Each time I do this article I am always afraid that I may be missing some amazing new artists. I am also afraid that I may be over spotlighting one genre.
I will be honest, to the detriment of this article and possibly myself, I am not a huge fan of the new age and crop of rising rappers. I do listen to their music, but it doesn’t always resonate with me. Possibly because I don’t understand it all, possibly because I can’t relate to anything they are saying, or possibly because I just am not a true fan of their sound. Honestly to me most of them sound the same, making it hard for me to differentiate one artist and song from the next.
When it comes to other genres such as pop and R&B, there is a little bit of a difference between rising acts, but even so, at least at the moment, it seems all new artists are trying to follow the newest hot trend to fall into a playlist category. The ones that aren’t are experimenting with vocals and sound that, for me depending on the sound and artist, seems a little left field and again isn’t necessarily for me either.
Rising country acts, depending on the act and voice, are leaning in a more pop lane. Not that that is a bad thing, just look at the success of Taylor Swift, but this takes away from the essence of what country music is. Don’t get me wrong the country/pop is a type of country I would rather listen to, but still even for me there is something about the actual sound of country music and the singer’s voices that make it naturally distinctive that is captivating.
Don’t crucify me for my thoughts here. There are a group of artists I find while going through the many different playlists and, “radio stations,” of rising artists that do stand out from the crowd. Some because of their voice, some because of their lyrics and songwriting, some because of their tracks, some because their sound is so different than everything else out now, in a good way. But it does take some time and song sifting to get to these artists.
This week I found three artists I would like to highlight. All happen to be young rising female acts from Nashville, and all have great songwriting abilities and have been making a name for themselves either online or in person.
Sarah is a 17-year-old singer/songwriter I found while scrolling through an Instagram hashtag for songwriters. I heard her voice and was immediately impressed and went on a deep dive into her and her music.
She has significantly more music out on her social media channels than her Spotify (which is where I go to listen to most of the music) but even still she is a phenom when it comes to songs.
She has solo songs, she has covers, she even has songs with her sister. On Spotify, I heard, “Poor Marionette,” first and was blown away by the cleverness of this song. Then I heard her cover of, “Love Story,” and was that much more impressed (which has over 4 million listens on her Spotify).
Her vocal ability at such a young age is remarkable. Her songwriting ability for such a young age is outstanding. She is one to watch out for in both the country and pop music scenes.
I came across Halle’s song, “Plans,” on one of the rising Nashville country playlists (some of my first go-to playlists when looking for and researching rising talent – there are so many great new singers/songwriters in Nashville and country) and became hooked.
It wasn’t until I went to her page that I realized I had been listening to her song, “Whatever You Do,” for the last few months and didn’t put two and two together that it was her. She is incredible.
She is making a name for herself performing shows just about everywhere you can think of. She has played over 300 live shows in the last few years. She has been featured in a bunch of magazines and featured playlists and is one of the Nashville country acts I have multiple songs with heats on in my Spotify.
She has a great voice and her songwriting/storytelling is up there with some of the best I have heard while going through rising artists. She’s not afraid to get emotional and she’s not afraid to make your move. She is one that I have my eye on and can’t wait to see and hear more from her soon.
I was playing a few Jillian Steele songs last week while going through the rising artist’s music and every time a song of hers came on my mother would walk into the room and ask, “Who is that? I really like that one! I like her voice, she sounds good. I would listen to that, where can I find that.” I would say that bodes well, as this is coming from a non-music industry consumer who doesn’t really listen to this type of music.
I concur with my mom, she has a great soothing voice and her songwriting is top-notch. She has been making the rounds in Nashville performing at different venues and has been doing a great job.
Her songs, “Not Loved By You,” “Home with Me,” “When Did You Know,” and “Simple,” have been on repeat for me since I discovered Jillian last week. There is something about her voice for me that is calming and soothing and is incredibly easy to listen to. The fact that she has great songs to accompany her voice is great too.
I hate to say this because she has recently released a ton of music, but I can’t wait to hear some new music from her soon.
Take a listen to all three of these great rising artists and be sure to keep a lookout for them as they will be in front of you in multiple ways sooner than you think.
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