At 15 years old Pierce was playing sets in clubs around Los Angeles and had been a repeat guest on the television show "Big Break", hosted by Natalie Cole. Still in high school, he began playing gigs with Grammy-nominated rock musician Jon Butcher. At 19 years old he performed on a road tour with Sonia Dada in the U.S., and later continued on to Moscow, Russia. In 2005, Pierce met Seal and joined him as his opening act on a world tour.