AND NOW: A NEW & DEVELOPING STORY

The next tree-murdering print edition of HITS will be our Q2 New & Developing Artists special, featuring a lavish spread of talent on the verge of breaking big. Prior iterations of our N&D issues have given biz peeps a preliminary look at promising young acts like Lil Nas X, DaBaby, Dua Lipa, Katy Perry and Adele.

In anticipation of the new ish, we thought we’d offer a quick sampling of artists on the verge of leveling up.

GIVĒON: Not So Fast/Epic’s baritone breakout, who guested on Drake’s “Chicago Freestyle” last year, has entered the Top 10 at Spotify U.S. with killer single “Heartbreak Anniversary,” which is nearing 155m global streams at the DSP. His album, When It’s All Said and Done … Take Time, debuted in the Top 10 earlier this month and is holding its own among superstar releases. GIVĒON is also featured on Justin Bieber’s monster “Peaches.” The smart money says he’ll be in the next crop of major stars.

TATE MCRAE: This RCA singer/songwriter has racked up 1.2b career streams, with 775m+ for the knockout platinum track “you broke me first,” which is now Top 5 at Pop radio. She’s earned two Juno Award noms, a VMA nom, YouTube Artist on the Rise recognition and inclusion in Forbes’ 30 Under 30. McCrae is poised for the big time.

SPOTEMGOTTEM: A TikTok phenom, the Geffen rapper hails from Jacksonville, Fla., and his “Beatbox” just won’t stop. The song went viral in connection with the “Junebug Challenge,” appeared in Final Destination late last year and is now Top 10 at Urban radio and Top 30 at Rhythm. Sequels to “Beatbox” feature Pooh Shiesty and DaBaby.

COI LERAY: “No More Parties” has been a breakthrough cut for the Jersey-bred, L.A.-based Republic rapper, who started dropping mixtapes in 2018 and initially gained traction at TikTok with “Big Prrddd” f/Pooh Shiesty. Her “Parties” is Top 20 at Urban and Top 25 at Rhythm; a new remix features Lil Durk.

GIRL IN RED: Spotify is plenty high on this AWAL indie rocker, aka Norwegian singer/songwriter Marie Ulven, who is now one of the streamery’s designated RADAR artists. She’s amassed more than 1 billion career streams and is currently charging toward the Alternative radio Top 20 with single “Serotonin.” girl in red also won Norway’s 2020 NRK P3 Artist of the Year Award, which no other performer listed here can claim.

BEABADOOBEE: Dirty Hit’s London-bred 20-year-old singer/songwriter first crooned her way to prominence when her song “Coffee” was interpolated on Powfu’s viral hit “coffee for my head.” Her new cut, “Last Day on Earth,” is off to a strong start at the DSPs, with 765m+ Spotify streams and global support from New Music Friday and other strategic playlists, BBC Radio 1 love and early action at TikTok.

JESSIA: In January we were extolling this young Canadian popster as an unsigned breakout; not long thereafter she was inked to Republic. Her body-positivity anthem “I’m Not Pretty,” which first saw daylight as a clip on TikTok and grew quickly, has generated more than 75m global streams.

CAROLESDAUGHTER: 18-year-old singer/songwriter Thea Taylor hails from Oceanside, Calif. The Arista artist’s “Violent” has moved into the Top 15 at Alternative radio after a rampage on TikTok. The cut has garnered some 57m Spotify streams and is further proof—if any were needed—that women are driving the resurgence of rock and alternative.