Categories
Essential Artists

Essential Artists #03: From Olivia Rodrigo to DC Maxwell

The artists killing it in Australia and around the world this week.

I’ll dive in more deeply below but, if you just want to get straight into it, the artists you need this week are:

1. The top five global superstars with new releases

2. Five artists punching above their weight around the world this week:

3. In terms of Australian artists, these are the acts seeing playlists at home and abroad making bets that they’ll be taking it to the next level soon:

If you want to know why they’re on my list this week, let’s get into it…

The artists killing it on New Music Friday playlists around the world this week

First of all, these are the big five – these are the artists you’ll probably be hearing the most about this week.

The releases that put them on the top of the pile this week:

However, only looking at the big stuff means you can miss the up-and-comers. These are five artists that I think popped out while punching above their weight globally this week:

The releases that put them there this week:

  • Maisie Peters – Florescence (album)
    • The third album for this UK artist gained really strong launch support globally, and made her one of only two artists with <1m followers in the top twenty
  • ELENA ROSE – No Quiero Que Se Acabe Este Bendito Verano (EP)
    • Unsurprising but very strong backing in LATAM for this Miami-based artist. A compact list of adds, but with some MASSIVE lists in there.
  • Mollie Elizabeth – Run Rabbit (single)
    • Incredibly strong support around the world, a huge signal of future growth – this was a brilliant showing around the world, remarkable for an artist with <100k followers
  • EUROCLUB – EUROCLUB II (album)
    • The Italian DJs in this super-collective carry enough cred to bag some big adds, where 9 out of 10 slots gained were on playlists with >100k followers
  • Helena Gao – lao shi (single)
    • With a strong songwriting track record, Gao’s own material is being well-received too, with a confident list of support for this “new” artist this week

The artists killing it on the best new music playlists in Australia (and globally) this week

First of all, there are three artists who bagged more space on more Australian playlists proportionate to their size, than any others. These are the three artists critics and tastemakers in Australia are betting will break big soon.

Owning the playlists in Australia is one thing but breaking out into international markets is quite another.

This week, all three of the top-performing artists in Australia all did well on global and / or international lists too, so I’ve listed them first. The remaining five though also jumped out of the data at me as those being given more opportunities to be heard than you’d expect for artists of their size.

So, the artists and releases putting Aussie artists on the radar at home and abroad this week:

  • DC Maxwell – The Singer (album)
    • Terrific album support in Australia from both independent and major playlists
  • Scratching – Desire Path (album)
    • This week’s LP was timed perfectly to build on earlier backing in Oz & abroad
  • Swapmeet – 2 C U (single)
    • No surprises here, at all – humungous support at home & globally. On fire.
  • The Gnomes – More (EP)
    • No surprises here, at all – humungous support at home & globally. On fire.
  • Kita Alexander – Sentimental Letter (single)
    • A reliable fav at home, but with added and notable NMF support across Asia
  • Budjerah – Could I Be (single)
    • Big spots at home and across APAC for this super-talented artists
  • effe – Lick The Flame (single)
    • A compact but influential list of adds, including a huge All New Indie spot 
  • PASH – PASH (EP)
    • A strong performance that feels like it’s building up to something  
  • DICE – Loose Change (single)
    • An impressive week two showing with some big slots reaching a lot of ears

—-

There you have it – the artists from Australia and around the world whose new releases have been pushing buttons for critics and tastemakers at home and abroad.

Go and discover something new and amazing 🤘

—

Photo: Swapmeet at Factory Floor, Sydney