Communication major Will Biernat has become a social media sensation, reaching over 170,000 followers on Vine since April 2013.

“Last summer, Vine blew up for me,” Biernat said. “I came back from the X-Factor, which I had been doing for a little bit, and then I started posting six second covers of songs on (Vine) just for fun.”

Biernat had roughly 30,000 followers by the end of the summer, and, by October, he had reached 100,000 followers with his unique and alluring voice.

“It was really weird leaving the Twin Cities area and then coming back here while it was blowing up,” he said.

Biernat is now in the process of transitioning from Vine to YouTube.

“I use YouTube a lot more now, and that’s what I’m working on next,” Biernat said. “I’m working with some videographers in the Twin Cities and out in L.A. to try to increase that following. That’s what really gets you into the industry is if you’re big on all of your social media platforms, and I’m pretty well off on two — Vine and Instagram — but I need to raise some of the other ones.”

Biernat mainly does covers of songs but also writes his own music.

“I write a lot of my own music, and that’s what I’m actually going out to LA in June to do, is write my first extended play,” Biernat said.

While at UND, Biernat uses the Hughes Fine Arts Center and a friend’s house equipped with a piano to practice and make his videos

Although Biernat is only in his second year, he plans on graduating next year.

“I actually have a year left of school credits, so I’m sticking it out one more year to get my degree, and then I will be going out west when I graduate,” Biernat said.

Biernat plans on starting a career in music after he graduates from UND.

“I hope to get my foot in the door with a record label, I want to get signed which is hard to do,” he said. “I think that if I keep going in the direction that I am, I have an alright shot but there’s still a lot of obstacles. I have to write a good extended play and get in with the right people. If anything I’d like to be a writer for awhile, which is how a lot of people get in.”

Adele Kieger is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].