Daniel J

A SINGING sensation hailed as the next Justin Bieber could be about to emerge on to the music scene – and he lives in Cuffley!

Daniel J

Daniel Ling, or Daniel J to use his stage name, has had a whopping 132,000 hits in just two months on YouTube, where people log in to view his music videos.

He has also amassed more than 4,500 followers on Twitter.

The overnight sensation bears a striking resemblance to US superstar Bieber, not just in appearance, but also by his remarkable rise to fame.

Now 14-year-old Daniel hopes to land a record deal.

Daniel J

The former Goffs School student told the Potters Bar Edition: “I got a guitar for Christmas in 2010 and taught myself how to play through online videos on YouTube.

“Then I started to sing and it has all gone from there.”

Through the encouragement of his parents Maxine and John, his music career developed with Daniel now taking singing lessons at North London Music Centre, besides being home tutored.

He said: “The first videos I put on were just for friends and family but i started to get good comments from people all over the world.

“So I deleted that profile and made a more professional one and at the moment I have 27 videos uploaded.”

Among the videos on his YouTube channel ‘DanielJWorld’ are covers of hits from stars such as Peter Andre, Bruno Mars, Adele and, of course, Justin Bieber.

“One of my friends lives in Eastbourne and we shoot some videos down there,” Daniel continued.

“My video It Will Rain was shot there, or else we will just film videos locally.

“I used to put videos up every other day but now I just do it every Friday.”

In an age where internet sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter can make exposing talent easier, Cuffley crooner Daniel has proved a worldwide hit, with fans from places including Norway and as far away as Japan.

Mum Maxine said: “It looks like things could go further and Daniel wants to go all the way in the music industry.

“He gets fan mail from countries all over the world with people telling him they love him, and he’s also done a meet and greet in London by the London Eye.

“We was really surprised by the amount of people that turned up, and when officials at the London Eye told us to move on his fans were following him as he was walking along singing and playing his guitar.

“It was unbelievable.

“We hope to do another meet and greet soon in Trafalgar Square like One Direction have done recently.”

In demand Daniel has already been booked to perform at a girl’s birthday party later this year in Liverpool, with other girls even willing to pay just to speak to him for five minutes via Skype.

Like Daniel, Justin Bieber was just 14 when he was discovered on YouTube and signed up by a management company jointly run by another US superstar Usher.

He has gone on to have two number one US Billboard albums.

Maxine added: “We are talking to a couple of management companies and there is a chance for Daniel to go out to LA but we will just have to wait and see.

“It is his dream and he is good enough to go all the way.”