The moment a newcomer has a HIT, everybody wants to crash the party, take a selfie and CASH IN – the songwriters, music producers, and chart topping artists. It’s an open game for the new player, and naively, they let everyone in, and shortly after, they’re squeezed out. Today, this takes the form of artist collaboration and features.

But collaborating is killing artist individuality.

Here is an example. The Kid LAROI is a breaking artist. His track Without You is a hard-to-come-by radio hit. I love the track.  Then Miley Cyrus is added to the remix of LAROI’s “Without You”.

The track is just gathering steam. It’s pre-mature for a feature.  I barely know The Kid LAROI.  He’s a 17 year old that rose up the music ranks in Australia before moving to Los Angeles.  I want more of LAROI, but now Miley Cyrus is singing the opening verse. I like Miley too, but maybe not Miley with LAROI.  Now,  LAROI and Miley are rooted in my mind.  Brand association. It’s a marketing mess. The artist is losing individuality that was sacrificed on the alter of audience reach.

And now LAROI has paired up with Justin Bieber for a track titled Stay. This keeps Bieber on the top shelf while LAROI sits in the stockroom, never given a chance to make a first and lasting impression.

I understand the team wants to reach the largest audience possible, but artists’ need more time to develop a face, a brand, a statement before they start attaching themselves to brands and other artists.  I hope Olivia Rodrigo is listening.

There are two ways to climb to the top. You can affiliate yourself with others and be a guest at the kings table, or you can dominate and be the king. Eminem came out as a king. He wasn’t releasing remixes with guest vocals by Britney Spears or Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys, instead he aligned himself with Dr. Dre.  His name, his brand, his influences were important to him. He didn’t want that tossed for profit, and nobody cashed off of Eminem. 

Pop trio Hey Violet released a 4 song EP. My favorite song is  Breaking Up With A Friend. It’s a well crafted pop song and sounds like a TikTok hit. Fans of Bebe Rexha will enjoy.  The  Problems EP, carries the theme of  loss and loneliness.

“Going through the process of writing these songs, I always felt like a chunk of me was missing so whether it felt like I was losing my connection with myself, wondering if I ever had it, or being let down by lovers or friends, there’s that general theme of incompleteness” shares Hey Violet.

They were originally signed to Capitol’s 5 Seconds of Summer‘s Hi Or Hey imprint, whom they supported on the Rock Out with Your Socks Out and Sounds Live Feels Live tours. Stream the track on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.

Indie rock duo ØZWALD releases groundhog days. Fans of 90’s rock will love, especially Stone Temple Pilot die hards. The song would fit perfectly on Apple’s Today’s Indie Rock Playlist.

This is the project of lead singer and guitarist Jason Wade and Steve Stout of the band Lifehouse. The latest track comes off their new album young suburban minds.

Currently working on their 6th record, the band is looking to release 2 full length records a year.

“Our only rule for making music in this band is that their are no rules and we try to just go with what we’re feeling in the moment for any record and not get stuck into any genre” shares ØZ. Give the track a stream on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.

STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis now country star released a new solo single, “Am I The Only One“. The track which disses Springsteen, skyrocketed up the iTunes charts, surpassing Big Red Machine’s “Renegade” featuring Taylor Swift. “Am I the only one here tonight, shakin’ my head and think’ something ain’t right,” Lewis sings. “Is it just me, am I losing my mind, am I standing on the edge at the end of time?”

Larry Rudolph resigns as Britney Spears long time manager – 25 years to be exact. “As you know, I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details. I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist her with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed. Please accept this letter as my formal resignation.

Classics still conquer the charts 30 year later. Over the July 4th weekend Queen’s Greatest Hits went to number 1 on iTunes and Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” landed on #2.

Watch out for Laces and the song Almost Happy feat. Butch Walker.  You’ll love if  you like the sound of the 90’s. Think indie electronic rock act Garbage. The track  has Butch Walker on guitar that scored the radio hit in the late ’90s “Freak of the Weak” with his act Marvelous 3. The song also carries the same title as K’s Choice “Almost Happy”.

“Almost Happy” is that destination you reach as an adult. Content, solid, and maybe some residual bitterness left over from your youth. It’s simply a reflection on where you are and not where you’re going. Accepting who you are is a beautiful thing, even if it’s a lowkey confession of how messed up you are” shares Laces.

Jessica Vaughn aka Laces pens and produces music for Hasbro cartoons such as Jem & the Holograms, Baby Alive, Littlest Pet Shop, Equestria Girls, and secured placements on the CW, Netflix, ABC, and others, as well as films.

She’s landed on Spotify’s Soda, Fierce Femmes, Indie Pop, Chill Pop, and New Music Friday . Give it a stream on KOAR’s indie invaders Playlist.