Breakout stars like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter dominated the pop music landscape in 2024 with fresh hits like “Good Luck Babe!” and “Espresso.”
Each year brings a new slate of upstarts who, while familiar to certain niche audiences — Roan was beloved among queer-pop devotees, while Carpenter built her core fan base for years on Disney Channel — manage to harness momentum, skill, and business acumen to arrive on mainstream radars.
Keep reading to see my top picks for musicians to watch in 2025, listed below in alphabetical order.
Addison Rae’s rebrand will be studied by pop scholars.
Addison Rae, 24, initially rose to fame in the Charli D’Amelio era of TikTok stardom. Largely known for popularizing dance trends on the app, Rae even appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” to demonstrate the most common moves, a now-infamous bit that resulted in backlash for overshadowing the dances’ actual creators.
As many internet starlets have done (or tried to do), Rae then pivoted to focus on original music. Her debut single, “Obsessed,” was released in 2021 and met with mostly tepid, sometimes mocking reviews.
But her transformation was far from complete. As TikTok evolved beyond the demand for Hype House members, Rae shrewdly rebranded, embracing clubbier crowds and edgier aesthetics. She befriended Charli XCX, the ultimate cool girl of the moment, and they released a duet titled “2 Die 4” in 2023 — which helped to legitimize Rae’s presence in pop music.
Rae’s output in 2024 solidified her as one to watch. She was the first featured artist to join Charli’s extended “Brat” universe, hopping on the “Von Dutch” remix last March and elevating the track with a spontaneous, now-iconic scream.
Five months later, Rae released her single “Diet Pepsi,” which became her first to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and even landed on year-end lists from various publications including Business Insider (No. 52), Rolling Stone (No. 22), Pitchfork (No. 13), The Fader (No. 2), and Dazed (No. 1).
Rae’s follow-up single, “Aquamarine,” saw a slight dip in commercial success, but not in quality. She’s expected to release her debut album this year, and if her recent string of hits is any indication, it’ll be the moment she finally earns the industry respect she deserves.
Doechii is one of the most acclaimed rappers working today.
Doechii became one of the breakout rappers of 2024 off the strength of her summertime mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” and its standout single, “Nissan Altima,” which was named the third-best song of the year in BI’s own ranking. She’ll compete with Roan and Carpenter for best new artist at the 2025 Grammys, plus she’s up for best rap album and best rap performance — categories stacked with A-list nominees like Eminem, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Cardi B.
Not only is Doechii a formidable talent, but she’s also an artful marketer. Over the past few months, the 26-year-old has been riding the wave of critical acclaim to put herself in front of new audiences, staging standout performances everywhere from Camp Flog Gnaw to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and NPR’s “Tiny Desk.” Each set is punctuated with idiosyncratic fashion risks and the seemingly effortless flow she’s become renowned for.
Hip-hop-heads have long foreseen Doechii’s rise, but it’s only a matter of time before she’s everywhere.
Jade is set to become a solo star following her success with Little Mix.
Jade, aka Jade Thirlwall, broke into the music industry in 2011 as one-fourth of the popular British girl group Little Mix.
Four became three in 2020, when Jesy Nelson left the group to make reductive hip-hop knock-offs. The remaining trio announced a hiatus in 2021 to focus on solo projects.
Superstars have come out of groups in the past — Beyoncé from Destiny’s Child, Justin Timberlake from *NSYNC, Harry Styles from One Direction — and if Jade continues down the trail she’s been blazing, she very well could be the next name on that list.
The now-mononymous artist, 32, released three solo singles in 2024, each as thrilling as the last. The first, “Angel of My Dreams,” was widely praised for its avant-garde music video, conceptual lyrics, and experimental structure; it was crowned as the year’s No. 1 best pop song by Stereogum and third-best overall by The New York Times.
Its follow-up, “Midnight Cowboy,” is a bass-heavy banger that features a sexy spoken-word intro by “Barbie” star Ncuti Gatwa, while “Fantasy” is a disco-infused burst of energy that’s spurred ahead by a set of remixes with Channel Tres and Alex Chapman.
Jade is harnessing her existing star power in all the right ways: to execute outré ideas, bring in the coolest collaborators, and put a fresh spin on existing pop trends.
Her debut solo album is expected to arrive this year, but fans won’t have to wait long for another delicious breadcrumb; her new single, “It Girl,” is already available to pre-save.
Ravyn Lenae has already worked with heavy hitters in the music industry.
Ravyn Lenae’s 2024 sophomore album, “Bird’s Eye,” featured collaborations with Childish Gambino (“One Wish”) and Ty Dolla $ign (“Dream Girl”), plus a co-writing credit for Anderson .Paak on the standout track “Love Me Not.” SZA, who previously recruited Lenae to open for her 2017 “Ctrl” tour, said it was one of her favorite albums of the year.
It’s not hard to see why Lenae, 25, has earned respect from contemporary legends. Much like SZA’s own sophomore album “SOS,” “Bird’s Eye” is a seamless blend of R&B, Motown soul, and disco-pop, with glimmers of reggae, bossa nova, and soft rock. With her genre-blending sensibility, there’s truly something for everyone.
“It felt really natural to acknowledge the things I listen to and the things that make me excited about music,” Lenae told The Cut. “I want to be able to touch every single part of my brain, so that might be a lot of different genres.”
Shygirl has the potential to become the next club-music queen.
Given the cultural obsession with Charli XCX’s “Brat” that dominated the conversation this summer, Shygirl’s rise to stardom seems imminent.
The 31-year-old singer, rapper, and DJ has been anointed as Charli’s heir apparent, opening for both her 2024 UK arena tour and the Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan before remixing “365” for “Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat.” But Charli isn’t the only club-music royalty who’s taken notice. Shygirl’s latest EP, “Club Shy,” welcomes a euphoric cast of collaborators into the fray, from SG Lewis and Boys Noize to Empress Of, Lolo Zouaï, and Danny L Harle.
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