Critics say a new single by talented Harrogate singer/songwriter KiD RAiN could launch him into the big time

KiD RAiN, who started writing music when he was a 12-year-old student at Ripon Grammar School, has played to adoring crowds all over the country, from sell-out headline tours to supporting bands such as The Vamps.

Now he has signed a global publishing deal with Peermusic - the largest independent music publisher in the world - and recently released his new single, Half.

Known as Dan Reynard when he was at RGS, he also writes and produces for other artists, including pop singer Emily Roberts and viral TikTok star Liv Harland, and has worked with Little Mix, Years & Years, Lana Del Ray and Ed Sheeran songwriters.

Dan, from Harrogate, has already made an impressive mark on the UK music scene, having clocked up 250 million video views and 30 million streams, with songs which have been shared by media personalities like Khloe Kardashian.

Half, which he wrote and produced, was released in May and delves into the delicate balance between childhood and adulthood: “I often find myself questioning whether I’m truly a kid or a grown-up,” he explains.

“Half is a heartfelt anthem for those who find themselves caught in life’s limbo.”

When he first left RGS in 2014 after taking A-levels in history, economics, business studies and music technology, he was in a band, :PM, with some schoolmates and enjoyed touring all over the country.

He first went solo in 2020, going on to release ‘I hope you never fall in love again’ and ‘Accidentally in love', which gained strong chart positions at Spotify and Apple Music, and secured him a BBC Introducing Track of the Week.

The success of his first headline tour was encouraging, he said: "I was so certain we wouldn’t sell enough tickets and the venues would be mostly empty, but I was so blown away by how many people showed up.

"To go to places like Glasgow and see your name above the venue door and hear people sing songs you wrote in your bedroom was amazing. Surely they all have better things to do than watch an idiot dance around on stage? Apparently not."

He was thrilled at how ‘Accidentally in love’ and ‘I hope you never fall in love again’ went down: "They have gone on to be the biggest songs I’ve put out, and seeing the reaction to them was a feeling that is difficult to describe."

In addition to BBC radio presenter and DJ Jericho Keys declaring him 'King of TikTok', he has enjoyed lots of positive press, with tmrw magazine saying he is the “rising star you need to know” while Nickelodeon announced: “KiD RAiN is on his way up".

And now music industry insiders are predicting his new single ‘Half’ may just be the song which catapults him into the big time.