She first received recognition for her work on YouTube, rising to fame for creating skits and song covers, and for her appearances in the Fine Brothers web series Kids React (2010–2011).

Johnson's YouTube account was created in 2007, with videos uploaded by her mother which featured her performances at talent shows,[3] and church recitals.

[4] After two years, Johnson began to control the output of the channel, creating content that has come to include personal commentary, sketch comedy, and musical performances.

In the aftermath of the initial series episodes, she was surprised by the phenomenon of strangers knowing her and approaching her as fans, and remarked "I think Kids React was my very first viral video, 'cus everyone knew my name after that.

[8] In 2015, she covered the single "Latch" by Disclosure, singing with Alejandro Luis Manzano of Boyce Avenue, and released it on YouTube.

[10] The following month she released her first single produced by Howard Benson through Capitol Records titled "DNA"[11] which surpassed 1 million Spotify streams.

Starting mid November 2019, Lia teased a new project on her Instagram page, with one promotional photo being posted every day.

In the first half of 2021, Johnson began posting personal videos and covers on her YouTube channel again after four years of inactivity.

Steve Wetherbee's social media profiles have since been deactivated and Johnson's personal YouTube account saw a hiatus for two years after the incident.

[14] In a video released on January 4, 2023, Johnson discussed repeated abuse she suffered and confirmed her producer at the time was taking advantage of her in the Instagram Live incident.