The success that New Iberia native Justin Champagne has seen as a musical performer is something he never expected, but with thousands of views on the internet and shows played around the state Champagne said he is grateful for his continued success.

With hits like “When I Pull Up,” “Backroads” and “Number to Heaven,” Champagne has seen millions of view on his Youtube channel and other social media apps have only added to his career. He currently boasts 100,000 Youtube subscribers and 14 million views on one of his top songs.

Although his music has spread all over the country thanks to the internet, Champagne said his roots are important to his music and artistry.

How did you get into music?

Growing up I was always doing music. I played in band my whole life but when I went to NISH I stopped. I started clowning and rapping with friends and then did a remix to “Flossin” by Mike Jones and kind of made it about my dad. They thought it was kind of cool so I did another one about a female and started doing different genres.

When I started doing rap and pop I did a song with Kevin Gates in 2013. In 2016, I did my first country pop record called “Sun Goes Down” and it went to a million views.

I thought I found my line, but a friend convinced me to do Tik Tok, and I did a song called “When I Pull Up.” At first, I was going to make the song say “When I pull up in my Ford” because I was driving a Ford, but I changed it to “When I pull up in my whip,” and that was probably one of the best decisions I made in my whole career. Almost 200,000 people on TikTok made a video to it, it blew up and changed my life and now we’re here.

How have your friends and family reacted to your career back home?

I moved to Youngsville three or four years ago, so I didn’t come to New Iberia much. I’m back home now, and when I go to Wal-Mart people ask me to take pictures. When I’m at a bar it happens all the time.

There’s also the haters, some people are so judgemental that you can’t really win. But there’s been more love than hate. It’s always something, you’ve just got to stay focused.

You feature New Iberia in a lot of your videos, is that important to you?

It’s my hometown, it’s where I grew up. I was born here but my first years were in St. Martinville. When my dad passed, I grew up here. It’s my stomping grounds, from the fais do dos to the fairs to the gumbo cookoff.

I have Main Street in my videos, it’s a nice historic Main Street. It looks good for videos and I want people to see where I’m at. My dream is to get a key to the city.

Anything coming up people should be know about?

I definitely have a lot coming. I have a few songs coming soon, you can follow my Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, to stay up to date.

Age: 30

Hometown: New Iberia

Graduated New Iberia Senior High, 2009

Parents: Judy Nowlin and Kenneth Champagne

Social Media: Champagne can be followed on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok