BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Dariell Cano is a quiet student around the halls of Byron Center High School, but his passion for music speaks loudly.

On Spotify, Cano’s music reaches more than 100,000 listeners every month. One song has been streamed over 1 million times. He said learned to play guitar by watching YouTube videos.

One of his biggest advocates is his art teacher, Miss Vanderlaan. She teaches a class called The Art Community in which students are allowed to work on whatever projects they want. Cano uses that time to play and record his music. He said Miss Vanderlaan has encouraged him to follow his passion.

“It takes time. For me, it definitely took time to get where I’m at right now. It took me about four years and there’s still so much time ahead of me. So it’s all about time and patience because it doesn’t just happen overnight,” Cano said. “I would definitely encourage people to follow their passions and definitely stick to it.”

He intends to take a gap year after finishing high school. He is already signed to a record label and hopes to travel and go on tour with other musicians.