Singer Hits 57M Views With ‘The Best’ Cover Of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ On YouTube

Singer Lanie Gardner built a large social-media audience through cover versions of well-known songs. Her performance of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” became the upload that introduced her to a much wider public. As of November 2024, the video had accumulated 57 million views, and its popularity led to opportunities involving management, a recording contract, touring and collaboration.

Born on July 18, 1999, Gardner is from Burnsville, North Carolina. Her father, Rodger, works as a businessman, while her mother is named Ashley. She grew up with three siblings: Austin, her brother, and her sisters Aleigha and Brook. Her interest in performing and music appears to have come partly from her grandfather, who also hoped to pursue music professionally. His name has not been made public, and it is unclear whether he fulfilled that ambition.

Gardner started singing when she was four years old. By the time she began sharing performances publicly, she had already spent more than a decade developing that ability. She expanded into songwriting at 12, creating material of her own while still young.

Her route into the industry came through the internet rather than the traditional process of playing local venues and preparing demos for record labels. In 2016, she began uploading covers to YouTube and TikTok, where scouts could encounter her work. Those early videos attracted sizable audiences, with each surpassing half a million views.

Her rendition of “Dreams” marked the decisive increase in attention. The video had been online for approximately a year when described in the source and had spread widely. Among the responses were comments comparing qualities in Gardner’s voice with those of Stevie Nicks, the Fleetwood Mac singer associated with the song.

Watch the full performance on page two