I’ll be the first to admit it: I have a music-taste superiority complex. This is a fact I’m entirely unashamed of. I’ll stop telling everyone I have the best music taste ever when it stops being true. Though we could debate for hours whether TikTok’s undeniable effect on the music industry is good or bad, I’ve found some of my favorite artists on the app.
TikTok’s unique algorithm allows the app to show any user content it thinks they would enjoy. This makes it a lot easier for smaller creators, including musicians, to gain attention. Going viral on the app has launched the careers of several artists. For a lot of them, there’s an audience who would love their music, so long as they can reach it. So, to share some of my music wisdom with you (I hope you can hear the patented music-taste superiority complex speaking), here are some of my favorite niche artists that I found through TikTok.
Leanna Firestone
If you’ve never heard me talk about my favorite artist of all time, let me introduce you to Leanna Firestone. The first song of hers I listened to was “Hide.” After I listened to it on repeat for a good week and a half I said, audibly, “Man, I love this song! I wish she had other music!” Then, I clicked on her Spotify profile and found out she had a lot of other music waiting for me.
Firestone has a lot of music with different vibes, whether that’s a gut-wrenching song about going no-contact with her father (“ESOEMOEHOED”) or a pop-rock song about hating the institution of marriage but being willing to marry that special someone (“God and the Government”). There’s something for everyone.
Isabel Pless
Isabel Pless has a gift for lyricism. I don’t know how to explain it other than saying that this woman has read my diary and written everything out in vivid detail. Her song “Bechdel Test” was my top song on Spotify of all time, until it was demoted to second place by another one of her songs, “Twenty-Two.” She’s got something special with her writing and I’m formally begging you not to sleep on her anymore.
Taylor Bickett
If I wasn’t strongly against the idea of gatekeeping artists before they become mainstream, Taylor Bickett would be at the top of my list. This woman has never released a bad song in her life. Her newest release “I Like Mondays” feels like a hug. Did it come out on a Friday and still become my most listened-to song of the week by that Sunday? Yes, it did.
Bickett’s songs have a knack for cutting directly into the core of emotions. They’ve got deep feminine energy, great lyrics, and melodies that are guaranteed to get stuck in anyone’s head.
Melina KB
I didn’t know musical theater pop was the genre missing from my life until I discovered Melina KB, whose music was written for retired theater kids in some way, or not-so-retired theater kids like myself. Her upbeat melodies and lyrics filled to the brim with storytelling make her one of my favorite artists to listen to when I need to get sucked into the music.
Chase Petra
Chase Petra is the ideal example of an artist found on TikTok. The first video of theirs I found was one of the band’s lead singer, Hunter Leigh Allen, singing Panic! At The Disco songs as if they were in “a gay period piece musical” with orchestration by a string quartet. Naturally, I then began a deep dive into the band’s videos, discovered their song “Pacific,” and kept going from there. Chase Petra’s music, which their artist profile describes as “pop rock tunes rooted in early 2000s pop punk and indie rock,” scratches an itch in my brain.
Sadie Jean
Sadie Jean’s music was written for the part of me that’s still a lovesick teenage girl and I’m living for it. Her first single, “WYD Now?”, was breathtaking, lovesick, and easy to sing along to. She recently announced a tour, but the closest she’s coming to Florida is Atlanta. Unfortunately, though I’m willing to make the drive for a concert (I did it for Maisie Peters in October last year), I’m not willing to do it during finals week. Any other time would be fair game.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of my favorite artists that I found through TikTok. If you’re interested in reading more, I’ve created a playlist with songs by all of these artists and others! As always, feel free to chat with me about music on Instagram! I’m nothing if not desperate to hear what other people like to listen to.
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