Jeremiah Broadway is no stranger to being a viral sensation. Known by his artist name JBroadway, you may have heard his remix of Beyoncé’s “Check On It” or seen TikTok star Charli D’Amelio dance to it on the popular video sharing platform.
But a recent mashup made waves that even Broadway didn’t expect. In early April, Lizzo recognized him publicly on the app, with a response video to his mix of “Good as Hell” and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” The video has received 7.2 million likes (and counting) and has opened doors for Broadway in the music industry.
Since receiving a nod from Lizzo, JBroadway has been offered a management and publishing deal and has been contacted by record labels, artists and their managers to produce songs and remixes.
“I made that video and … I wasn’t even expecting her to see it, so when she did, I was flabbergasted,” he said.
Sam Ronchak, Broadway’s roommate and one of his closest friends, was in the room when Broadway realized he had been recognized by Lizzo.
“I feel like it could be, in the grand scheme of things, a moment that we think back to [as] really the beginning,” Ronchak said.
Broadway, 22, is a pianist, producer and DJ. He was inspired early on by his parents’ involvement with music. His father was a music producer, and Broadway grew up with a recording studio in his basement.
Broadway’s DJing and production skills have earned him more than 282,000 followers and 2.5 million likes on TikTok since launching his profile in October 2019 with a viral remix — a trap rendition of Shirley Temple’s “Animal Crackers in My Soup.”
In November, Broadway’s lo-fi remix of “Dissolve” by Absofacto received even more attention. As a result, the remixed song was signed to Atlantic Records in December and now has more than 1 million plays on Spotify.
“When I had my first viral video, I thought ‘OK I could just be a one-hit wonder,’” Broadway said. “Now that I’ve been able to consistently demonstrate that I can make viral content on TikTok, that’s kind of told me that I’m definitely doing something right and I should stay on the path that I am on.”
Broadway credits his business administration and management degree and an earlier internship with the business skills that have helped him build his brand as JBroadway. Now, he is working toward sustaining himself solely off of music.
He is currently working on a Latin EDM remix, a new TikTok video and producing other videos for his YouTube channel, where he shares full-length remixes and production tutorials.
Broadway’s mother, Alyce Paguyo, isn’t surprised by recent developments in his career, noting his self-taught piano skills as a testament to his drive.
“I don’t get a sense from Jeremiah that there is a destination. It’s a journey for him,” she said. “He’s doing what he loves and this is what’s more important to him.”
