Get in on the ground floor for some artists bound to take off next
year, according to the Pandora streaming service. Drawing on “a
combination of human insights and sophisticated data analytics based
on listener behavior” they picked Ghanaian-American
singer/songwriter/producer Amaarae as their Afropop artist to watch, and Puerto Rico’s Mora as the reggaeton artist to watch.
Per Amaarae they wrote: “This multi-talented
producer/singer/songwriter has gained attention for her raspy
falsetto that is both haunting and enticing, and lends a breath of
fresh air to the current African sonic landscape. Even with her
recent collaborations with Kali Uchi and Tiwa Savage, Amaarae has
never faltered from her unique sound and non-conformative style.”
For Mora: “the Puerto Rican reggaeton artist released his debut album this year including breakout songs such as '512' with Jhay Cortez and the remix of 'Volando' with Bad Bunny and Sech. His second album is slated for January and will feature major guests including Bad Bunny and Karol G.”
Time alone will tell, although Pandora did manage to call Post Malone and Lizzo, so they’ve got some real hits on the track record.
UPDATE: Hey, there's a playlist of the "Top 10 Afropop Artists to Watch 2022" available for Pandora subscribers, but they also sent along this list of artists from that playlist:
Buju
Ayra Starr
Gyakie
CKay
Lojay & Sarz
Nadia Mukami
AV
Young Stunna
King Promise
Zinoleesky
So there you go! If I was asked yesterday who on the list was poised to break through, I'd have gone with CKay but then he already appeared on an Amaarae song, so I guess it depends on which direction you think credibility is flowing.
