Malachi Gagnon’s videos usually feature him sitting on a couch while strumming a guitar. The first notes of his voice as he begins to sing, smooth and deep, offer an invitation into his living room. The tempo picks up and he loses himself in the music.

Gagnon didn’t always know he could sing. One day at age 12, he picked up a plastic guitar out of a mix of pandemic boredom and musical curiosity. Youtube videos provided useful guitar lessons, so he started practicing song covers for fun. Then, at a family talent show that year, Gagnon sang in front of other people for the first time. His family was shocked at his raw talent and immediately wanted to hear more.

“They were super encouraging,” Gagnon, now 17, said. “They said I could really do this and then were pushing on it so I said, ‘Alright, I’ll go after music.’”

Singing for his family was one thing, but releasing music onto the internet brought his voice to more people than he could have imagined. Gagnon videoed himself singing covers and then posted them to social media. He amassed fans over time and now has over 81.7K followers and 321.2K likes on TikTok. Before long, people began asking him to write his own songs, so he gave it a shot.

“I want to do music forever,” Gagnon said. “The dream is for it to become the thing I can do to support myself. It’s also a hobby that has the added benefit of being a career.”

Though he grew up in Dover, Gagnon moved to Florida with his family for five years and only recently returned to live in his home state. While in Florida, his family connected him with a producer and he began recording music.

From the moment they heard him sing, Gagnon’s parents sought to help their son foster his talents in any way they could.

“We saw he had this gift and it was really different and that he had the potential to become greater,” his mom, Jennifer Gagnon, said. ‘We wanted him to have all the possible resources to continue this journey. He has such desire and a true passion for it.”

His first song, ”Craving Me” came out in 2022. To date, he has released 10 singles, with another on the way in September. He even co-wrote three of his songs in Nashville with veteran musicians Phil Mosely, Brandon Hartt, and David Ray Stevens. Since throwing himself into music, the teenager has amassed over 4.5 million streams on Spotify.

His songs are often deeply personal, based on lived experience and processing emotions.

“A lot of my songs are stories loosely based on relationships I’ve had,” he said. “Some are based on how I feel in the moment. Putting it out there for people to see can be tough because I’ve written a couple pretty raw songs, but it’s who I am. Being able to express that is important. Social media and releasing music and writing in general is really important for that.”

Now a resident of Hooksett, Gagnon just began his senior year at Concord Christian Academy. He balances his burgeoning career with doing homework, playing golf, and spending time with friends. He plans to study business at Liberty University in Virginia after high school graduation and keep working on his music. Until then, Gagnon intends to soak up the greenery of New Hampshire and let it shape his songs, which he often writes in the sanctity of his bedroom late at night.

Country, folk, indie, and pop music all influence Gagnon’s style. He said he’s still finding his sound and trying out whatever feels right to him at the moment.

“It’s very freeing,” he said. “There’s a lot you can do with sound and just see how you feel.”

He lists Noah Kahan, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Shawn Mendes, and The Lumineers as his influences. Gagnon also draws inspiration from the worship music he listened to and sang growing up and tries to bridge it with the country roots he holds close.

“I was able to play in church bands and I find that church musicians are some of the greatest musicians of all time,” he said. “They have such a passion for what they do, and it’s really special. Listening to some of that music, you can hear it’s driven by drums at the end, and I’ve realized I do the same thing.”

Like many teenagers, viral or not, Gagnon tries to navigate social media without letting the negativity get to him. He explained that over time he has learned to brush off the haters and embrace only the positive comments.

“I’m pretty confident in who I am,” he said. “So even having people say bad things, it’s like, ‘You don’t know who I am. You just heard me sing on the internet.’”

He dreams of one day playing the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, where he attended his first concert. Then, with a sheepish smile, Gagnon added that he would love to tag-team TD Garden and play back-to-back with the Celtics.

“That’s kind of my biggest dream,” he said.

Gagnon cites his family as his biggest fans and largest sources of support.

“I’m extremely proud of who he is and how he carries himself,” his mom, Jennifer Gagnon, said. “It makes me very emotional because I’m just so proud.”

Sometimes he listens to his past songs and reflects on his music journey thus far.

“Being able to grow with my music is pretty cool to see,” he said. “I listen to a song and I can remember being in that moment and in that season. It’s like a public diary.”

To learn more about Malachi Gagnon and his music, follow him on Instagram and TikTok under @malachigagnonmusic

Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com.