Check out Holding Back Your Love by Kenyon France.  The track is reminiscence of Bieber’s Lonely but more alternative rock. The mid tempo track could find its way on Spotify’s Rock This and New Noise. The singer songwriter grew up in North Dakota, moved to Arizona and plays in the band Verry Cherry.

Music found a new competitor. It’s called digital distraction. Music has the ability to evoke emotions and it releases Dopamine, the neurotransmitters associated with reward. Social media also releases dopamine. Music can be addicting, but Twitter and Facebook are more addicting. That’s why you’ll get more likes with your photo in a bikini than a song.

Instead of breeding music junkies, the world is birthing social media junkies getting their dopamine fix from cunning engineered platforms.

The Beatles performing in the middle of a casino couldn’t warrant the attention of a gambling addict playing a slot machine. The slots to the addict are far more addicting than a 3 minute song performed by the greatest band of all time.

Today, you’re competing in the world’s largest casino filled with junkies checking their phones every 5 minutes. Likes, clicks, smiley emojis, and hashtags. Nobody is listening. They are not engaged.

You may even find yourself getting sucked in the digital delusion, hence, must create daily distraction-free rituals.

You thought social media was your friend. You were told it was great way to engage with customers, and develop a brand. The jokes on you. We are the customers. You are THEIR brand. You make up the the 2.7 billion monthly active users that drives the stock price. Ed Sheeran generated $775.6 million from touring, not on Twitter.

Stop trying to communicate with a junkie and take your music to the streets. You’ll be better off than hiding in the realm of social media. You have to be passionate about your art. Wait outside of the hotel rooms for the bigger artists that come to your town. Play your music and find your way backstage.

Start busking and street performing, you’ll never know who you will meet. You’ll have the ability to make people fall in love if you have superstar talent. You’ll know it when people stick around by the end of your first song. If you get 100 by the end of your 3rd, it’s even better. If you get shutdown by the police, you’re going Hollywood.

You couldn’t be more wrong if you think street performing is passé. It’s easy to put yourself online, but street performing requires effort. This is how Tones And I made it. Her breakout hit ‘Dance Monkey’ was the biggest song 2020. But you wouldn’t have heard of her had she not danced herself from the streets to the charts.

Serendipity, and the right place and the right time is still the emperor, not algorithms.

Stop communicating with addicts. Take your music to back to the streets.  It’s back to busking.

Check out Perfect Stranger by Neena Rose. For fans of pop and R&B. Artist influences include Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Doja Cat, Demi Lovato, and Olivia Rodrigo. The song could find itself on Spotify’s Pop Rising.

The 19 year old Hamilton, Ontario-based artist played for Oprah Winfrey and just wrapped performing Youth Day Fest.

“This song was so much fun to create and I feel like the storyline is really fun and relatable for a lot of people. Definitely one of my favorite releases” says Neena.

She tells Kings, “I want to be the type of artist that creates meaningful music for listeners to connect with and have fans feel like every storyline is personally written for them.”

Stream the track on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist

Kings favorite Ashton Rey has released a third single More and More Like You. My personal favorite. You’ll love if you like Kelsea Ballerini and Gabby Barrett. The song would fit nicely on Spotify’s All About Country and Fresh Country Playlist. The 24 year old singer and songwriter blends bohemian, country, and pop.

“Space for individuality is necessary and important” shares Ashton. The Florida based artist will drop more tracks in the coming months. Stream the track on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.

America entertainment is polarized with politics. But not in India’s Bollywood or South Koreas K-Pop machine. For them it’s dance, song, and escapism. BTS adds $3.6 Billion to the Korean economy.

In America, many claim the ruling class has curtailed creative freedom. Comedian Chris Rock said entertainment is boring.

Entertainment in America WAS a vehicle for escapism. It took us away from reality into a world of imagination. Today, entertainment has become politicized, polarized, and fueled with debate.

Look at the stir around Aaron Lewis and his #1 country song “Am I The Only One” and the backlash against Billie Eilish, and Olivia’s Rodrigo visit to the WH which stirred backlash.

Decades before, artists were immune to criticism. Now, many are scared and are lying low. Let’s face it, entertainers are either polarized or paralyzed.

Do Americans want to escape? Yes they do. They want to escape from the onslaught of media and negativism.

But for this reason, people disengaged. Everybody is an observer, scrolling through hollow TikTok videos in a near hypnotic state.

The artist that steps up the game will win. Olivia Rodrigo won people over with her emotionally charged songs. To get there, you may need to unplug yourself from the grid and once you have something, plug back in. If you’re not pushing something on social media, there is no reason to be on it. Creativity will manifest living outside, not living on social media which is rigged by marketers.

Break out of the matrix. Live outside. Big things will happen.