If you’re looking for new music, you have come to the right place! Music is a really big passion of mine, I love finding new songs and artists to update my playlists with. Recently, I have been listening to a lot of different artists that, in my opinion, are quite underrated. You may have heard of some of these artists before, or maybe none at all, but either way here is my list of artists who I think are the most underappreciated and under-acknowledged.
Finneas
While you may not automatically know who Finneas is just by his name, you definitely will recognize his sister, Billie Eilish. Finneas O’Connell, who goes only by his first name, is Billie’s older brother. He is a singer as well as an actor (he played Alistair in the final season of Glee), he writes and produces all of his own songs, and he co-writes/produces his sister’s songs. He produces for some other artists as well; Selena Gomez’s most recent song “Lose You to Love Me” was produced by him! Some of my personal favourites of his songs are “Break My Heart Again,” “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night,” “Claudia,” “I Lost a Friend,” “Angel” and “I Don’t Miss You at All.” Two of the previously-mentioned songs “Claudia” and “Angel” are written about his current girlfriend, a beauty/lifestyle YouTuber named Claudia Sulewski. The two of them are absolutely adorable together and she often features Finneas in many of her daily vlogs!
Alexander 23
I just recently discovered this artist this past week and I have been obsessed with his music ever since. He recently released an album titled “I’m Sorry I Love You” which was recommended to me on Apple Music. From what I have been able to research on him, Alexander 23 appears to be a brand-new artist. In some ways, his music slightly reminds me of Finneas’, but with a slightly different sound to it. My favourites of his would have to be “Girl,” “See You Later” and “Sad.”
Image from Heart Eyes Magazine
Clairo
Claire Cottrill goes by Clairo as her stage name and is a young female artist. Her genre is often described as “bedroom pop” as it’s the kind of music that makes you want to dance around in your room. I often find it has hints of the 80s as well. I recently saw Clairo open for Khalid in Toronto and although I already liked her before seeing her live, it intensified my love for her music. Clairo’s initial rise to fame was when she uploaded her song “Pretty Girl” to YouTube and it went viral, attracting over 40 million views. She wrote, produced and recorded the song all on her own. I do happen to love that song of hers a lot, but my all-time favourite is “4Ever” hands down.
Zara Larsson
While Zara Larsson has had some decently big hits in the past, I still feel that overall she’s very underrated as an artist! The reason for this is likely that most of her success has been in Europe, which is where she’s from. I find that Zara is slightly comparable to Dua Lipa in the type of music she makes (pop/dance) as well as having such a unique and strong voice. My favourite songs of hers that I would recommend would be “Lush Life,” “I Would Like,” and “Only You.” Zara is a self-proclaimed feminist and activist who has shown that she is not afraid to use her platform to voice her opinions. I also personally consider her to be absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and often use her hair, makeup and clothing as inspo!
Rex Orange County
While the name of this artist sounds like it may be a band, it’s actually the stage name of just one individual, Alexander O’Connor. His music falls under the indie-pop genre and I have always found that it has a very unique sound to it. His best songs, in my opinion, are “Best Friend,” “Loving is Easy” and “New House.” He recently released a new album as well so I am very happy with all the new songs from him I get to now listen to! So far, my favourite song off of his new album is “Face to Face.” I also happen to be going to see him perform in Toronto in January and I definitely cannot wait to see him live.
Justin Nozuka
I have been listening to Justin Nozuka’s music for years and years and the fact that he is somehow not an incredibly famous artist honestly blows my mind. He is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter whose music falls somewhere under the genres of folk and acoustic. His debut album, released in 2007, is probably one of my favourite albums ever made. Any time I listen to it, it reminds me a lot of my childhood since I was probably only around 9-10 when I first heard it. His voice is beautiful and his songs are as well. Since his first album, he has released three others and they are all equally as great. My favourite songs of Nozuka’s would have to be “Golden Train,” “Swan in the Water,” “Heavy Stone,” “Bayou,” “Mr. Therapy Man,” “Right By You” and “Sweet Lover.”. While this may seem like a long list, it was extremely hard for me to shorten it down to just those songs of his!
Image from My Met Media
Noah Cyrus
While everyone loves and recognizes Miley Cyrus as being a great artist it seems as though her younger sister tends to get less recognition! In my humble opinion, I prefer Noah’s songs and voice to her sisters, although they are both very talented and make great music. While a lot of her music is pop-based, recently she has been releasing songs that have a more acoustic and chill feel to them which I have really enjoyed. She first gained a lot of attention after her debut single “Make Me (Cry)” was released. Since then, songs such as “Lonely,” “July” and “Good Cry” have shown just how talented this Cyrus sister is.