The rock genre has fell on darks days. The Grammys didn’t telecast rock. Avenged Sevenfold skipped the Grammys because rock didn’t get respect. What happened to rock? Did the genre bring the demise on themselves failing to change its sound over the course of a decade? Or is this a coordinate effort by marketers to make rap the dominating genre? Regardless, there are a slew or rock bands that do extremely well. Consider Metallica who doubled their ticket prices and continued to sell out stadium after stadium making them one of the highest grossing tour in 2017. If you’re going to breakout as a new rock act today you must offer something undeniable catchy like LA based pop rockers Romance & Rebellion. The band has created a buzz around themselves solely through social media and performing live. After the release of their debut EP in 2017, they took the stage at Warped Tour, SXSW, and headlined Emo Nite LA.  Check out the track For The Moment.
kirsten@bigpicturemediaonline.com

KOAR (Kings of A&R) was the only media outlet that I’m aware of that predicted the Grammys would have a historic viewership decline. It may have been the least watch ever since its formation.

2018 KOAR predictions: 1) Spotify goes public 2) Amazon becomes more of a player in streaming music 3) Rap will have peaked giving room for another genre 4) more acts will break without a big music label 5) The Grammy’s will have a historic low in viewership.

— Kings Of A&R (@kingsofar) January 3, 2018

“With a 12.7/21 in metered market ratings, the Recording Academy’s big hootenanny was also way down from the early numbers for the LA-based February 13, 2017 59th annual show. By way down, I mean a just over 20% decline from last year to what looks to be an all-time low for the ceremony.

Facing the midseason debut of The Walking Dead and even a bit more competition on the rest of the Big 4 than last night’s show, last year’s Adele dominated Grammys eventually claimed 26.05 million viewers and a 7.8 rating among adults 18-49 when the final numbers came in.

Year-to-year, those results were up a tiny bit in total sets of eyeballs from the 2016 Grammys, which were held on a Monday, but basically the same as the February 15 show of almost two years ago in the key demo. All of which had a bottom line of the 2017 Grammys being the most watched since 2014 but the second lowest rated since 2009 – with only 2016 going lower by half a hair.” (Deadline)

KOAR favorite Dan Crossley finally comes around with a video for the latest single  Rome. In the latest video, the singer-songwriter proves he can back up his tracks with a strong performance as he effortlessly moves between graffitied alleyways, neon lights, and hilltops.  The 21 year old first grabbed attention after his debut EP clocked over 300K Spotify streams, picking up blog press.
claudia@lucidonline.co.uk

Look out for Gundelach with his newly released track Duck Hunting via U OK? Records. It has an unconventional title but it reminiscence of a classic sounding song with his charming Bon Iver-esque falsetto. Already becoming a blog favorite, the track which comes off his forthcoming LP was recorded between Oslo and London. Additionally, he has upcoming shows in Norway, Sweden, and England.
liv@mysticsons.com

If you haven’t heard of Amanda Delara yet, you will. The 20 year old was just awarded best new artist in Norway. The singer-songwriter/producer first made waves with her debut single ‘Paper Paper‘ that charted on Spotify. Unlike pop contemporaries, Amanda isn’t afraid to talk about real issues. She notes, “We Do not Run From Anyone is about challenging the authorities and the norms in society”. Moreover, she’s performed London’s JaJaJa Festivals, Denmark’s Spot Festival and Red Bull Sound Select Music Festival in the US.