Breakout Music Artists

The spotlight is always filled with new musicians every year. Although established artists usually deliver several hits throughout the year, there are also a handful of relatively unknown artists who surprise everyone with one of the year's biggest hits.

Photo taken by Thibault Trillet

Turnstile

While Turnstile formed in 2010, it was their third album, 'Glow On,' that really helped them reach the top. On the U.S. Hard Rock Chart, "Glow On" peaked at number one. It debuted at number thirty on the Billboard album charts. Many "best of" lists for 2021 included the album as a critical and commercial success. As a result of a return to touring, the band gained a larger following the following year. Turnstile seems to be the official support act for reunion shows, in addition to their fall tour and Glastonbury in 2022. The band opened for My Chemical Romance on some of their reunion tour dates back in 2022 and upon their announcement, they were announced to support Blink-182's highly anticipated North American tour in 2022, which marks the return of guitarist and co-lead vocalist Tom DeLonge. As part of the Grammy Awards held on February 5, 2023, Turnstile was nominated for three Grammy Awards. Among the nominees for Best Rock Performance was "Holiday", while "Blackout" received both nominations for Best Metal Performance and Best Rock Song.

Wet Leg

In the early new wave scene, Wet Leg would have fit right in with bands such as The Waitresses because of their irreverent lyrics, post-punk melodies, and deadpan delivery. It is evident that the Isle of Wight duo is heavily influenced by the indie, garage bands of the early 2000s, while feeling incredibly contemporary at the same time. Wet Leg is the collaboration between Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. They have been working on music together for years before forming Wet Leg in 2019. "Chaise Longue" was one of their first two singles released in 2021. The sardonic lyrics, paired with cottagecore music, made it a viral hit. In 2022, Wet Leg released their self-titled album, which earned them praise and fans within the music industry. In addition to their debut on Apple Music, they also performed on Hayley Williams's "Everything is Emo" program on BBC Radio. "Chaise Longue" was nominated for Best Alternative Performance, Best Alternative Album, and Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammy Award show.

Photo taken by Thibault Trillet

GAYLE

There has never been a more cathartic experience with the alphabet. Additionally to being a viral success on TikTok, GAYLE's debut single "abcdefu" was nominated at the Grammy Awards as Song of the Year in 2023. GAYLE, then 17, recorded several versions of the song (such as "angrier" or "nice"), which helped maintain its popularity on TikTok and enabled the song to be used in various video styles. Two EPs have already been released by GAYLE in 2022. There were two volumes released in March and October of 'A Study of the Human Experience'. GAYLE will open Taylor Swift's Eras tour on select dates in 2023, which is probably the biggest deal for fans

Måneskin

They were the runners-up on the Italian version of X Factor, but they prevailed. It all started when they won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with "Zitti e buoni," followed by a massive hit on the charts and TikTok when they covered Frankie Valli's "Beggin." The Italian rockers are nominated as a Best New Artist nominee at the Grammy Awards in 2023 for three top-10 singles.

Photo taken by Rahul Pandit

Maisie Peters

It took Maisie Peters until 2023 to really come into her own musically, despite her independently released single "Place We Were Made" released in 2017. As part of her headlining tours around the world in 2022, Peters opened for Ed Sheeran, and performed multiple shows in Australia and New Zealand. She also performed three times in the UK (including the acoustic 'An Evening With The Good Witch' tour) and in the United States. Peters' second studio album 'The Good Witch' was a major success and ranked number one on the UK charts, making her the youngest solo British artist to do so since Ella Henderson in 2014. The Rolling Stone UK Breakthrough Award was given to Peters in recognition of her accomplishments.

KennyHoopla

KennyHoopla is a pop punk singer from Ohio who has been making waves for several years with songs like "How Will I Rest in Peace if I'm Buried by a Highway" and "Estella." In 2023, he was invited to open up for Blink-182 as part of their North American tour, bringing for him a new wave of popularity. Furthermore, KennyHoopla and drummer Travis Barker joined forces to release a new EP called "Blink and You'll Miss It," featuring the hit song "Sabotage." The "Thirty Seconds to Mars" tour is scheduled for 2024 and KennyHoopla will be on the road with them!

Photo taken by Teddy Yang

Tate McRae

At age thirteen, Tate McRae was a finalist on the reality show 'So You Think You Can Dance'. She became known for her incredible dancing abilities. Her next move was to focus on music, another creative passion. As her first online song in 2017, "One Day," received more than 40 million views on YouTube, Tata McRae seems to follow success no matter where she goes. After signing with RCA, she has put out numerous hits, including "You Broke Me First." When "Greedy" was released in 2023, McRae finally became a global phenomenon. In Norway and Denmark, it reached number one, becoming her very first top 10 placement on the Global Spotify Charts. More than 94 million people have viewed the music video so far.  

Ice Spice

A frontrunner in the hip-hop industry, Ice Spice was dubbed "rap's new princess" by both The York Times and Billboard. During 2023, she released her first EP, 'Like...?,' collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift, and toured with Doja Cat. Furthermore, she has the most top five singles on the Hot 100 in 2023. Aside from being nominated for four Grammys, she was named Rookie of the Year by Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players, and won Best New Artist at the VMAs.

Photo taken by Jonathan Borba

Image Credits: Photograph used by Pexels

Reference/Bibliography

Hopper, A. (2023). 6 Breakout Music Artists of the Year So Far. [online] American Songwriter. Available at: https://americansongwriter.com/6-breakout-music-artists-of-the-year-so-far/ [Accessed 22 Mar. 2024].

Lasnier, E. (2022). 4 Breakout Artists of 2022. [online] setlist.fm. Available at: https://www.setlist.fm/news/12-22/4-breakout-artists-of-2022-53d6ab99 [Accessed 22 Mar. 2024].

Salant, I. (2023). Breakout Artists of 2023. [online] setlist.fm. Available at: https://www.setlist.fm/news/11-23/breakout-artists-of-2023-3bd6a448 [Accessed 22 Mar. 2024].