Toronto native Jesse Gold releases “One in A Million” featuring Stefani Kimber. You’ll love it you’re fan of whisperpop a trend that Selena Gomez started with Good For You and Bad Liar. Then came Julia Michaels. She started writing songs with under-the-breath low key vocals for Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. Then came Eilish.  So yes, whisper pop is alive and well and you can add this track to the mix. Jesse Gold landed Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Just Vibing playlist.

I Hope by Gabby Barrett is on fire. It’s a song that has taken a life of its own.

So Gabby finished 3rd on the 16th season of American Idol. The show for the most part that has lost its luster. After idol she independently released the song “I Hope” in 2018.  At this point, artist generally fade away, but not Gabby. A year later she signed with Warner Music Nashville after she performed the song as guest performer on American Idol 17th season.

Good move by the label. A year later, the song topped the country charts.

Then she released a new version of song that features Charlie Puth and the song landed on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s the first time Charlie landed on country radio as well.
Why is it a big multi format hit? Because it’s one of the few songs today where the words perfectly connect with the music. And it’s a cheat song. You cheated on me, and I hope you fall off the earth. Who never felt that? We all did, it’s a universal theme. Songs with attitude and intensity also do quite well if the artist can pull it off and Gabby did. The track you hear on the radio has the original vocals she cut on the demo. It’s one and done. When artists recut vocals, it loses intensity.  Any producer will tell you this.
Now the song landed on Billboard’s Hot 100 in August and is climbing up the top 40 charts. I won’t be surprised if the track grabs the #1 spot.
Let’s see if radio comes around and takes more chances. The biggest songs this year don’t fit neatly into a format. Lewis Capaldi’s two number one songs are down tempo tear jerkers. Not great for formatting, but that’s what people want to hear. Give people what they want and change with the times.

Check out Self Control by Phem. She’s been featured on and co-wrote with G-Eazy, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Tracy, and Iann Dior. She’s toured with artists such as Lil Xan and Grandson. Speaking of touring, do you remember when artists toured? It’s been so long and some say the summer of 2021 could be off the books. Check out Phem and her track that.

Watch out for Nashville based trio The Brummies. I listened to the track After Midnight and I was pretty hooked. Why? Maybe it made me feel good – the vibe, the mood, the groove, everything. According to the band, these songs were written before shit hit the fan in March 2020.

John Davidson notes, “I’m happy that these songs are feel good because we really need some positivity in times like these. If our songs can make somebody smile and dance then I think that’s a win.”

They also collaborated with Kacey Musgraves on a song called Drive Away and also co-wrote The Band Perry’s 2013 hit “Done”.

The band landed on several Spotify playlists including Fresh Finds: Rock and Wild & Free. Give it a stream on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.

With each release, I’ve become a bigger fan of Ben Wylen. Of course he nails it with his latest release Nicotine. It’s one of my favorites, but I still love his previous release I Beg You. He steals from the greats like Dylan, Coldplay, and Hozier. He’s dropping a song per month that is leading to a full album titled “People Say”. After a trip to London, he met with producer Danton Supple (Coldplay, Morrissey, U2). They ended up working together at London’s State Of The Ark Studios. Check out the track on KOAR’s Indie Invaders playlist.