Over the past few weeks, tons of new artists have been showing up on my “for you page” on Tik Tok. Every time this happens, I add them to my Spotify playlist called “you’re gonna be big one day.” The purpose of this playlist is to support and discover lesser-known artists! You can find the playlist containing the artists mentioned on this list along with a bunch of other artists here!
- Min.a
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Photograph by @mynameisjosefine
Min.a (derived from her Korean name “Minah”) is a 21-year-old self-produced Korean-American artist who just graduated from the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In high school, she made it to the final 8 in a singing competition, K-Pop Star. Her music reflects her experience with not fitting into a mold and she uses her work to “uplift fellow ‘outcasts.’” I’ve had “Focus” and “by(e)” on repeat lately!
Find Min.a here: Instagram, Link to Other Platforms
- Cate Downey
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Cate Downey is a Colorado native and student at CU Boulder! She studied at the Lillehammer Institute of Music Production and Industries at only 18, and after graduating joined the Orange Villa Collective, a group for songwriters that focuses on EDM and Electronic Pop production. Cate has plans to relocate to Los Angeles in the future to continue working on her music. She released her most popular (and my favorite) song “Boulder” almost a year ago and it’s gotten over 366,000 plays!
Find Cate here: Instagram, Link to Other Platforms - Dasha
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Dasha is a singer/songwriter raised in California. She is currently based in Nashville. She just released her EP $hiny Things on March 19th summarizing the past year and how it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions. For a breakdown of the meaning behind each song, this article covers it all! In addition to this EP, I also love “Heart On Hold (feat. zyyn).”
Find Dahsa here: Instagram, Link to Other Platforms
- Sundial
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Couple Dorothy Chan and Jisu Kim are the voices behind Sundial. This duo is the cutest and their sound is so unique. They met almost four years ago at the Berklee College of Music and posted covers to YouTube. Dorothy has been playing piano since she was five and Jisu picked up the Cello at 8. They’ve blown up on Tik Tok and their most played song, “your text,” has over 16 million streams! My favorites from them are “sometimes i hate you,” “i just want someone to love me,” and “worst of me.” I cannot wait to hear more original songs from these two.
Find Sundial here: Instagram, Spotify, YouTube
- Sofia Z
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The first song I heard from Sofia was “Your Type,” and I also couldn’t stop listening to “Dancing on My Own” and her latest release, “Hate Me.” Sofia is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, but moved to Houston, Texas about a year ago to pursue her dream of being an artist! Her full name is Sophia Zetterberg, but decided to go by Sophia Z for short. She’s also been posting covers on her YouTube channel for the past three years!
Find Sofia here: Instagram, Spotify, YouTube
- Iris Grey
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Iris Grey has been singing ever since she can remember and like many artists, uses music as a form of therapy. She hopes her listeners can feel the lyrics and energy in each song and her music can be there for others as it has been there for her. She has two songs currently out, and is currently working on a third called “Call Me Karma” that I can’t wait for the release of!
Find Iris here: Instagram, Link to Other Platforms - Jake Banfield
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Jake is a 21-year-old singer/songwriter based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. His latest single, “Better Without Me,” was released on March 12th. I’ve been playing one of his other singles, “I Just Wanna Vibe” every time I hop in the car. He’s been releasing music since 2019, and his most played song is “Hold Me” with almost 2.5 million streams!
Find Jake here: Instagram, Link to Other Platforms
These are just a few of the many artists I’ve discovered recently. The Spotify playlist I created has so many other talented people that I also recommend checking out. I will be adding to this playlist throughout the year as I come across other smaller artists!