Female pop singers dominated the top 40 charts in 2018 which made headlines. The Guardian ran with “Fame and fortune rising for female pop stars in UK” while The Telegraph printed “Gender gap in pop music charts nearly closed after string of hits by female singers, new data shows”.

So who are these female pop stars that created the monumental shift in 2018? Well that would be rapper Cardi B, Dua Lipa Jess Glynne, and Ariana Grande. These artists had a string of hits that spent nearly 300+ weeks on the top 40 charts.

This is not an orchestrated effort to close a gender gap because next year could look completely different. If Cardi B and Dua Lipa slowed down, then who would take their place? Cardi B spent the longest in the UK top 40 at 77 weeks with songs I Like It and Girls Like You.

Jessica Laws debut single Liar landed on our playlist. Influenced by Pink, Demi Lovato, and Sia – Jessica tells Kings, “Liar reminded me of a time where I was unable to stand up for myself, a time where someone else made decisions for me and always looked down on me. How could I let people think low of me? I was lying to myself that I was ok”. Spending 3 to 4 nights of the week performing covers, Jessica has a strong vocal and fierce stage presence. Jessica notes, “I want my songs on the radio and having a number 1 hit even it takes a while”. Give it a stream.
ryan@clutch32.com

From UK synth pop to red state alternative rock, we reached out to the 10 artists who are on our playlists, climbing the charts, and shattering instagram. This month: Brooklyn’s electro duo Fly By Midnight, UK indie pop Caezar, LA pop act VOILÀ, North Carolina’s rock act Lowborn, Nate Head, Cleveland’s Recess, South Africa’s Leandro, Canada’s Krowns, indie sensation Fil Bo Riva, and New Mexico’s local radio darling Maiya.

Fly By Midnight are making with waves with the new track You Belong. Formed by former MTV’s Dream Bigger reality star and multi-instrumentalist, Justin Bryte, and producer- songwriter Slavo, the duo has been dropping singles garnering music label interest. Releasing their music via AWAL, the duo just dropped their debut album with the latest single You Belong landing on Spotify’s New Music Friday, Apple Music’s Breaking Pop & A-List Pop, and Soundcloud’s Fresh Pressed. CONTINUE READING

Los Angeles-based pop duo YVR dropped the new track “Messy”. It has big hooks that could go on the album of any seasoned pop artist and probably chart. Think Tove Lo meets Betty Who. The duo is made up of Courtney Jenae who began as a solo artist and rose to popularity on YouTube while Stephen Stahl is a music producer. Additionally, the couple worked with and wrote songs for K-POP acts like Exo and Girls Generation. YVR tells Kings “The song is about the power of having your cake and eating it too regardless of what the consequences may be”. Give it a stream.
weareyvr@gmail.com

Krowns dropped the second track Fake It that comes off of their new album in January. The alternative three-piece from Canada worked with music producer Stephen Kozmeniuk (Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar) – crafting electro rock songs with big hooks. Although I really loved the debut track High While The World Ends – the new single Fake It is more innovative with the band starting to sound like themselves.
Plus, this is a better track written about peer pressure:
“We fake it to survive We fake it
We fake this plastic life We fake it
They don’t know what it’s like
To be locked out of paradise
Always hiding behind this disguise”

Give the track the stream!