in 2012, moran first garnered attention when auditioning for "the x factor" with the lmfao song "sexy and i know it" (2011) at age thirteen. moran received four votes from the judges, but was later eliminated during the "boot camp" stage. he was then chosen to be part of the live auditions held in san francisco. in early september 2013, moran released his debut major-label single entitled "someone". in early december 2013, moran released another single, entitled "the dark side" with much success and entered the "billboard" dance/electronic digital songs chart at #25. in june 2014, moran released a single titled "echo" and later another 3 singles titled "xiat" (pronounced "anxiety"), "now or never," and "slay" from his ep titled "xiat". on december 9, moran released his debut ep "xiat" charting at number 1 on us heat. in june 2015, moran released his single "i wanna fly."