THE powerful American music manager who discovered Justin Bieber has declared Sheppard’s breakthrough single Geronimo a “No. 1 smash record” and will help launch the band in the US.

Sheppard’s manager, legendary Australian promoter Michael Chugg, confirmed today that Scooter Braun had contacted him immediately after hearing the song, keen to join Team Sheppard.

Braun, who unearthed Bieber on YouTube and has spearheaded the careers of Ariana Grande and Cody Simpson, championed the former Australian #1 song Geronimo on Instagram earlier this week.

“Sometimes you hear a song and on 1st listen you know it’s a smash No. 1 record. This is one of those things. So good #tune,” he posted.

And he isn’t the only music industry heavyweight flying the flag for the band worldwide.

The head of Universal Music, Lucien Grange, has commanded his global company to get behind Geronimo and is equally convinced the song could be the one of the biggest hits of the year.

It’s not a bad result for a fledgling independent band who struggled for more than six months to get local support for their debut single Let Me Down Easy.

That will now be the second single in the UK and America.

Chugg said having powerful hitmaker Braun on board would open many doors for the band.

“He is very influential and people respect his musical tastes. This is very special for the band,” he said.

Sheppard will perform at the APRA Awards in Brisbane on Monday night ahead as they gear up for their debut album release on July 11.

They will release Geronimo, which is now streaming on Spotify globally, in the rest of the world on July 14.

The breakthrough single spent three weeks at No. 1 in Australia and has sold more than 210,000 copies.

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