If you are trans, like pop punk or are simply online more than just once in a while, chances are you’ve heard of NOAHFINNCE – the stage name of singer-songwriter and YouTuber Noah Finn Adams.
He describes himself as having an “insane footprint on the internet”, which served as the inspiration for his first album, the aptly titled Growing Up on the Internet.
“There’s a lot I haven’t processed about the fact that I have grown up in front of hundreds of thousands of people since I was 15,” Noah, who has just finishing touring with the rock band, Enter Shikari, said.
“That’s what this album was predominantly about, trying to process the fact of having that many people in front of you, telling you who you should be, who you shouldn’t be, what they like about you, what they don’t like about you.
“You internalise that even if you don’t realise you’re doing it, so this album is unpacking that.”
During the almost 10 years he has been posting content on YouTube, Noah has amassed a huge following, starting from when he sang cover versions, then moving on to vlogging.
He has also used YouTube to share his transition journey, updating people on how his voice changed, and he continues to make trans and LGBTQ+-focused content, with each of his videos regularly getting more than 100,000 views.
However, there are also a lot of people who have never watched a single video of his, instead knowing him solely from his music. His first EP, Stuff From My Brain, was released in 2021 and was followed by 2022’s My Brain After Therapy.
“I still don’t think I’ve nailed it or figured out how to mix the [music and videos],” he tells PinkNews. “It’s definitely hard to mix but I don’t see a reason why they can’t co-exist because they are both based around me.
“My job is to sell myself, which is terrifying. But it’s different with music and it’s different with YouTube.
“My music is just me, so people who like the YouTube videos, if they like me and they like pop punk, punk, rock, any of that stuff, I think they’d like the music too.”
Chatting with Noah is much like watching one of his videos. He is relaxed and open, his arm casually hooked around his knee as he leans on an office chair and talks about his music, mental health, transphobia and his autism diagnosis – all of which feature as topics on the new album.
He is as happy to talk about the artists he would love to tour with – Yungblud, McFly and Waterparks – as he is about his favourite meme (“I love you b**ch, I ain’t never gonna stop loving you b**ch) and even a story about a transphobe in a Reddit forum who decided his stage name came about because he “ships Noah Schnapp and Finn Wolfhard [who play Will Byers and Mike Wheeler respectively in] Stranger Things… perhaps you are a secret Blyer fan”.
Bemused by the theory, Noah replied: “You’re so angry and upset at me for something that I haven’t done, that you’ve fully imagined yourself.”
Noah is one of the most conversational and friendly people I’ve interviewed and perhaps it’s this that has made him connect so deeply with audiences from all over the world – most notably, transgender people.
While he did not set out to be a trans influencer and role model, particularly for trans youth, the responsibility is not lost on him. After he came out and began to transition, he wanted to talk about his experiences on a public platform because he felt there weren’t many people doing so.
“I felt I had a duty to let people know things because I had a difficult time going through the medical system and coming out, if it was cathartic for me and helpful for other people. I definitely feel the responsibility to do that now, more so after touring and actually meeting the people who have engaged with my content or my music.
“It was hard in the beginning, when I live my life entirely on the internet, not to see the 100,000 views as just, like, views.
“A big thing I remember is my first show in the US was in Texas and I met so many trans kids there and they told me all about their experiences. A kid came up to me and was like: ‘I have been watching every single video that you post, every single week, for five years’.
“That [changed] my mind set entirely because I definitely have a responsibility to not just think about what I say but think about how I say it.”
It is not just the kids though. Noah’s DMs are full of parents asking for advice on how they can support their children, with some telling him at his shows that he is the reason their child is still alive. While that is obviously rewarding, and he is “glad I can be that person for somebody”, it isn’t easy and he does feel the pressure.
“I didn’t have any trans role models before I came out. The way I looked at my life was like: ‘OK, I’ll finish school and I’ll come out, but I can’t see a future because I don’t I don’t have anybody to look up to’.”
For him, Growing Up on the Internet feels like an album where he is coming into his own and “understanding what I want to sound like, what I want to talk about, the vibes I want to give off”, adding: “I’m really proud of it. I’m very bad at being proud of myself. But I’m like: ‘This is some good s**t’.
“I’m way more confident than I was when I first started making music. It’s been a long time coming.”
Growing Up on the Internet is available to buy and stream now.