The latest NOW That’s What I Call Music! edition highlights six (mostly) up-and-coming artists
NOW That’s What I Call Music, a joint venture from Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, has released 59 compilations (excluding special editions) in the last 15 years. Since 2009’sΒ NOW 32, each compilation has highlighted new artists at the end of the album. Artists such as Capital Cities,Β Hunter Hayes, andΒ Walk The Moon have graduated to mainstream successΒ after theΒ NOW What’s Next feature. The latestΒ NOW 59 albumΒ highlightsΒ sixΒ new artists after 16 big summer ’16 hits from pop starsΒ such asΒ Justin Timberlake,Β Sia, andΒ Ariana Grande. You can read myΒ takeΒ on the chart-toppers every week on the Scoreboard, but thisΒ review solely focuses on the latest squad of NOW What’s Next entertainers.
A reliableΒ place to start identifying up-and-coming artists is Britain, the birthplaceΒ of English language. I frequently check the British charts in anticipation ofΒ what might beΒ hot next in America. On the Scoreboard, I have done features on a number of Brit successesΒ such asΒ Jonas BlueΒ andΒ Calum Scott.Β NOW 59Β interestingly puts the spotlight on electronic duoΒ AlunaGeorge, who are the least up-and-coming of the bunch since they have already achieved critical success with their 2013 albumΒ Body Music andΒ made it to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year with a DJ Snake version of their Body MusicΒ singleΒ “You Know You Like It.” Their second albumΒ I Remember came out in September and lead single “I’m In Control” ft.Β Popcaan made it to NOW What’s Next.
Another British act on NOW What’s Next is DJΒ Sigala, who had a number of hits across the pond since last year but has not been to the Hot 100 in America.Β His single “Give Me Your Love” features singer John Newman andΒ Chic guitaristΒ Nile Rodgers and reminds me ofΒ Newman‘s “Love Me Again” with a funkierΒ instrumental. Both of these songs made the British Top 40 and they shineΒ among theΒ NOW What’s Next crowd. Check out the “Give Me Your Love”Β video below, filmed in New York City, but charted in the U.K.
The rest of the NOW 59Β What’s Next crewΒ definitely comes off as the B Team. There isΒ Alx VelizΒ from Toronto. Although he may look like hometown legend theΒ Weeknd, he has a long climb to match @abelxo’s output. “Dancing Kizomba” went to #62 in Canada and is a nice enough dance jam, but it is hard to stand out in today’s dance-filled pop scene.
Jacksonville rapperΒ Trap Beckham makes an appearance with “Birthday Chick,” but the entire premise is defeatedΒ from the start since NOW only features clean versions of hip-hop songs. You can findΒ the explicit version on the interwebs though.
Finally there are two sixteen-year-olds,Β Daniel Skye andΒ Kaya StewartΒ bringing their best bubblegum pop. @danielskye (no Hot 100 appearances but 2.2M Instagram followers!) has the teenage Justin BieberΒ look with aΒ Shawn MendesΒ sound on “Smile.” @kayastewartΒ punk rocks it on “Sleepover,” which is a subject that sixteen-year-olds should not generally be singing about, but she’s a rock daughter (pops isΒ Eurythmics founderΒ David A. Stewart), so she’s allowed. Check the Scoreboard to see if any of these artists make it big, and look for a new class of artists with NOW 60, out in November.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BK67JtjDlnu/?taken-by=danielskye&hl=en
@danielskye contemplating the fleeting nature of teen pop years
