Meet Bronson Diamond, The Unknown Aussie Singer 'Having A Go' And Taking TikTok By Storm

Bronson Diamond didn’t expect to become a country music sensation with Stay In Your Lane.

A duet recorded with his partner, independent artist Greta Stanley, Diamond quietly uploaded the track to YouTube and streaming services back in September. The song has since gone viral on TikTok, gaining significant traction overseas to the point where overseas record labels are chasing him.

Since Stay In Your Lane was released, Bronson Diamond and Greta Stanley ended up appearing on mega Spotify playlists, hitting #1 on the US Viral Chart and gaining huge numbers in the UK, Norway, Ireland, and Sweden—all before charting in his home country of Australia.

Diamond, a barber in the regional town of Mena Creek in Queensland, wasn’t prepared to take the music world by storm.

He doesn’t have an established social media presence or orchestrated marketing plan; he’s gotten this far on a great song – proof that word of mouth can still create a star, even if said word of mouth looks different to the cassette-sharing of old. It has become sending a song viral on social media.

Between his day job as a barber and the lack of internet access in Mena Creek, Diamond sometimes heads to his local pub and connects to Wi-Fi – something he didn’t need to do before catching up with Countrytown. “I think this is actually my first official interview,” he smiles, “so thanks for doing it with me!”

Diamond, an old soul who connects with his clientele, says, “I don't know why, but barbering and music seem to go hand in hand [laughs]. Maybe we just talk about music a lot. We have the music going all day long and try to have a big variety in the shop to please everyone, to a degree.

“Having those communities and conversations about music, you get a lot of great tips from old fellas, especially with old Australian country music,” he continues. “Old trades, old music. It does work.”

Diamond admits that the unprecedented success of Stay In Your Lane has led to “mixed emotions because it feels so accidental.” He was just looking to have fun, and what better way to do that than to share a song with your partner?

“I play in her [Greta’s] band, so I get a lot of my music fix through supporting her,” he says. Just for fun, the goal behind Stay In Your Lane was to create an “old country duet,” as it’s the kind of music he enjoys.

“And, you know, [it went from] literally just a bedroom demo to a quick session in the studio, and then a couple of months later, it's worldwide. It's really intimidating for me, but it’s super cool.”

@gretastanleymusic

Heard this song on @brownhatt page, thought we’d give it a crack 😉 #countrymusic #duet #countrywestern #countryduet #stayinyourlane #iwroteasong

♬ Stay in Your Lane - Bronson Diamond & Greta Stanley

Detailing his lack of marketing in releasing the single, Diamond shares that he didn’t even send the song to anyone in the industry. “Luckily, Greta is a bit better than me at letting people know, and I guess, marketing,” he laughs. “I was super stoked when it was getting a few hundred listens a day, and then TikTok took it, and, yeah, it’s pretty amazing what that can do.”

But becoming a somewhat overnight sensation has its drawbacks, especially for a private person like Diamond, who found all the sudden attention “intimidating”.

“I don't usually post too much or use much social media,” he shares. But his email inbox filled up, too. “A lot of record companies from all around the world [including] major labels [have been] making contact. It intimidated me a bit at the start. I literally said to Greta, ‘No way, I'm not doing it’.”

Diamond ended up purchasing a Nokia flip phone, adamant about ditching social media for good. “I couldn’t keep up with it,” he says. That mindset didn’t last too long.

“I had to think about it and realised how cool the experience is and how lucky I actually am to have a song that essentially went viral,” Diamond says. “I'm grabbing it now; I'm enjoying it now.”

Stay In Your Lane feels like an old-school country song, with Diamond and Stanley sharing and exchanging vocals and a unique descending guitar solo at the end. Perhaps it feels so genuine because it is and because it came from a place special to Diamond.

“I'm a big fan of John Prine and artists like that who have really wholesome, honest lyrics,” Diamond says. Citing the John Prine classic In Spite Of Ourselves and the humour inherent to the song, he adds, “It's been one of my favourite songs since I was a kid, and I just wanted to write a song that Greta and I could sing at a party or something, and people could have a giggle.”

A viral classic born out of self-mockery; who could have thought? Diamond laughs, “I essentially went into it to take the mickey out of myself. And for whatever reason, people really relate to it, which is great. But yeah, I love old-style country western songs, and I've always loved Greta’s country voice.”

Diamond is elated yet stunned by some of the comparisons he and Greta have received from viewers on TikTok. “People seem to have a nostalgic feeling with the song,” he starts. “A lot of people ask us who the original singers were, [and there’s] a lot of Johnny Cash and June Carter referencing, which is an awesome compliment. I have a giggle sometimes because Greta is clearly the really great singer, and I'm just having a go.”

However, part of Diamond’s country music journey was born out of necessity. Previously a member of the Brisbane pub rock outfit Surfin’ Bird and Cairns rock band The Medics, he tells Countrytown that he had to change his singing style and now suits country more than hard rock.

“It's by design,” Diamond says of his singing. I couldn't sing the old high notes in the rock bands that I used to be in, so I went back to the old country singing. I’ve always had a soft spot for country, so I’m glad I ended up here.”

As for what Diamond’s future holds following Stay In Your Lane, he’s ready to give country music a red-hot go.

“I think I'll always have hands on the scissors in the barbershop, even if it's just to ground me,” he admits. “But yeah, I am going to have a crack at the country music thing. Out of all the genres I'm into, it's probably the most grounded one where the end goal is a house with a couple of acres in the country.”

Fans of Stay In Your Lane can look forward to hearing new music from Bronson Diamond sooner rather than later. “I’ll be chipping away at a few more songs,” he says, “We were lucky enough to record with the great Mark Myers from the band The Middle East.

“He's actually been away on tour with Zach Bryan. He gets back in a couple of weeks, and I'm going to slip into the studio and try and make a couple more songs, which hopefully we get done. I'm sure I'll be too excited asking, how has the Zach Bryan tour been going? [Laughs] But as long as we can get a song, that'd be cool. Stay tuned, I guess!”

Stay In Your Lane is out now.