Shazam Fast Forward 2025
These are Shazam's Predictions for breakthrough artists in 2025.Featuring emerging artists who, based on Shazam data and reviewed by our editors, are poised to have a breakthrough year. It's a remarkably global and diverse selection, hailing from 26 countries and spanning sounds from Indie-Rock to UK Drill.
Dance
Latin
Country/Rock
Pop
Hip-Hop/R&B
The Brooklyn native spent four years playing guard for University of Michigan’s basketball team, then moved to Nashville to pursue a different passion: country music. Before dropping his debut single “LOW ROAD” in August 2024, the 6’6” singer was known on TikTok for his over-the-top reactions to his favorite country songs. (Shaboozey’s team even gifted Nunez a platinum plaque for his early role in boosting “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the biggest song of 2024.) The viral success of “LOW ROAD,” a bittersweet sing-along inspired by a past love triangle, earned Nunez an opening spot on rising country star Dasha’s first headlining tour.
MoreAdrien NunezCountry - United States
Born out of pandemic boredom in 2020, Moody Joody began as the joint project of Nashville singers Kaitie Forbes and Kayla Hall, eventually joined by producer Andrew Pacheko. The trio released their debut EP, Dream Girl, in November 2024—six tracks of hooky synth-pop, like the propulsive “Velvet Connection,” that draws from bands like Bleachers and The 1975 just as much as it does the twangy sound of Music Row.
MoreMoody JoodyAlternative - United States
The fiery Irish rockers, named for a dated Irish slang term for someone up to no good, formed in the inauspicious early months of 2020, then used their time in lockdown to pour their anxieties into noisy, cathartic demos full of biting social commentary. The five-piece “noise-gaze” band, with a raucous sound somewhere between punk and shoegaze, have built a devoted following since selling out their first-ever live performance at Dublin’s iconic Workman’s Club in 2021. In 2024 they released their debut album, Come and See, whose biggest songs (“Top of the Bill,” “Approachable”) feel like the soundtrack to a world on fire.
MoreGurriersIndie-Rock - Ireland
The 21-year-old Canadian songwriter had nearly given up on music when she recorded “Purple Gas,” inspired by her experiences growing up in rural Alberta. Hofmann worked on a ranch and performed at local bars until Zach Bryan took notice of the song in 2023; the two covered it as a duet on his 2024 album The Great American Bar Scene, leading to a spike in Shazam volume for Hofmann. Since then, she’s dropped her debut EP (October’s Purple Gas) and opened for a handful of her heroes, Charley Crockett and Wyatt Flores, on their respective headlining tours.
MoreNoeline HofmannCountry - Canada
The angsty emo trio spent the past few years establishing themselves among Taiwan’s thriving rock scene, but 2024 marked FUMON’s biggest year yet. September saw the release of the group’s debut album, When you suffer, you are blessed., leading to a major spike in their Shazam volume—particularly their single “I’m Willing,” a glitchy pop-punk anthem featuring rising Taiwanese rap-rocker Marz23.
MoreFUMONRock - Taiwan
The French musician (born Luc Bruyére) spent his childhood training as a dancer, then honed his voice working at Paris’ oldest drag cabaret venue, where he performed as a character named La Venus des Mille Hommes. Since 2022, his alt-pop songs as LUCKY LOVE deconstruct restrictive social norms in a delicate falsetto that channels ANOHNI or James Blake. He released his debut album, I DON’T CARE IF IT BURNS, in November, buffeted by the slow-burning viral success of his 2022 single, “MASCULINITY.”
MoreLUCKY LOVEAlternative - France
The Washington native has an old soul for a guy born in 1997, having spent his childhood playing in a bluegrass band with his siblings. The mustachioed singer relocated to Nashville in 2021, where he honed his style of songwriting—inspired by ’90s country legends like Alan Jackson—before finally releasing his Cold Beer & Country Music album in April 2024. Nostalgic tracks like “Sounds Like the Radio” and “I Never Lie” have powered Top’s recent rise, landing him a nod for New Artist of the Year at the 2024 CMA Awards and opening spots on recent tour dates for Dierks Bentley and Lainey Wilson.
MoreZach TopTraditional Country - United States
Before breaking through to North American audiences with his appearance on American Idol in 2022, the Canadian singer worked long hours on a British Columbia pipeline, posting Tyler Childers covers to Reddit in his spare time. Whitcomb had never sung in public before his televised audition, but his rendition of Waylon Jennings’ “Rock, Salt and Nails” impressed judge Katy Perry, earning him a deal with Atlantic Records and a substantial TikTok following though he didn’t make the cut. Fall 2024 was big for the 21-year-old singer: he released his soulful debut EP, Quitter—inspired in part by past struggles with addiction—and embarked on his first headlining tour.
MoreCameron WhitcombCountry - Canada
Since forming in early 2023, the San Antonio four-piece has channeled vintage surf rock, feel-good indie rock, and a touch of anime theme song melodrama into songs that feel like summertime. There’s an infectious positivity to the group’s 2024 debut full-length, ALOHA INOHA, which includes the super-catchy “Seventh Heaven,” the group's most-searched song on Shazam.
MoreINOHAAlternative - United States
The dream of the mid-2000s is alive in Los Angeles, where the trio of Greg Aram, Zach Michel, and Brooke Danaher have crafted electronic-tinged garage rock with a side of aughts revivalism since 2021. (Think Stars, The Go! Team, or The Whitest Boy Alive.) The group released their third EP, My Star, in November, while their single “Cross the Street” spent the fall driving new highs in Shazam volume.
MoreJunior VarsityAlternative - United States
The Brooklyn native spent four years playing guard for University of Michigan’s basketball team, then moved to Nashville to pursue a different passion: country music. Before dropping his debut single “LOW ROAD” in August 2024, the 6’6” singer was known on TikTok for his over-the-top reactions to his favorite country songs. (Shaboozey’s team even gifted Nunez a platinum plaque for his early role in boosting “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” the biggest song of 2024.) The viral success of “LOW ROAD,” a bittersweet sing-along inspired by a past love triangle, earned Nunez an opening spot on rising country star Dasha’s first headlining tour.
MoreAdrien NunezCountry - United States
The French musician (born Luc Bruyére) spent his childhood training as a dancer, then honed his voice working at Paris’ oldest drag cabaret venue, where he performed as a character named La Venus des Mille Hommes. Since 2022, his alt-pop songs as LUCKY LOVE deconstruct restrictive social norms in a delicate falsetto that channels ANOHNI or James Blake. He released his debut album, I DON’T CARE IF IT BURNS, in November, buffeted by the slow-burning viral success of his 2022 single, “MASCULINITY.”
MoreLUCKY LOVEAlternative - France
Born out of pandemic boredom in 2020, Moody Joody began as the joint project of Nashville singers Kaitie Forbes and Kayla Hall, eventually joined by producer Andrew Pacheko. The trio released their debut EP, Dream Girl, in November 2024—six tracks of hooky synth-pop, like the propulsive “Velvet Connection,” that draws from bands like Bleachers and The 1975 just as much as it does the twangy sound of Music Row.
MoreMoody JoodyAlternative - United States
The Washington native has an old soul for a guy born in 1997, having spent his childhood playing in a bluegrass band with his siblings. The mustachioed singer relocated to Nashville in 2021, where he honed his style of songwriting—inspired by ’90s country legends like Alan Jackson—before finally releasing his Cold Beer & Country Music album in April 2024. Nostalgic tracks like “Sounds Like the Radio” and “I Never Lie” have powered Top’s recent rise, landing him a nod for New Artist of the Year at the 2024 CMA Awards and opening spots on recent tour dates for Dierks Bentley and Lainey Wilson.
MoreZach TopTraditional Country - United States
The fiery Irish rockers, named for a dated Irish slang term for someone up to no good, formed in the inauspicious early months of 2020, then used their time in lockdown to pour their anxieties into noisy, cathartic demos full of biting social commentary. The five-piece “noise-gaze” band, with a raucous sound somewhere between punk and shoegaze, have built a devoted following since selling out their first-ever live performance at Dublin’s iconic Workman’s Club in 2021. In 2024 they released their debut album, Come and See, whose biggest songs (“Top of the Bill,” “Approachable”) feel like the soundtrack to a world on fire.
MoreGurriersIndie-Rock - Ireland
Before breaking through to North American audiences with his appearance on American Idol in 2022, the Canadian singer worked long hours on a British Columbia pipeline, posting Tyler Childers covers to Reddit in his spare time. Whitcomb had never sung in public before his televised audition, but his rendition of Waylon Jennings’ “Rock, Salt and Nails” impressed judge Katy Perry, earning him a deal with Atlantic Records and a substantial TikTok following though he didn’t make the cut. Fall 2024 was big for the 21-year-old singer: he released his soulful debut EP, Quitter—inspired in part by past struggles with addiction—and embarked on his first headlining tour.
MoreCameron WhitcombCountry - Canada
The 21-year-old Canadian songwriter had nearly given up on music when she recorded “Purple Gas,” inspired by her experiences growing up in rural Alberta. Hofmann worked on a ranch and performed at local bars until Zach Bryan took notice of the song in 2023; the two covered it as a duet on his 2024 album The Great American Bar Scene, leading to a spike in Shazam volume for Hofmann. Since then, she’s dropped her debut EP (October’s Purple Gas) and opened for a handful of her heroes, Charley Crockett and Wyatt Flores, on their respective headlining tours.
MoreNoeline HofmannCountry - Canada
Since forming in early 2023, the San Antonio four-piece has channeled vintage surf rock, feel-good indie rock, and a touch of anime theme song melodrama into songs that feel like summertime. There’s an infectious positivity to the group’s 2024 debut full-length, ALOHA INOHA, which includes the super-catchy “Seventh Heaven,” the group's most-searched song on Shazam.
MoreINOHAAlternative - United States
The angsty emo trio spent the past few years establishing themselves among Taiwan’s thriving rock scene, but 2024 marked FUMON’s biggest year yet. September saw the release of the group’s debut album, When you suffer, you are blessed., leading to a major spike in their Shazam volume—particularly their single “I’m Willing,” a glitchy pop-punk anthem featuring rising Taiwanese rap-rocker Marz23.
MoreFUMONRock - Taiwan
The dream of the mid-2000s is alive in Los Angeles, where the trio of Greg Aram, Zach Michel, and Brooke Danaher have crafted electronic-tinged garage rock with a side of aughts revivalism since 2021. (Think Stars, The Go! Team, or The Whitest Boy Alive.) The group released their third EP, My Star, in November, while their single “Cross the Street” spent the fall driving new highs in Shazam volume.
MoreJunior VarsityAlternative - United States
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