SINGERS WHO WILL BE SWEET IN ’16
Keep an eye on these five pop upstarts who may make it big in the upcoming new year
The path to pop stardom is littered with the remains of fallen boy banders (R.I.P. Nick Carter, Jordan Knight and JC Chasez). No disrespect Zayn — we still believe in you! — but these five artists could also break big in 2016.
Tory Lanez
Though Lanez was homeless in Toronto when he was just 14, the 23year-old rapper is now riding high off the strength of his smooth R&B bedroom ballad “Say It.” Like Drake, Lanez sings as well as he spits, with witty verses such as “women love me like I’m on the Ellen show” (“B.L.O.W.”). After a long underground reign that has spanned 13 mixtapes and an EP, Lanez’ debut album is finally slated for 2016.
Daniela Andrade
Six years ago, the Edmonton-raised Honduran-Canadian singer started posting acoustic guitar covers of songs such as Coldplay’s “The Scientist” and the Beatles’ “All My Loving” in a hoodie and glasses. Now living in Toronto, the 23-year-old has mostly lost the glasses, but her softly dazzling voice on covers such as Radiohead’s “Creep” (8.6 million views) and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” (6.1 million views) hasn’t changed. Andrade plans to release Shore, an EP featuring four original songs accom- panied by four original music videos, in early 2016.
Kehlani
The 20-year-old R&B singer got her start on America’s Got Talent, but don’t hold that against her. The reality show did nothing to boost her career and she was working at Hot Topic before self-releasing her mixtape You Should Be Here. It was so well received that she was scooped up by Atlantic Records shortly thereafter and it went on to score a Grammy nom for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Earlier this month, she dropped the kiss-off track “Did I,” featuring the unlikely hip-hop sample of Feist’s 2007 song “Intuition.”
Erik Hassle
The Swedish singer-songwriter has been known in his Nordic homeland since 2008, but his snap-along single “No Words” became an official #SwiftSquad anthem when Taylor Swift chose it as the kickoff to a “Songs That Will Make Your Life More Awesome” playlist. Paired with the equally upbeat single “Smaller,” Hassle’s upcoming album is shaping up to be the kind of perfectly produced pop that the Swedes excel at.
Kiki Rowe
The self-titled debut minialbum from 2014 had a slow-burn success for the 19-year-old from Mississauga. The ambient EDM track “Trust Issues,” produced by DJ Mustard, skipped past 100,000 plays on Soundcloud earlier this month and her restrained vocals on Norwegian DJ Kygo’s tropical-house remix “Got Me Thinkin’” show that diva deliveries have definitely left the dance floor.