How TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Helped Cast Oscar-Nominated Short Film ‘The Singers’
When filmmaker Sam A. Davis first read the 19th-century short story that inspired The Singers, he wasn’t immediately captivated. In fact, he admits he kept nodding off. The story, set over the course of a quiet night inside a rural pub, unfolds slowly, almost deliberately lulling the reader into stillness. But by the time Davis reached its final emotional turn, he realized something: the writer had intentionally disarmed him. The subdued pacing made the eventual moment of communal connection land harder.
That realization lingered.
Moments later, as he scrolled through Instagram, a video surfaced on his feed: a man named Mike Young singing “Unchained Melody.” The performance was unpolished and intimate, filmed casually, but emotionally charged. The contrast between the centuries-old Russian setting of the short story and the modern-day viral clip sparked an idea. Davis began imagining a contemporary retelling of The Singers built around real, everyday vocalists, not trained actors.
Rather than casting through agencies or open calls, Davis and casting director Natalie Lin turned to social media. TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram became their primary tools. The goal was specific: find singers who had built modest followings online but hadn’t broken into the commercial music industry. Davis wanted performers who carried emotional weight in their voices.
The search was extensive. Davis describes spending weeks scrolling through videos, refining search terms, and allowing the platforms’ algorithms to recalibrate around his interests. Phrases like “small town karaoke legend” and “unexpected voice” became starting points. Over time, his feeds began surfacing singers from across the country and beyond, people with compelling stage presence but limited exposure outside their niche audiences.
Reaching them wasn’t simple. Direct messages often went unanswered. Comments were left in hopes of sparking conversations. Davis says there were moments when it felt like pleading for a reply. Many of the eventual cast members were unfamiliar with him or skeptical of the project at first. Building trust took time.
With a background in documentary filmmaking, Davis understood that authenticity would be central to the film’s success. The ensemble he assembled, including Mike Young, Chris Smither, Will Harrington, Judah Kelly, and Matt Corcoran, weren’t traditional actors. They were musicians with lived experiences that informed their performances.
As production approached, Davis briefly worried about Young. The viral “Unchained Melody” clip had been powerful, but there was a question in the back of his mind: what if that moment had been singular? What if it couldn’t be replicated under the pressure of a film set?
During discussions about shaping Young’s role, Davis floated the idea of giving the character a backstory involving personal loss, a narrative reason for the emotional intensity behind the song. Young then shared that he had recently lost his wife.
That moment became central to the emotional core of The Singers. It blurred the boundary between narrative storytelling and documentary instinct, reinforcing Davis’s approach to casting. These weren’t actors performing vulnerability. They were individuals bringing their own histories to the screen.
The project reflects a larger shift within the industry. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have increasingly become discovery spaces, not only for record labels but also for film producers looking beyond traditional pipelines. While open casting calls and agency submissions remain standard practice, social media offers access to performers who might otherwise remain outside industry circles.
The experiment worked. The Singers earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film, which is now streaming on Netflix.
