Spotify’s annual list of future stars in the Philippines includes homegrown artists The Ransom Collective and Lunar Lights
Following Spotify’s announcement on the biggest artists of 2015 this week, the popular music streaming service is now looking ahead at the brightest stars of 2016, as Spotlight on 2016 artists is revealed.
Spotlight is Spotify’s annual list of the best new artists that Pinoy music fans may love in the year to come. The Spotlight on 2016 list for the Philippines features artists including Charlie Puth, Troye Sivan, The Ransom Collective, Lunar Lights and LunchMoney Lewis, all of which Spotify is tipping for greatness over the coming year.
The Spotlight on 2016 list was carefully compiled using a combination of both human curation by Spotify’s team of in-house music experts, with the analysis of millions of streams’ worth of music fans’ current listening data, including:
– The artists whose music is appearing in Spotify’s viral charts, which are a barometer of the music that is being shared the most among friends
– The artists being listened to now by Spotify’s most musically-influential users, who have a track record of discovering and breaking artists early
– The artists whose music is bubbling up in Spotify’s Fresh Finds, a weekly-updated playlist that identifies under-the-radar artists that are generating buzz online.
Spotlight on 2016 Philippines Artists
- Charlie Puth
- Troye Sivan
- The Ransom Collective
- Lunar Lights
- LunchMoney Lewis
- Parson James
- LÉON
- Francesco Yates
- Alessia Cara
- Gavin James
- DEAN
- SEKAI NO OWARI
- Ylona Garcia
- Alfa Garcia
- Zara Larsson
Chee Meng Tan, Director of Label Relations, Spotify (APAC) said: “I believe that nothing delights a Spotify user more than discovering an exciting new artist. Spotlight is a cornerstone of our commitment to discovery and nurturing powerful emotional connections to new artists to help build true fans. The Spotlight list is both a barometer of what music tastemakers on Spotify are already listening to, and a prediction of what we believe the wider audience of music fans will be loving in 2016. Through the Spotlight program, we can identify and highlight new and breaking artists, and help them build their careers by connecting with more than 75 million music fans on Spotify.
“It’s been fantastic to see Spotlight evolve from a grassroots campaign working with a small number of artists, to becoming a global event-driven initiative. We are very excited to start working with the Spotlight on 2016 artists over the coming months and years.”
The Ransom Collective said: “We’ve personally discovered many of our current favorite artists on Spotify, so being one of the artists featured on Spotlight is extremely exciting. Thank you to Spotify for giving us the opportunity to connect with new people and new fans.”
Lunar Lights added: “To be featured in Spotlight 2016 feels nothing short of amazing, especially for us since it is our first time to be featured and that our songs were just released recently. We hope that many listeners will be able to hear and be moved by our music.”
Previous Spotlight stars have included Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo (who this year became the first Spotlight artist to break a billion streams), James Bay, Hozier, and Glass Animals.
Spotify’s Spotlight program aims to both bring the best new music to millions of music fans on Spotify, and also to help new artists build their careers by finding and connecting with a fan base on Spotify.
Spotify will be holding a series of events showcasing a number of Spotlight on 2016 artists in London, New York, Stockholm and Nashville.
You can listen to the Spotlight on 2016 Philippine playlist here.
Spotlight on 2016 Philippines Artists
Charlie Puth
Charlie Puth is a singer, songwriter and producer who has written and produced songs for an array of A-list pop and urban artists including Jason Derulo, Stevie Wonder, Meghan Trainor and Trey Songz. Most recently, Puth co-wrote, co-produced and sings the hook on Wiz Khalifa’s chart-topping hip-hop anthem ‘See You Again,’ which plays in the scene of the motion picture Furious 7.
Troye Sivan
Australia-based singer and actor Troye Sivan makes lyrical ambient electronic dance-pop. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1995, Sivan moved to Perth, Australia with his family when he was two years old. Home-schooled, Sivan began singing and acting at a young age, but his biggest break came when he appeared as a young Wolverine in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The Ransom Collective
Formed only in late 2013, The Ransom Collective’s sound may not have the typical mix of tunes but they are definitely an unconventional new player in the Philippine music scene. The six-piece indie folk/rock band unites various their voices and instruments such as piano, violin, percussions, bass and the guitar like veins sustaining a beating heart.
Lunar Lights
Lunar Lights is an alternative rock band that started its career in 2013. Carrying the advocacy of writing songs about life, Lunar Lights released a single entitled ‘If I’m Wrong’ that found its place in the top charts of Myx Philippines and MTV Asia. The first single is already playing over top radio stations in the country and other regional frequencies.
LunchMoney Lewis
Gamal “LunchMoney” Lewis, a Miami native, was raised in a musical family of Jamaican descent and grew up listening to reggae and Motown. Lunch caught the bug for performing himself at the age of 13 when he and his friend wrote a song ‘Living in America’ that became a neighborhood hit.
Parson James
South Carolina-born, Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter Parson James likes to call his music “conflicted pop gospel,” the description that matches the feel of his song ‘Sinner Like You’. The song marries James’ soulful, church-honed voice with shimmering pop production by Swedish producer Elof Loelv.
LÉON
LÉON made a splash in 2015 with a softly glowing contemporary pop sound. It evoked classic sounds of the ‘60s and ‘80s without being entrenched in the past. The Stockholm, Sweden native, a daughter of musicians, fronted a band as a teenager and watched her career accelerate as a solo artist after she began to work with producer Agrin Rahmani.
Francesco Yates
Francesco Yates is only 18 years old but he has already received the highest possible recommendation that a musical artist could have. “He’s absolutely gonna be just a huge, huge, huge pop star,” says Pharell Williams. “But not in the way people have been thinking of pop music in the past ten years.” It’s a lot to live up to, but Francesco does, both in his songwriting and his impressively evocative musicmanship.
Alessia Cara
Alessia Cara is a new breed of pop star seizing hold of the world’s airwaves and online – more accurately, a conscious pop star who’s set to subversively top charts and sway hearts and minds. Alessia’s single ‘Here’ premiered by The Fader garnered over 500,000 total streams in its first week.
Gavin James
A singer-songwriter from Ireland, Gavin James began playing the guitar at age eight and performing live regularly in his late teens. His first release, the EP ‘Say Hello’, was an internet hit in Ireland in 2012, and the charting title track won Song of the Year from Ireland’s Meteor Choice Music Prize. In 2014, he signed with Capitol Records and released a full-length live album, Live at Whelans, which featured James performing solo with only an acoustic guitar.
DEAN
DEAN is a South Korean future R&B artist and multi-platinum songwriter. He is creating a huge buzz within the recording industry as well as with music fans. Through word of mouth, DEAN has already attracted the attention of vocalists such as Motown recording artist Mila J, Grammy Award winner singer-songwriter Eric Bellinger, and buzzworthy hip-hop artist Anderson Paak.
SEKAI NO OWARI
Composed of four distinctly talented members namely Nakajin, Fukase, Saori, and DJ Love, SEKAI NO OWARI is one of Japan’s most talented and skilled group. Their combined passion have led to unprecedented success as one of Japan’s premier acts, culminating with their latest album Tree, charting at #1 on the hit charts.
Ylona Garcia
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Ylona was raised by parents who were both working in the medical field. One would think that Ylona would be interested in the sciences but her interests leaned more towards the performing arts. In fact, Ylona’s star has already started to shine brightly in Australia.
Alfa Garcia
In 2013, Alfa’s album World Go Blue entered the CMJ Top 200 National Charts and College Radio Charts Top 100, and was supported by multiple U.S. tours primarily in college campuses. The said album was an important landmark in Alfa’s career, expanding her reach sonically and professionally.
Zara Larsson
After winning Sweden’s Got Talent at the age of 10 in 2008 and with the support of independent record label TEN Music, Zara released her debut EP Introducing Zara Larsson in January 2013. The lead single ‘Uncover’ peaked at top 5 airplay across Scandinavia, leading to both ‘Uncover’ as well as the EP to be certified triple Platinum in Sweden.
