Lindsey Stirling starts the rise to fame -- on her own terms

By Mary Kinney

Lindsey Stirling has been up to a lot since her days on "America's Got Talent." After appearing on the show, Stirling carried on through her elimination to become a huge hit on YouTube acquiring over 700 million views, and creating, producing and directing John Legend's "All of Me" music video. Her sophomore album "Shatter Me" released on April 29th and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top #200 charts via her own label, Lindseystomp Records. She has a huge social following with over 5 million YouTube subscribers.

Stirling essentially created a genre, combining violin with dance. What's more, she built up her brand without the help of a record label. She originally took the traditional route and tried to find a label, but Stirling was told over and over again that she was "too outside the box." She owes much of her success to YouTube: "I didn't have to wait for someone else to tell me, 'You're ready. Okay, you're good enough.'" Instead, she didn't have to change anything to fit a mold. Stirling says, "The beautiful thing about the way the world is today is that I think the new model is this kind of world of self-made artists."

After she was kicked off "America's Got Talent," Stirling was "heartbroken" and considered giving up. But instead, she used it as inspiration to get better at her work so that no one can criticize her for her lack of experience again.

Since then, she has done many collaborations, including, most famously, John Legend, whom Stirling describes as "so nice and very down to Earth." The violinist didn't know what to expect when working with such a major star, so she was extremely nervous taking on the responsibilities of producing and directing their video for 'All of Me.' His manager warned Stirling that Legend is so relaxed that he may not seem as excited as he really was.

You can watch the video for "All of Me" with John Legend below: