FEATURE: Ian Thomas wants to take over the world

What do you get when you combine pretty-boy charm, a knee-weakening accent and a suave pop sound to boot? Ian Thomas, that’s who. Just don’t let the face distract you – beneath the good looks, the European heartthrob is as ambitious and focused as ever.

We may have only just started to hear of Ian Thomas, but the singer has a loyal fanbase back in his native Belgium. Like so many emerging acts Thomas has YouTube to thank for kick-starting his career. Universal Music Group discovered him at age 14, after his cover of Justin Bieber’s Baby made waves around the Internet. Fast forward four years and Thomas has released three studio albums, achieved four Top 5 Singles on the Belgium charts, and has worked with the likes of US rapper Tyga, Snoop Dogg and NSYNC’s Lance Bass.

TMN chats to Thomas on the fourth day of his whirlwind Australian visit to promote his new single Cheers, featuring Tyga. Interestingly, Thomas left Universal three years ago, and the conversation quickly moves towards his self-appointed independence. When asked about the transition, Thomas is prepared with an answer: “Labels are struggling a little bit now with illegal downloading and all that…," he pauses. "I feel that the music business itself has to get used to the new way of how things are working."

The truth is, if you’re not the biggest artist in the world, you won’t be selling as much as you would 10 years ago. Growing up with a family immersed in the entertainment business, Thomas knows that the music business is tough for new artists. 

“The money’s not in the music anymore," he says. "The money’s in the touring and all that stuff – and if you go with the label, they will take a big percentage of all your touring and all your merchandise, when they actually cannot give that much back to you.”

As a part of the hip age demographic now dubbed ‘Generation C’, Thomas has figured out a new way of making it big without the help of a label. 

“I feel like labels used to do everything… But nowadays with social media, promotion-wise and all that stuff, you can do it yourself more than you were able to back in the day. It’s all about building your following, and if you have a following, you can do it on your own. You have to build that following of course, but once you have it, you’re good.”

With a combined following of more than 370,000 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Thomas is well on his way to accumulating a fandom. Thomas’s Australian publicist Karen Griffin has a detailed stratagem for building the Ian Thomas brand.

 “We’re looking at getting him out here for marketing initiatives, aligning him with a synch opportunity, getting him on a TV show or getting great performance opportunities. Touring is the ultimate goal,” she outlines.

Griffin goes on to tell a story of how a young fan travelled over 450km to meet Thomas that morning. While Griffin talks animatedly, Thomas has his head down and smiles, picking at a mandarin.

Thomas’ move to the US seven months ago was motivated by his career. Never mind finishing high school – in fact, his parents had even encouraged him to make the move. 

“I want to be able to tour all around the world with my music, and through that I want to inspire people and bring people together. Entertaining is my passion, and I feel like with this medium I can accomplish great things not only for myself, but also for the planet and human beings.”

Ian Thomas’ latest single, Cheers feat. Tyga , is now available to purchase via iTunes.