David Anthony Burke (born March 28, 2005), known professionally as D4vd, is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Houston, Texas, Burke began composing music in 2021 for his Fortnite gameplay montages. He first achieved commercial success with his 2022 singles "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me", both of which earned multiple platinum certifications. In 2023, he released the EPs Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals; the former charted in six territories.
David Anthony Burke (born March 28, 2005), known professionally as D4vd, is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Houston, Texas, Burke began composing music in 2021 for his Fortnite gameplay montages. He first achieved commercial success with his 2022 singles "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me", both of which earned multiple platinum certifications. In 2023, he released the EPs Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals; the former charted in six territories. In 2025, he released his debut studio album, Withered, which peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200.
In September 2025, police discovered the dismembered body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez inside a vehicle registered to Burke. Following her identification, his ongoing tour and a planned deluxe reissue of Withered were canceled. He was arrested on April 16, 2026, on suspicion of murdering Rivas and is being held without bail. On April 20, Burke was charged with first-degree murder of Rivas with special circumstances, lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14, and mutilating a body. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
David Anthony Burke was born on March 28, 2005, in Queens, New York City, the son of Colleen and Dawud Burke. His family later moved to Houston, Texas. After seventh grade, he was homeschooled. As a child, he played the piano, sang in a church choir, and listened exclusively to gospel music until age 13. He is a Christian, stating in an interview with Astrophe Magazine, "I get my personal power from God for sure. Heavy believer in the Christian faith."
Burke began his music career by uploading Fortnite gaming montages. To avoid copyright issues, he started creating original music that blended lo-fi pop, R&B, and indie rock. He released his music to SoundCloud, including songs such as "You and I", "Take Me to the Sun", and "Runaway". He chose the stage name "d4vd" partly to improve his search engine optimization. He released the single "Romantic Homicide" on July 20, 2022, following TikTok snippets of it going viral.
"Romantic Homicide" charted at No. 3 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart and appeared at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking his first entry on the chart. The music video, inspired by film noir, was nominated for Music Video (Independent) during the 14th Hollywood Music in Media Awards. After observing others reuse his music, he decided to keep making songs.
The song's success prompted Darkroom and Interscope Records to sign Burke in September 2022. First released on SoundCloud before "Romantic Homicide", Burke's next single, "Here with Me", was released to streaming platforms in September 2022. The song entered multiple charts after gaining traction on TikTok, most notably at No. 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top ten in Singapore. Most of these songs were produced using a freemium DAW called BandLab.
David Anthony Burke (born March 28, 2005), known professionally as D4vd, is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Houston, Texas, Burke began composing music in 2021 for his Fortnite gameplay montages. He first achieved commercial success with his 2022 singles "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me", both of which earned multiple platinum certifications. In 2023, he released the EPs Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals; the former charted in six territories.
David Anthony Burke (born March 28, 2005), known professionally as D4vd, is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Houston, Texas, Burke began composing music in 2021 for his Fortnite gameplay montages. He first achieved commercial success with his 2022 singles "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me", both of which earned multiple platinum certifications. In 2023, he released the EPs Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals; the former charted in six territories. In 2025, he released his debut studio album, Withered, which peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200.
In September 2025, police discovered the dismembered body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez inside a vehicle registered to Burke. Following her identification, his ongoing tour and a planned deluxe reissue of Withered were canceled. He was arrested on April 16, 2026, on suspicion of murdering Rivas and is being held without bail. On April 20, Burke was charged with first-degree murder of Rivas with special circumstances, lewd and lascivious acts with an individual under 14, and mutilating a body. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
David Anthony Burke was born on March 28, 2005, in Queens, New York City, the son of Colleen and Dawud Burke. His family later moved to Houston, Texas. After seventh grade, he was homeschooled. As a child, he played the piano, sang in a church choir, and listened exclusively to gospel music until age 13. He is a Christian, stating in an interview with Astrophe Magazine, "I get my personal power from God for sure. Heavy believer in the Christian faith."
Burke began his music career by uploading Fortnite gaming montages. To avoid copyright issues, he started creating original music that blended lo-fi pop, R&B, and indie rock. He released his music to SoundCloud, including songs such as "You and I", "Take Me to the Sun", and "Runaway". He chose the stage name "d4vd" partly to improve his search engine optimization. He released the single "Romantic Homicide" on July 20, 2022, following TikTok snippets of it going viral.
"Romantic Homicide" charted at No. 3 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart and appeared at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking his first entry on the chart. The music video, inspired by film noir, was nominated for Music Video (Independent) during the 14th Hollywood Music in Media Awards. After observing others reuse his music, he decided to keep making songs.
The song's success prompted Darkroom and Interscope Records to sign Burke in September 2022. First released on SoundCloud before "Romantic Homicide", Burke's next single, "Here with Me", was released to streaming platforms in September 2022. The song entered multiple charts after gaining traction on TikTok, most notably at No. 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top ten in Singapore. Most of these songs were produced using a freemium DAW called BandLab.
Burke released his debut EP, Petals to Thorns, through Darkroom and Interscope Records on May 26, 2023. His second EP, The Lost Petals, was released on September 8 as an extension of the former. "Here with Me", released in 2022, reached the top 40 in 2023.
In July 2023, he was featured on "Superbloodmoon", a single from Holly Humberstone's debut album. That same year, Burke performed as an opening act on SZA's SOS Tour.
On February 9, 2024, Burke released the two-pack single "Withering", which includes the tracks "Leave Her" and "2016". The release was characterized in music media as a double single, in line with the artist's established style. In March, Burke released the single "Feel It" for the soundtrack of Amazon Prime Video's television series Invincible. On December 19, 2024, he released the single "Where'd It Go Wrong?". He also performed "Remember Me", featured on the soundtrack for the second season of the steampunk action-adventure television series Arcane.
Homeschooled as a teen, Burke described living "vicariously" through his online friends, often referencing their experiences in his music. During a trip to the Fuji Rock festival, Burke cited anime as "one of my biggest influences", including series such as Dragon Ball Z. He has named SZA as a major influence on his work. He said that touring with her and building real-world connections allowed him to infuse more personal, "evolved" maturity into his work. Burke's singing voice has been described as a soft tenor with a vibrating falsetto.
Burke has spoken about an alter ego named Itami (or IT4MI). He described the persona as "the evil version of me" who "can manifest in different people, cause them to be chaotic, influence their bad decisions, and fuel their flame to do bad things," even suggesting Itami had written some of his songs.
Source: wikipedia
Burke released his debut EP, Petals to Thorns, through Darkroom and Interscope Records on May 26, 2023. His second EP, The Lost Petals, was released on September 8 as an extension of the former. "Here with Me", released in 2022, reached the top 40 in 2023.
In July 2023, he was featured on "Superbloodmoon", a single from Holly Humberstone's debut album. That same year, Burke performed as an opening act on SZA's SOS Tour.
On February 9, 2024, Burke released the two-pack single "Withering", which includes the tracks "Leave Her" and "2016". The release was characterized in music media as a double single, in line with the artist's established style. In March, Burke released the single "Feel It" for the soundtrack of Amazon Prime Video's television series Invincible. On December 19, 2024, he released the single "Where'd It Go Wrong?". He also performed "Remember Me", featured on the soundtrack for the second season of the steampunk action-adventure television series Arcane.
Homeschooled as a teen, Burke described living "vicariously" through his online friends, often referencing their experiences in his music. During a trip to the Fuji Rock festival, Burke cited anime as "one of my biggest influences", including series such as Dragon Ball Z. He has named SZA as a major influence on his work. He said that touring with her and building real-world connections allowed him to infuse more personal, "evolved" maturity into his work. Burke's singing voice has been described as a soft tenor with a vibrating falsetto.
Burke has spoken about an alter ego named Itami (or IT4MI). He described the persona as "the evil version of me" who "can manifest in different people, cause them to be chaotic, influence their bad decisions, and fuel their flame to do bad things," even suggesting Itami had written some of his songs.
Source: wikipedia