Coronavirus: Pop star Janet Devlin to play online gigs for fans stuck at home

Musicians including John Legend, Coldplay, P!NK and Keith Urban have taken to social media to perform in a bid to spread positivity.

But singer-songwriter Janet, who shot to fame as a 2011 finalist on The X Factor, before recording her debut album Hide And Seek in Sheffield with producer Eliot Kennedy, is ahead of the curve.

For years she has been treating her fans to live shows on the streaming platform StageIt.

Now as entertainers also face uncertain times, with live music venues cancelling shows to stop the spread of the killer virus, she hopes fans will continue to support her by buying tickets and even giving tips.

They will be asked to give what the can to watch the shows, timed for Europe and American audiences, next Thursday, March 26 - at 8pm and 11:55pm (GMT). The first will be her 115th ticketed live concert.

BUY TICKETS: Virtual tickets are available at www.stageit.com/JanetDevlin

StageIt combines facets of ticketed gigging and busking by allowing viewers to purchase pay-what-you-can digital tickets to streamed concerts, whist also allowing for monetary digital ‘tips’ paid during performances.

This alternative stream of income has been hugely beneficial for independent artists like Janet, who not only see the online concerts as a way to get closer to and engage with fans, but also as a way to fiscally support their continued career.

Janet has proven this by using the funds raised from StageIt gigs to pay for recording sessions making her upcoming album Confessional, due out on May 1.

One of the most popular artists online, Janet regularly sells between 200-300 tickets per performance to her concerts, and since March 2014 has racked up over 1,750 followers.

Whilst the intended use of StageIt has been explored by Janet for over six years, a new unexpected turn in the global environment has prompted many to ask what can be done to minimise loss of revenue when artists are no longer able to tour due to mandatory social distancing.

Her made in Sheffield debut album was launched via PledgeMusic, also with the support of fans.

While living and recording in Sheffield, at the Steelworks Studio, she performed for free at The Star backed Women Of Steel Concert at Sheffield City Hall - helping to raise £62,000 towards a statue to honour the women who kept the steel mills going in two world wars.

Her most recent release is the single Away With The Fairies - listen here https://slinky.to/AwayWithTheFairies - a fairy-tale folk-pop song, following three dark, defiant releases leading up to her eagerly-anticipated studio album, Confessional, released May 1.

Away With The Fairies was produced by Jonathan Quarmby (Lewis Capaldi, Tom Walker, Benjamin Clementine) and written by Janet and multi-platinum songsmith Paul Statham (Dido, Kylie Minogue and Sophie Ellis-Bextor).

Forthcoming album Confessional, a collection of 12 sumptuous melodies, tells the extraordinary adventure of Janet’s journey from a shy and isolated teenager in Gortin, Northern Ireland to the mature, honest and distinctive artist that stands and sings proudly today.

Pre-order the album at slinky.to/JanetDevlin-Confessional

To coincide with the release, on the same day Janet will publish her autobiography, My Confessional, through Omnibus Press. Pre-order the book at omnibuspress.com.