. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to rely on friends and hold on to love no matter what challenges we face.”

As for the future, Green has some “very far-reaching” goals and ambitions, both professionally and personally.

“I want to have a family. I want to have two dogs, probably more because my wife loves dogs, so I will give her as many dogs as she wants,” he said.

“But I want to take new steps in my music career. I want to do big things in mainstream media and get noticed in this space. I love making music and I want to continue making it for an even wider audience than I have before.” But I'm so grateful for where I am now because I get to be creative and mean it forever Make a living.”

Green's latest single Appreciate the darkness is out now.

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