DALLAS — Ever since it was released in 2023, "Lil Boo Thang" became one of those songs you hear everywhere. From the grocery store, television shows, weddings, and yes, TikTok.
Paul Russell, the man who wrote and recorded it, was working in tech finance until just over a year ago. When his song took off, he quit his job and has since waltzed into a brand-new world, performing on American Idol, at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and for President Joe Biden.
Oh, and he's a North Texan!
"Even though I live in LA, I still feel like a Texan, a Dallas person," Paul told WFAA.
Paul is a proud product of Allen, and has fond memories of his time at Allen High School.
"I started a croquet club!" he laughed. "I did not know how to play croquet, but in my head that looked good on a resume."
He also had a very brief stint on the football team.
"I was on the B team, and I quit after like 2 months," he said.
But Paul thrived in band and loved going to concerts at the Nasher Sculpture Center where WFAA met him recently for an interview.
"I think being in settings like this, where people are playing a bunch of instruments and people are connected, that was a gateway for me into that kind of world."
And he sure has made his mark in "that world." WFAAsat down with Paul ahead of his hometown show at the Toyota Music Factory, on the last leg of his world tour opening for Meghan Trainor.
"Oh my God, this is way beyond anything we imagined," Paul's father, Paul Senior told WFAA.
"When he comes back and you see him on stage, it's like, that’s like that’s my son!"
Before Lil Boo Thang was released just last year, Paul was working a tech finance job. His dad said that was always in line with the plan, despite his son's musical talent.
"We never knew this is where it was going, he was at Cornell, we thought it was gonna be business."
"It kind of gives you goosebumps," Paul's mother, Shirley Russell added.
Back then Paul was still just making music on the side and posting snippets of his work to TikTok. He put down his phone to play mini golf one day, he said, and when he picked it back up, noticed the clip of Lil Boo Thang' was exploding.
He kept at his job until that clip earned him a record deal and then released the full song.
"I called [my bosses] and said, 'Hey guys, I think this might be life now!" Paul recalled.
WFAA tagged along as Paul took his parents to see his tour bus for the very first time. He also brought them backstage before his performance.
"I think the most fun thing about being a musician, for me, is that I get to bring the people I love along for things," Paul said. "[Being home is] really weird in the coolest way, I get on stage and here’s my English teacher I’m like, 'Oh my God!' It’s kind of crazy I love that aspect of it being home, I can kind of connect the dots of like my life and how it all connects."
And in North Texas, at home with his mom and dad, Paul said the dots connect most clearly.
"I never would have imagined I would post a song, a snipped of a song online, and a year later I’d be on tour and a full-time musician. It gives me a lot of hope that things can change at any moment. You never know what God can do."