She released her debut extended play, The Kids Are Coming, on 30 August 2019; it peaked at number three in Australia, and top 10 in several countries.

[4][5][6] She later explained how she chose a music career: "One day I was at the park with my family, all my cousins and stuff, in Frankston ... We were all just singing a song and my aunty was like 'oh guys, she can actually hold a note'.

"[10] She explained her shift to a solo career: "I actually got made redundant from my retail job and with that money I bought an RC300 [loop station] and just started to try to figure it all out.

"[7] She busked "up and down the east coast with her synthesizers and loop pedal, she has been building a loyal fanbase and captivating crowds with her genre-diverse style.

The artist spent 2018 living between Walkden-Brown's home in the Gold Coast hinterland and in her van in Byron Bay, writing music and busking full time.

[8][15][16] In the same month she uploaded her debut single, "Johnny Run Away", to Australian national youth radio station Triple J's website, Unearthed, which publishes the music of unsigned artists.

[7][20] Natalie O'Driscoll of Blank Gold Coast described the track, "a melodic slice of Nordic-inspired electro-pop that tells a very important story.

"[11] Craig Mathieson of The Age felt, "It's pop writ large – catchy yet familiar, slightly ludicrous yet genuinely affecting.

"[22] It reached number one on the official music charts of over 30 countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

[27] This surpasses the achievement of Bing Crosby's number-one hit "White Christmas", which spent 5 months (equivalent to 22 weeks) at the top during 1943.

[39][40] Riff Magazine's Rachel Goodman caught her performance in San Francisco in mid-month, "[she] brought a palpable energy to the stage, which concertgoers enthusiastically reciprocated... [and] spoke about busking every day on the streets of Byron Bay in Australia and how she learned to communicate with audiences—and quickly capture people's attention.

[42][43] Likewise the artist curtailed her European performances, "I must cut short the rest of my first tour over here, as the majority of the remaining shows have already been cancelled due to government policy and I do not want to subject anyone to making a choice between coming to see me and their health.

[47][48] Also in the same month the artist appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone (Australia) and was interviewed by its managing editor, Poppy Reid.

[49][50] Reid had seen her at the Laneway Festival in February, "there's a manic energy and excitement surrounding her at all times... [she] offers a new blueprint for future generations... the possibility of a global career built out of regional Australia, sans a major label... and without a stack of co-writers.

"[57] The singer's next single, "Fly Away", appeared in mid-November and its first live performance occurred on 24 November at the Newcastle Civic Theatre.

[58] The single achieved moderate global success, peaking at 4 in Australia, 10 in Ireland, 11 in the UK and Denmark, and top 40 in several European countries.

For the 2020 ARIA Music Awards she received three further nominations and joined an all-female ensemble for a tribute performance of "I Am Woman" in honour of Helen Reddy (1941–2020).

[63] D'Souza expanded, "the vast majority of the record deals with Watson’s struggle with mental health issues as well as the cruelty of her haters, both online and in real life.

"[63] Martin Boulton of The Sydney Morning Herald gave it four stars, stating, "Behind her clever, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and strong, occasionally soaring, vocals is a self-confessed outsider attempting to open herself up through music.

In 2021, she was also named the top songwriter of 2020 by the music rights company Blokur, thanks to the success of her song "Dance Monkey," which she wrote and produced herself.

[68] Al Newstead of Triple J was surprised by Tones' "heavenly rendition", she was backed by a choir and delivered a "full-flight vocal performance.

[71] She performed alongside Natalie Imbruglia, Kye, and Peking Duk covering Newton-John's "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Xanadu", and "You're the One That I Want".

[74] Her setlist included "I Am Free", "I Made It", "Fly Away", "Dance Monkey" and "The Greatest";[75] the latter track was used to support the Australian women's team, the Matildas.

[79][80] The Australian singer issued her next single, "I Get High", in mid-March[81] and, in June, announced the release of her second album Beautifully Ordinary for 2 August 2024.

[84][85] Bedford, who plays for Frankston Bombers, ceased his 10-year bricklaying company to become Tones and I's stage technician and touring audio engineer.

[85][87] Watson had purchased the Frankston property in September 2020 for $A720,000, which Bedford started renovating in October and November before subcontractors continued until works were completed in March 2022.

[85][87] The renovations were deemed "compliant and safe" but had been completed despite Frankston City Council's issuance of a stop work notice.