From the moment pop singer-songwriter Anna Clendening appeared on the scene, her music hit home with thousands—and very quickly, millions—of people. Granted, that moment came when she least expected it: One night about five years ago, at home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Clendening recorded a video of herself singing an acoustic version of “Gas Pedal,” the monster hit from Bay Area rapper Sage the Gemini, and casually posted it online. It quickly went viral, so she began making more videos and eventually garnered over 2.5 million followers online. Less than a year later, she snagged her first major television appearance: competing on America’s Got Talent. (Her audition also went viral: onstage, she bravely described overcoming crippling anxiety to appear that day, then wowed the judges with a chill-inducing rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on her acoustic guitar.)
