Derik John Baker, better known as Virginia To Vegas, is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his gold and platinum-certified singles, "We Are Stars", "Lights Out", "Selfish", "Just Friends" and "Betterman", released through Wax Records and Ultra Records.
Early life and education Although Derik John Baker was born in the Richmond, Virginia, United States, he was raised in Guelph and Toronto, in Ontario, Canada, as well as Charleston in West Virginia, United States.
He attended high school at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute and Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School. After high school, Derik attended Sheridan College for studies in travel and tourism.
Career 2013–2014: Career beginnings and Vol. I Virginia To Vegas was signed to an independent full service 100% Canadian music company Wax Records in July 2013, after label executive, Jamie Appleby, discovered him on YouTube. The first single "We Are Stars" was released on January 7, 2014, and entered the Canadian Singles Top 100 chart at 94 on week 5, February 1, 2014, peaked at 14 and stayed for one week. On November 10, 2014, Virginia to Vegas released his debut EP Vol. I, which contains six songs including his Platinum-certified debut single "We Are Stars".
2015–2016: Utopian Virginia to Vegas released a new single, "Our Story", on May 4, 2015. On September 2, 2016, he released a new single, "Lights Out", which samples Rockwell's 1984 single, "Somebody's Watching Me". That fall, he announced that his debut studio album would be released by the end of 2016. Utopian was released on December 2, 2016 and features all four of his singles released through that date. This was when he first got signed to a U.S record company of Ultra Records.
2017–2019: Hartland St. On February 24, 2017, Virginia To Vegas released a new single called "Selfish". On November 8, he released another single called "Emotions". His next single "Yesterday" was released on October 12, 2018. Finally, he released "Just Friends" on May 24, 2019. All these songs are featured on his second EP Hartland St., alongside two other songs, which was released on June 14, 2019. Hartland Street is the name of the actual street he lives on in real life. This was when he moved to, was living in, and was leaving Los Angeles at a time.
2020–2022: A Constant State of Improvement and Don't Wake Me, I'm Dreaming Only months after the release of Hartland St., Virginia To Vegas released the single "Betterman" on February 14, 2020, followed by a five-song EP titled A Constant State of Improvement on February 28, 2020, which includes the song "Betterman". On October 30, 2020, he released another EP on September 18 titled, Don't Wake Me, I'm Dreaming, which includes the lead single "Palm Springs (The Way You Made Me Feel)" along with five other songs. In September 2021, he collaborated with MacKenzie Porter on the single "This Sucks.".
Discography
Studio albums Title Album details UtopianReleased: December 2, 2016 Label: Wax Format: CD, digital download Life Gets Interesting...Released: February 17, 2023 Label: Wax Format: CD, digital download
Compilation albums Title Album details The Greatest HitsReleased: March 8, 2024 Label: Wax Format: CD, digital download
Extended plays Title EP details Vol. IReleased: November 10, 2014 Label: Wax Format: Digital download Hartland St.Released: June 14, 2019 Label: Wax Format: Digital download A Constant State of ImprovementReleased: February 28, 2020 Label: Wax Format: Digital download Don't Wake Me, I'm DreamingReleased: October 30, 2020 Label: Wax Format: Digital download It's a Little Complicated, But I'm Okay.Released: February 4, 2022 Label: Wax Format: Digital download An Examination of It AllReleased: November 7, 2025 Label: Wax Format: Digital download
Compilation extended plays Title EP details L.A. in the Rear ViewReleased: February 14, 2021 Label: Wax, Universal Music Group Format: Digital download Remember That Time WeReleased: May 20, 2022 Label: Wax, FP Format: Digital download
Singles As lead artist Single Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album CAN "No Excuses": "Daydreaming": CANAC "No Excuses": "Daydreaming": CAN CHR "This Sucks.": "No Excuses": "Daydreaming": "Million Ways": CANHot AC "This Sucks.": "No Excuses": "Daydreaming": "We Are Stars" 2014 14 13 11 14 MC: Platinum Utopian "Don't Fight the Music" 97 30 33 36 "Our Story" 2015 — — 47 32 "Lights Out" 2016 40 12 10 14 MC: Platinum "Selfish" 2017 72 11 9 12 MC: Platinum Hartland St. "Emotions" — — 34 39 "Yesterday" 2018 — — 30 — "Just Friends" 2019 50 5 8 3 MC: Platinum "Betterman" 2020 48 8 15 6 MC: Gold A Constant State of Improvement "Palm Springs (The Way You Made Me Feel)" — — 27 41 Don't Wake Me, I'm Dreaming "Malibu" 2021 — — 24 29 Remember That Time We "This Sucks." — — 26 42 "No Excuses" 2022 61 7 12 11 Life Gets Interesting... "Daydreaming" 99 14 20 29 rowspan=2 "Last Christmas" 2023 — — — — "Time!" 2024 — — 10 10 The Greatest Hits "More Often Than Not" — — — — "Heaven Tonight" 2025 — — — — An Examination of It All "Arizona Iced Tea" — — — — "Last Night" — — — — "Million Ways" — — 25 — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
As featured artist Single Year Peak chart positions Album CAN CANAC CAN CHR CANHot AC "Just as Much" 2021 71 15 11 21 Somewhere Else
Promotional singles Single Year Album "Colourful" 2014 Vol. I "Amnesia" 2021 Life Gets Interesting... "You Don't Know" 2022 "Break Up with That Guy."
Awards Virginia to Vegas performed at the 2014 Canadian Radio Music Awards where he was nominated for the Heartseeker Award. His radio success with his first three singles "We Are Stars", "Don't Fight the Music", and "Our Story" contributed to him being nominated for Pop Artist or Group of the Year at the 2015 SiriusXM Indie Awards.
"We Are Stars", "Lights Out" and "Selfish" all earned Virginia to Vegas Socan awards for pop recordings of the year.
In 2015 Virginia to Vegas was awarded at the Canadian Radio Music Awards for the Factor Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
He received a Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018."Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, February 6, 2018.
References
External links Billboard Artist Page