Unveiling the Next Generation of Musical Stars 

By: Clay Lorigan 

In a world where the music industry is constantly evolving, new artists are always emerging. While mainstream artists are still immensely popular, new artists are paving the way for their future success. These new artists are reshaping the way we listen to and perceive music.   

Unlike most bands, “Lovejoy” didn’t start with nothing. The lead singer, Wilbur Soot, already had an online presence to promote their band. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t deserve all the credit they worked hard for. Lovejoy is an indie-rock band that had their debut in 2021 and currently has around 2.5 million followers on Spotify. In May of that year, Lovejoy released their first EP¹ titled, Are You Alright?. They then released their second EP, Pebble Brain, later that same year in October. After a two-year gap, they released their third and newest EP, Wake Up & It’s Over, on May 12, 2023. Within that two-year gap, they released singles that were later found to be on their latest EP. With their new-found fame, they began touring, both on their own and performing with other artists. Lovejoy’s most popular song (according to Spotify) is “One Day” from their first EP with a current total of 125,936,305 streams since its release. Their rise to fame is an impressive one and everyone is excited to see what they will do next.  

“Stray Kids” had a much different way of starting out. They made their debut in 2018 with the song “District 9” after forming their band through a reality TV show in Japan under the same name as their group in 2017. The group consists of eight members, and they quickly became popular. Since their debut, they have released a multitude of albums and singles. Recently, they won the 2023 VMA for Best K-Pop with their song “S -Class”. Because of their popularity, they release songs in both Korean and Japanese with English mixed into both. Their most popular song (according to Spotify) is “God’s Menu” with 297,080,084 streams. They also currently have 8.2 million followers on Spotify. Stray Kids also post various videos online that have to deal with their music whether that is music videos, dances, or interviews they do.  

When asked on his favorite small artist, Vic Major, an ADT student, said, “My favorite artist would probably be NewJeans. They are a K-Pop band that’s recently been trending.” He was also questioned how he tended to find new music and replied, “I just let my Spotify and YouTube play and see what I find from that.” Since artists tend to change their style once they get popular, Vic was inquired about if he noticed a change in the artists’ style. He said, “Yeah, I’ve seen it happen a lot with certain artists and bands.” Noah Wysocki, an ADT student, was asked what his favorite artist was, and he had a much different answer. “My favorite small artist would be Chase Atlantic, and I find new music by leaving my phone on autoplay and vibing.” He was also questioned on if he noticed a change in style for this artist and he replied, “Well, they have a variety in their music, so not really.” 

As seen, music is constantly changing, and new artists are consistently changing the way we perceive and listen to it.