Welcome to the first iteration of Watch Out Wednesday. Each week I will be writing the article to accompany my Friday, “Frank’s Friday Fabulous Five,” article that highlights the top songs (in my opinion) that were released that week. This article will solely focus on the rising stars of today, the up-and-coming artists, the artist that you may not know about but that you should start listening to.
As I mentioned in last week’s article, there are so many thousands of songs that are released each week, especially on Friday, that it is incredibly difficult to listen to all of those songs, let alone the new artists that you have to dig through your DSP to find. “Fresh Finds,” on Spotify and “Risings,” on Tidal do a great job of showcasing up-and-coming talent in all genres but these playlists only offer a few hours of songs. Where this may seem like a lot, for the thousands of songs and artists that don’t get featured on these playlists you wouldn’t know they are out there unless one of your friends told you.
Well, that is no longer the case. I personally go through all of the “Fresh Finds,” playlists each week (along with a bunch of other “rising,” artist playlists) to listen to the next generation of superstars. In doing so I have found more than a handful of artists and songs that I have added to my rotation and that I now listen to on a weekly basis.
This week, as this is only the first article, I am going to showcase some of the artists I found last week, but that didn’t necessarily release music last week. In future articles, I will try and keep this list, similar to the top five list, to the new songs that were released from artists, but I am also going to mix in artists that I found that might not be mainstream yet but have songs you should listen too.
If anyone reading this has any suggestions of songs and/or artists that should be featured on this list please feel free to leave a comment and/or message me through social media with artist names and links to the songs.
This week I have four artists I came across last week that have amazing music that you should be on the watch for. In no particular order…
Otis is a singer/songwriter from LA that has a great R&B/Pop feel that reminds me of Miguel. Soulful sounding tracks with soulful sounding vocals are a strong combination and a personal favorite of mine. I first came across his song, “Sweet Sensation,” and quickly wanted to know more about him and hear more of his music. “Sweet Sensation,” is a funky pop/R&B song that keeps you bobbing and moving the whole way through.
His latest project, “Growing Pains,” which came out earlier this year is fantastic too. A quick five-song EP that keeps you engaged and, for me at least, has no skips or misses. “Lost,” “Someone Like You,” and “Without You,” are my top three of the five but I could and have been listening to all of them since discovering them.
He began as a writer and producer, opened his own studio, and is now venturing out into the artist world. Be on the lookout for Otis Kane very soon.
Kyle is an artist I found while going through similar songs to Otis. As you would expect going through an artist’s song’s radio station on Spotify you may or may not like all of the “similar” songs Spotify puts together for you. When I heard, “Are You In Love?” by Kyle Lux I stopped and replayed the song about five times. I am still playing it and the hook is still stuck in my a week or so after hearing it for the first time. I LOVE THAT SONG!
He has two projects out, at least on Spotify, at the moment, “No Roof Access,” and “Projectors,” but both are great. Another R&B/pop singer, he has songs that will give you that great singer R&B vibe and others that will give you that moving pop vibe.
Personally, I have been hooked on, “Projects,” more and particularly, “222,” and “Are You In Love?” but both projects are worth listening to. I had the chance to briefly speak with him over IG and knowing he has more music coming made me very happy.
I found Sacha while going through one of Spotify’s up-and-coming country/Nashville playlists. Her song, “Standards,” caught me right away with the instrumentation and her voice, so naturally, I had to hear and learn more.
What I came to find out is that she is even more impressive than I thought. She has been featured in numerous articles and showcases and has/is working with some of Nashville’s top writers and producers.
Her latest project, “The Best Thing,” which came out in 2020 is what I have been listening to since discovering her and more specifically the songs, “Standards,” and “Best Thing That Never Happened.” I think she has something going and I can’t wait to see and hear more. Be sure to check her out if you’re a fan of country/pop, with great songs and great vocals.
Three fantastic artists that you should defiantly watch out for in the coming months and years. I believe each of them has great music and is on the rise if not on the cusp of that next step. I can’t wait to see and hear what they have coming next.
Check them out and let me know in the comments what you think.
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