News Update: producer/artist Blackbear has released his new video for the single Teenage Waste. Check it out here.

Blackbear is an artist, songwriter, and producer signed to Universal Music Publishing, who most recently co-wrote Justin Bieber’s smash single “Boyfriend”. His recent collaborations have been with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Mike Posner, Pharrell Williams, and Relient K. He’s been promoting his self-released digital EP Foreplay, the first installation of a 4-part series, with a video coming out later this month for the single “Teenage Waste“.

Contact: Tabarif@gmail.com

1) Milano Sun – Vertigo
2) Modoc – Coward
3) April Kry – Blindfolded
4) Burning Jet Black – Magazine Girl
5) Incura – Who You Are
6) Great White Buffalo – Sinking In
7) Breanna Lynn – I Told You So
8) Hollywood Ending – Don’t Let Me Down

*Each month Kings of A&R picks the top 8 artists who are a cut above the rest.

Artists like Adele and Gotye are giving Triple a new life. Triple A (adult album alternative) is a niche radio format that nurtured Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Gotye’s  Somebody I Use To Know. Other debut singles finding success at the format include Imagine Dragons’ “It’s Time” (at No. 2 this week), Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team” (No. 3) and Grouplove’s “Tongue Tied” (No. 6). “Popular music comes in cycles. The pendulum is swinging in triple A’s favor,” she says. “Adele, Gotye, Jason Mraz and others being accepted by top 40 means that the young end is into the new music we play. Long-term, that’s so important to our survival.” (Billboard)

Buzz Track: Tomorrow

Radical Something the CA-trio who recently reached #6 on the iTunes Album Charts has become a Kings favorite. They just completed a national tour including appearances with Slightly Stoopid, Asher Roth, SOJA, and Cris Cab. Since bursting onto the music scene last year, the band has garnered 25k Facebook fans, 2 million+ YouTube views, and 50k downloads of their debut self released album ‘We Are Nothing’. The band has licensed music with Abercrombie & Finch, Billabong, and Viacom.

Contact: amh@radicalsomething.com

Buzz Track: Don’t Let Me Down

Check out the track Don’t Let Me Down by Hollywood Ending, a four-piece band formed in summer 2011. They got their start on season 4 of Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing competition making it in 3rd place. They have released two singles “You Got Me” and “I’m So Over You” which have become fan favorites and can be heard on Radio Disney. Hollywood Ending falls between One Direction and The Wanted and are managed by Richard and Stefanie Reines, the brother and sister team who owned and ran Drive-Thru Records (Hellogoodbye, Dashboard Confessional, New Found Glory, Steel Train )

Contact: richardreines@ymail.com