Who is David Kushner? The American TikTok singer-songwriter challenging for Number 1 with Daylight

For those beady eyed chart fans keeping an eye on the Official Chart First Look - which gives an exclusive glance at how the Official Singles Chart is shaping up at midweek mark - there might have been a bit of surprise yesterday. 

US singer-songwriter and TikTok savant David Kushner is currently on track to debut at Number 2 on the Official Singles Chart this week with his new single Daylight, putting him in direct competition with Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding for Number 1 this week, as well as helping him get one step closer to his first-ever UK Top 10 single in the process.

Daylight is a haunting, orchestral ballad carried by Kushner's deep, baritone vocals, which will certainly remind listeners of the likes of Bon Iver and especially Hozier, with whom Daylight could be considered a cousin to. 

But who, exactly, is David Kushner and how has he achieved this success? Let's find out!

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Who is David Kushner?

David Kusher is a 22 year-old American singer-songwriter, originally from the suburbs of Chicago but now based in Los Angeles. 

He first came to prominence last year on (where else) TikTok, where his song Miserable Man went viral (it currently has over 96 million global streams on Spotify), before following it up with an equally successful follow-up single, Mr Forgettable, and an EP, Footprints I Found. 

Kushner's music bridges the gap between forlorn folk music and orchestral, dark indie-pop, putting him comfortably among peers like The National and Gracie Abrams.

His defining feature in his songs up until this point has been his Christian faith, and how that affects his outlook on life, although he recently told Paper Magazine that "there’s beauty in the diversity. I don’t really get caught up with any scrutiny. I embrace my faith and write music that I think will speak to people."

What is Daylight by David Kushner about and why is it so successful?

Daylight is the first single of 2023 by David Kushner, taking from his forthcoming debut album, which will apparently be composed of 12 tracks overall. 

Just like previous singles Miserable Man and Mr Forgettable, Daylight went viral on TikTok upon release, having been coveted by his fans thanks to demo snippets posted across social media in the run-up to its release.

As for its success, we can put this down to a simple build in momentum with each subsequent release. Last year, Miserable Man became Kushner's first ever Top 40 single in the UK, peaking at Number 39, setting the solid foundations for Daylight's runaway success.

The song's meaning also helps it transcend to a wider audience, with the specifics of the song somewhat unclear. Kushner himself has said he wrote it as a tribute to "paradoxical desires" and biblical references, with the song "a realization of my own desires and the complexity of those desires. The desire for light, but always running towards the darkness instead of light."

Daylight is out now via Miserable Music/Virgin.

Article Image: David Kushner