WHAT IT IS: Before landing a global, lo-fi hip-hop smash, 21-year-old Powfu, née Isaiah Faber, first started recording in the basement of his parents’ Fraser Valley, B.C., home while still in high school. After a string of successful releases on SoundCloud, his breakout hit “coffee for your head” f/beabadoobee has become a viral sensation. With 400m+ combined streams and 4m+ TikTok videos created, the RIAA gold-certified and multi-format hit has been blowing up at just about every platform and is just the beginning for the melancholic rapper. Named YouTube’s Artist on the Rise, Powfu recently dropped follow-up single “i’m used to it.”
SINGLE: “coffee for your head” f/beabadoobee
INTERNET: Viral TikTok trend with 4m+ activity; 27.6m+ monthly Spotify listeners, 59th most listened to artist globally, Top 5 Global Spotify, Top 10 in 20+ markets; Top 5 Global Shazam, #7 on Pandora Top Spins chart; 4m+ YouTube music video views first week, 16m+ to date
RADIO: #28 at Pop (#28), #15 at Alt radio, chart bound at Rhythm (#42) week of 4/20
PRESS: Named NME Radar Breakout Artist, L.A. Times (“The Rise of Quarantine Pop)”, Idolator, Stereogum, OTW, Genius Verified, more.
MANAGEMENT: Dave Faber

WHAT IT IS: After meeting on SoundCloud in 2017, Texas-based Colin Padalecki and Forrest Frank have continued to mesh their individual talents to create the duo Surfaces. Delivering jazzy sounds spiked with pop, hip-hop, reggae, soul and calypso, all in the name of positive vibes and carefree fun, Surfaces dropped debut album Surf in 2017, Where the Light Is in 2019 and latest release Horizons in February, all self-written and self-produced. With 340m+ global streams to date on their hit RIAA gold-certified single, “Sunday Best,” which blew up at TikTok, and their TV debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers, 2020 is shaping up to be a massive year for the duo.
ALBUM: Horizons
RELEASE DATE: 2/28
SINGLE: “Sunday Best”
TV: Late Night With Seth Meyers
LIVE: Previously announced Bonnaroo and Hangout Fest sets
INTERNET: 340m+ global streams on single; 23.7m+ monthly Spotify listeners, 83rd most-listened-to worldwide; 275k+ Instagram followers; 97m+ combined video views on YouTube, 405k subscribers; 1.2m+ activity on TikTok
RADIO: #19 at Top 40, 164 adds
PRESS: Idolator, OTW (“Surfaces is quite possibly the most optimistic and eclectic indie-pop duo to date”), Flaunt, Medium, more
BOOKING: Jeffrey Hasson & Max Braun/Paradigm Agency
MANAGEMENT: Zack Friedman & Tony Talamo/Homemade Management

WHAT IT IS: Eerie instrumentals and haunting, vaporous vocals serve as the key element of singer/songwriter/producer Sub Urban’s horror-infused pop. The New Jersey native launched his career at the age of 18 with his breakout single, “Cradles,” which, closing in on 500m streams, is one of the most TikTok’d songs of all time with 1b+ uses, while reaching #1 on Alt radio. Subsequently, Sub Urban, aka Danny Maisonneuve, released his highly anticipated EP, Thrill Seeker, which includes the single “Freak” f/REI AMI. Completely self-produced, the project draws on elements of fantasy, conjuring an imaginary world and through the lens of this 20-year-old visionary artist.
ALBUM: Thrill Seeker
RELEASE DATE: 3/13
SINGLE: “Freak” f/REMI AMI
LIVE: Upcoming Melanie Martinez and Yungblud tours being rescheduled
INTERNET: 4.1m+ monthly Spotify listeners; 1b+ TikTok activity, 754k+ followers; 252k+ Instagram followers; 1.5m+ YouTube subscribers, 197.5m+ video views
RADIO: “Freak” impacting Alt on 5/11; “Cradles” reached #1 at Alt
PRESS: Alt Press, FADER, SPIN, OTW (“Combining elements of left-of-center pop with a wondrously macabre vision, Sub Urban is crafting out a niche that is all his own”), Genius, NME, more
BOOKING: Mike Meyer & Mike Marquis/Paradigm