It just takes a few seconds to fall in love with singer-songwriter and guitarist Francis Karel. Just watch at any of his innumerable Omegle reaction videos, in which he uses nothing but his seductive voice and soulful guitar to move unsuspecting strangers to tears. Karel’s jaw-dropping, spontaneous performances, which he recorded at home, have gone viral, garnering him over 2.2 million TikTok followers and over 26 million likes. On Instagram, @franciskarel has over 847 thousand followers, many of whom are high-profile admirers like Benny Blanco, Zedd, Meghan Trainor, and Bebe Rexha. While his social media sites serve as an excellent introduction, they only scratch the surface of this young prolific artist’s extraordinary abilities.

Karel was born and raised in Jakarta, and his unlikely journey to fame began while working backstage at an Indonesian music festival, where he met a top record executive in a friendly meet-cute. Before he knew it, Karel was saying goodbye to everyone and everything he had ever known as he flew halfway around the world on a terrifying but exhilarating journey toward a new life in America. Karel, who is now located in Los Angeles full-time, is poised to expand on his viral popularity with his debut studio recordings, which evoke Bruno Mars and BTS, as well as Ed Sheeran and Jon Bellion while showcasing both his amazing vocal skill and charming appeal.