Essential Artists: From Charli xcx to Any Young Mechanic

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

If you want to get straight into it. the artists you need this week are:

1. The top five global superstars with new releases:

• Charli xcx
• The Rolling Stones
• Kesha
• Calvin Harris
• Khalid

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

• FLO
• Namasenda
• PIAO
• Olof Dreijer
• ultrasaturated

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:

• Any Young Mechanic
• total tommy
• Arky Waters
• aleksiah
• Emma Louise
• The Rions
• Suzi
• thatboykwame

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:

• Charli xcx – Rock Music (single)
• The Rolling Stones – In The Stars (single)
• Kesha – ORIGAMI! (single)
• Calvin Harris – Satisfy (single)
• Khalid – Tied Up (single)

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:

• FLO – Therapy at the Club (single)
  • the only artist with <1m followers to make it into the top ten this week (happens less than 10% of the time!)
• Namasenda – Limbo (album)
  • huge backing for this still-emerging artist: this is what ‘hyped’ looks like, being absolutely plastered across playlists everywhere
• PIAO – Dear baby, (single)
  • strong support across asia as well as the huge uk, canada, and global nmfs
• Olof Dreijer – Loud Bloom (album)
  • scandinavian lists are all-in on olaf, as are the big uk & global nmfs
• ultrasaturated – New Love (single)
  • my fav find this week are early-stage, but are clearly pushing tons of buttons, with a hatful of nmf markets buying in from France to Australia

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:

• Any Young Mechanic – Captain and Compass (single)
  • the widespread and impressive backing for this new artist continues apace with tons of local support and an equal amount of global backing including a spot on The Indie List, which carries over 1m followers
• total tommy – Pretty Little Mouth (single)
  • whopping adds at home for this awesome artist, plus two big adds globally from All New Indie and Indie Brandneu
• Arky Waters – Run It Up (single)
  • significant home-turf reach plus a big boost from New Dance Beats, a hefty global genre list
• aleksiah – Good On Paper (EP)
  • strong performance in oz paired with some stellar adds around the world including mega lists likeAll New Pop and Our Generation
• Emma Louise – Sunshine For Happiness (album)
  • a reliable fav at home, but getting a huge boost from a major global list like Fresh Folk
• The Rions – Everything Every Single Day (The Deluxe Edition) (album)
  • wide AU support + a spot on Front Left, one of the more important global band-biased lists
• Suzi – Short Lived (single)
  • after last week’s single, great to see a big global list like Front Left backing up this fab artist in week 2
• thatboykwame – these are just my thoughts (single)
  • notable oz backing, and a sweet boost from a globally important genre list in the shape of Fresh Finds R&B

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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 🤘

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Photo: Any Young Mechanic @ Vic On The Park, Sydney