Career-wise, he certainly was. The Nepal-born, Calgary-raised musician was enjoying international success that had arrived in a flash-flood thanks to a song called Stunnin’, which became an instant hit on TikTok and turned him into an overnight sensation. Rolling Stone did an article on him, as did the Nepali Times. He was soon navigating what Rolling Stone called the “major-label feeding frenzy that follows any song surging on streaming platforms.
“I felt like I shot up heroin when all that happened,” he adds. “You get so much attention and praise. Growing up, I didn’t really feel like I belonged or was appreciated in any way. I think when all of that happened, there was that feeling of ‘Oh, I’m not a loser anymore. I’m not a nobody. People are proud of me.’ But it’s not sustainable and you can’t rely on external factors like that. You have to find peace from within.
The Commonwealth show is the first time Waters has played Calgary since he left with his family at the age of 17 for North Carolina. He played “random, little shows” when he was a student at Sir Winston Churchill High School but hasn’t performed in the city since his success. Born Abhi Bastakoti in Kathmandu, Waters was only four when his family relocated to Germany.
Who? No really. Who