5 Artists You Need to Know About in 2025

John Glacier: A Bold New Voice in Alternative Pop

One of the most exciting emerging artists in 2025 is John Glacier, a London-based rapper, poet, and producer. Her approach to genre-bending sound and boundary-pushing beats make her a rising star. With a music style difficult to pin down, Glacier fuses eclectic musical tastes — from electronic glitch soundscapes to introspective, raw hip-hop flow — into something unique and compelling. The music scene is buzzing in anticipation of her forthcoming album Like A Ribbon , due to feature an impressive lineup of collaborations with other genre-spanning artists. A rising force not just in music, Glacier has also become a prominent name in fashion and the cultural zeitgeist, with her work featured in a recent global fashion campaign. GRAMMY 

Hope Tala: Jazz-Infused Songwriting with a Classic Twist

British singer-songwriter Hope Tala has already been a popular indie artist with fans, but 2025 marks her entry into the pop stratosphere. With her smooth, soothing voice and jazzy, bossa nova-influenced sound, Tala weaves together classic instruments with a modern twist. Her debut album Hope Handwritten is a showcase for her style and sound, with warm upright bass grooves, intricate fingerpicked guitars, and a focus on lyrical introspection that harkens back to vintage songwriting while feeling entirely of-the-moment. Her performances at Coachella 2025, as well as a slew of other popular music festivals and tours around the world, showcase her music as a mature, thoughtful, and yet undeniably catchy alternative to pop music’s constant churn of bright, uptempo releases — a reminder that slow, understated, and musically sophisticated tracks will always be in vogue.

Biig Piig: Dark and Vulnerable, with a Twist of Hip-Hop

Irish-born electro-pop artist Biig Piig (aka Jessica Smyth) is a rising star in the European music scene, with a sound that has been catching on across the world. Her music — a blend of electronic pop, hip-hop beats, and her expansive vocal range — has drawn attention with her storytelling and the emotional rawness of her songwriting. Fans eagerly await her next full-length album 11: 11 , expected to explore themes of loneliness and yearning through vivid lyrics and innovative production. Biig Piig’s diverse musical influences, as well as her willingness to experiment with and cross genres, mark her as an interesting new voice in alternative pop in 2025. GRAMMY 

Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso: Genre-Defying Latin Artists

Emerging from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the bustling Latin music scene, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are a musical duo with genre-blending sounds that have taken the world by storm. Their album BAÑO MARÍA perfectly encapsulates the duo’s ability to pull from electronica, hyperpop, funk, and reggaeton — creating a genre-bending Latin pop sound that’s at once familiar and entirely new. But it’s not just their music that has fans dancing across Latin America and around the world — it’s their vibrant and high-energy performances as well. Mixing complex rhythms and technical polish with joyful, playful experimentation, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are a force to be reckoned with on stage, not just in the recording studio. With major festival performances in 2025, including a Coachella 2025 debut set, as well as a US tour, these two represent the future of Latin and global pop music. GRAMMY 

KATSEYE: A New Kind of Girl Group Dominating Pop Music

If you’re a fan of pop music, or just have ears and eyes on your favorite streaming and social media platforms, it’s hard to have avoided the rising wave of KATSEYE. A global girl group of members from around the world, KATSEYE burst into the pop scene at the end of 2024 with the debut of their song “Gnarly” and their viral explosion on TikTok. Formed from a global competitive training system (similar to K-pop), the members of the group showcase their uniquely multicultural and multilingual identity with music that transcends genre labels. Mixing hyperpop, drum and bass, Latin and K-pop influences and more, KATSEYE have already topped the charts and showcased their crossover cultural appeal and fashionability with songs like “Gnarly” and “Gabriela.” In 2025, with a second EP Beautiful Chaos (debuted at #27 on Billboard 200), festival performances including Coachella 2025, and music videos and campaigns across social platforms, KATSEYE is redefining the future of modern pop stardom with its global identity and genre-fluid approach to pop. GRAMMY 

Why These Artists Are Worth Knowing in 2025

Each of the artists above is unique, and each in their own way are pushing boundaries and redefining popular music and pop culture in 2025. Some mix genres and styles in new ways, others bring sounds from around the world to a new generation of listeners, while still others reinvent what music can sound like and still connect deeply with audiences. In a music world dominated by data and predictive algorithms, these five artists represent an authentic and human creativity, an effort to express something personal and connect to others. Whether you’re listening casually, digging into a new sound, or you’re a lifelong music aficionado, these artists are worth knowing not just in 2025, but for how their music may shape and define the next decade.

Emerging Music Trends to Watch for in 2025

Musically, each of these five 2025 artists present some key trends shaping music in the year and beyond. Keep an ear out for the themes and innovations below as 2025 unfolds and check back with us for more on what’s shaping and shaking up the music world.

1. Genre Blending and Fluidity 

Musical tastes in 2025 are genre-fluid. Streamers and fans don’t silo themselves into EDM playlists or hip-hop albums. Instead, listeners appreciate music across genres and artists are experimenting more and more with blending genre conventions and influences. The artists on this list showcase genre fusion: the jazzy pop of Hope Tala, the electronic beats of KATSEYE, the alternative hip-hop of John Glacier and Biig Piig, and the Latin-pop of Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are all examples of this trend. Genre fusion isn’t a fad — it’s the sound of 2025.

2. Global Collaboration and Influence 

Artists in 2025 are more global than ever before. Travel, the internet, and streaming platforms connect us all to the music of the world. The music that listeners love most mixes cultural influences from around the world. Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, with their reggaeton, electro, and funk from Latin America, KATSEYE with their members from around the world and music styles from the K-pop/hip-hop spectrum, and Biig Piig with her diverse European influences are just a few examples. The internet and social media platforms make it easier for global artists to find listeners and mix the sounds of music we’re used to with new influences. Watch for this trend to continue in 2025 and beyond.

3. Storytelling and Musicality 

Songs with emotional depth and authenticity still connect most to audiences. A focus on storytelling, lyrical introspection and vulnerability, and musical complexity are all the key to real and human musical expression. The artists in this list — from Hope Tala to Biig Piig to John Glacier — are all great examples of music that’s rich in musicality and lyrics and rewards close listening and attention. Streaming platforms and constant content sometimes flood our ears with shiny new sounds and bright new releases, but true human expression in music still makes the most impact. Focus on this artistry as you listen. 

4. Social Media and Viral Culture 

Music in 2025 moves at internet speed. Tastes are built on social media and streaming platforms, shaped by TikTok trends, and spread virally through social sharing. Albums take a backseat to singles, concerts feel curated to social feeds, and trends come and go in the blink of an eye. Social media also makes it easier than ever for artists to get discovered and listened to, before the traditional music industry has a chance to catch on. Many artists on this list have used social media to their advantage, like KATSEYE and their TikTok origins, or others who have capitalized on sound design or remixability. Expect these trends to accelerate in 2025 and beyond.

Finding New Artists in 2025 

Getting on top of the new music game can seem like a tall order — but it’s one well worth the climb. Follow playlists on your streaming services, curated around “New Music Friday” or “Emerging Artists”. Dive deeper into festival lineups, where so many of the performers gaining traction today are tomorrow’s headliners. Use social media and social platforms like TikTok or Instagram as a barometer for real-time trends and sounds (music that goes viral here will impact charts and playlists down the road). Read music blogs and magazines, keeping an ear out for artists before they become chart-topping names. In short, being an early fan of a rising star is not just about being ahead of the curve — it’s about experiencing culture as it’s happening.

Conclusion

Music in 2025 is a dynamic, evolving world, full of artists making their own rules and defining the future of popular music. In a music industry dominated by streaming and data, these five artists show us that music is more than just numbers and analytics. The experimental soundscapes of John Glacier, the timeless songwriting and musicality of Hope Tala, the genre-bending innovation of Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, the poetic intensity of Biig Piig, and the global girl power of KATSEYE are all artists you need to know in 2025. Each is not just pushing and blending genres, but also redefining popular culture as it’s experienced around the world. Tune into these artists as they move into 2025, set to shake up the next decade of music and culture.