Artists to Watch | June 2018

By: SophieMon, 06/04/2018

Tags: Artists2Watch Rap Pop

content provided by: Eva J.

Keep your eyes peeled

From viral sensations to mysterious up-and-comers, 2018 has already produced an incredible crop of new artists that remind us why we listen to new music at all, and what it can do on emotional and social levels. Here are some of our favorites so far. They are the future.

TRINIDAD CARDONA

This 18-year-old native from Phoenix, AZ woke up one morning to 7 million views on his first single, “Jennifer,” which started out as a joke song between him and his friends.
His music has been shared by other A-list artists such as Gucci Mane, Ludacris, and Kelly Rowland.
On repeat: “Jennifer”

THE REGRETTES

This teenage quartet is led by 15-year-old lead singer Lydia Night, who went to her first concert at the age of 5 and started playing music at the age of 6 when her parents bought her a guitar.
The band met while taking music classes in Burbank, California.
On repeat: “A Living Human Girl”

ARIN RAY

He was first known from X Factor in 2012, where he was mentored by Britney Spears, but after coming in only 10th place decided to start anew and work on his debut album Platinum Fire.
His family was also involved with music – his father was a drummer for a swing groups New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe, and his aunt sang background vocals for Marvin Gaye.
He got his first songwriting break with “Favorite” on Nicki Minaj’s Pinkprint.
On repeat: “Communication” feat. DRAM

DREAMS

The Australian duo made up Silverchair’s Daniel Johns and Empire of the Sun’s Luke Steele, made their live debut at Coachella this year.
Daniel Johns was recently featured on three tracks of Australian producer What So Not’s Not All the Beautiful Things.
Luke Steele co-wrote and produced Beyonce’s track “Rather Die Young.”
On repeat: “Silence”

KATORI WALKER

He was influenced by his dad who was a producer/DJ in Pasadena and often had collaborations with other artists and rappers in his living room.
He recorded his first song at the age of 9 with his brothers. While his brothers pursued sports in high school, Katori turned to music.
On repeat: “Ormoni”

lovelytheband

The band’s debut single “Broken,” which was released in September 2017, recently hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.
The trio formed after a drunken night out at a club in West Hollywood.
On repeat: “Broken”

OvaEast Meech

The Chicago-born rapper and producer started his own collective called Sober Gold with his friends in college when he was just 19 years old.
Although he now creates hip-hop music, he didn’t always grow up with it – his mom only listened to gospel and 60s-80s music until he was a teenager. The first rap song he learned word for word was Nelly’s “Hot in Here.”
On repeat: “HBH”

NAO

Her earliest songs on SoundCloud, such as “Back Porch” were posted from her living room.
Although she graduated from Guildhall School of Music in jazz vocal but didn’t pursue a solo career until much later, starting out first as a session singer for other artists.
You can hear her featured on songs like Disclosure’s “Superego” and Mura Masa’s “Firefly”
On repeat: “Happy”

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