British singer and songwriter Myles Smith has been steadily climbing the U.K. Official Singles Chart this year with his hit, “Stargazing,” which peaked at #4 in August. The track has tallied 603m global streams and over 2m TTE, peaking at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #7 on the European airplay chart. He’s sold out tours across the U.K., Europe, North America, Australia and South Africa and has a bright future in the U.S., with the support of RCA worldwide.
Smith arrived on the radar of the RCA U.K. team with his self-released cover of The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather.” Follow-up “Solo” sent the A&R team into “overdrive with excitement,” according to RCA U.K. Co-President Glyn Aikins. “After speaking with his manager, Eric [Parker], and then meeting Myles, where he played us a bunch of fantastic songs, we were all convinced he was an artist we wanted to be in business with.”
Aikins is bullish about Smith’s potential. “Myles has the voice, the songs, the story and viewpoint, the soft emotive skills, the ‘not what I was expecting’ element, the ambition and the smarts to make a very successful long-term career.” He’s had a host of playlist support across BBC, Global and Bauer radio stations, alongside major TV and press features.
He’s recently released two more singles, “Wait For You” and “Whisper.”
More new music will arrive in January and March. Touring-wise, Smith supported Imagine Dragons’ stadium tour in the U.S. in July and August, which preceded his own U.S. headline tour in autumn. Australia, U.K. and European headline tours will follow.
“We believe Myles Smith is an important U.K. artist who will break globally,” concludes Aikins. “The U.K. has a history of exporting commercially successful and critically lauded singer-songwriters. We believe Myles is a talent who will be commercially successful and deliver critical acclaim.”
Pop singer and songwriter Henry Moodie has attracted a worldwide fanbase with his melancholic songs and candid lyrics, written mostly in his bedroom. He honed his craft across break time at school before completing a songwriting diploma and later signing to Sony U.K. imprint Robots + Humans. It’s his “genuine musicianship,” which has been inspired by Taylor Swift and Coldplay, that makes him special, says label President Robert Ronaldson.
“He’s a genuine lover of pop music but with a real appreciation for the granular details of what makes a record connect. That analytical approach extends to everything he does, from his content to how he engages and builds excitement for his fans.”
Moodie signed to the label after releasing his debut single, “you were there for me,” and impressing the team with some “incredible demos.” Ronaldson continues: “We got a sense of his passion and desire to succeed within about five minutes of meeting him. He’s super-ambitious, so it was a no-brainer for us.”
So far, Moodie has racked up 600m+ streams across his catalog, which includes two EPs and a string of singles. “drunk text,” released earlier this year, reached #1 on the Spotify chart in Malaysia and Indonesia, peaking at #86 globally. He’s spent this year busily touring, with a number of U.K., European and Asian festivals throughout the summer, an Australian headline tour in August, and a U.K./Europe tour in October. His second EP, good old days, was released in September and precedes his debut album.
After playing his first U.S. shows earlier this year (with sold-out dates in New York and L.A.), returning to write and tour more is a “big priority,” says Ronaldson. Outside the U.S., building on his fanbase in Asia is also on the cards. “As clichéd as it is to say, the sky really is the limit for Henry,” concludes Ronaldson. “With his talent, ambition and vision, our goal—and expectation—is to make him a global pop star and household name.”
