Earlier this month, Spotify kicked off its annual ‘Artist To Watch’ campaign, using its various popular and influential playlist brands to highlight and amplify new artists, revealing its predictions for the next wave of music stars across various genres in 2023.
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Already, ‘Most Necessary’, ‘Hot Country’, and ‘Viva Latino’ have revealed the top ‘Artists to Watch’ across Hip-Hop, Country, and Latin music, and to close out the campaign Spotify is unveiling their first-ever roster of emerging stars who are primed to make waves in R&B music this year with ‘R&B Rising’, the newest playlist for emerging artists.
R&B Rising’s 2023 Artists To Watch, as announced on Spotify’s Instagram social handle include:
CoCo Jones has been known for her work in TV and film since she was a tween, most recently starring as Hilary Banks in Peacock’s ‘Bel-Air’, but in 2022 she stepped into the world of R&B with a soulful sound and honest, powerful storytelling. She released her major label debut EP ‘What I Didn’t Tell You’ and was featured on Babyface’s track ‘Simple’.
FLO is a British girl group that took the world by storm with their breakthrough single ‘Cardboard Box’. They closed out the year winning the 2023 Rising Star Award and BBC’s Sound of 2023 poll.
Alex Vaughn disrupted the industry in early 2022 with the release of ‘Voice Notes’, an honest and raw EP constructed entirely by using the voice notes app on her phone. She followed up the project with her mainstream debut album ‘The Hurtbook’.
JVCK JAMES, the East London artist first gained recognition for his viral internet videos. He’s known for his 90’s R&B-inspired tunes and his 2021 standout single ‘No Drama’.
DESTIN CONRAD, the Florida native who first found internet fame on Vine is known for lush, intimate earworms infused with a gentle touch like the tracks that can be heard on his latest EP ‘Satin’.
Fana Hues, known for her vulnerable voice and woozy vocals on her latest release flora + fana as well as Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Call Me if You Get Lost’.
LAYA, a dynamic NYC native that gives listeners real 90s R&B with a current, authentic spin that made waves with her 2020 hit ‘Sailor Moon’.
Q, an alternative R&B artist known for his powerful falsetto and emotionally complex, stripped back sound featured on his viral track ‘Take Me Where Your Heart Is’ and his most recent release, ‘Today’.
RAAHiiM, the Toronto artist first hit the R&B scene with his 2020 EP ‘ii Knew Better’ featuring his multi-dimensional vocals and slow jams and has since collaborated with Shantel May and Rory.
Dylan Sinclair, the Candian singer-songwriter whose full-length debut album ‘Proverb’ was a Juno Award nominee for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.
