In this week’s edition of the Pandora Predictions Chart, some notable up-and-comers include nineteen-year-old rapper/singer Lil Peep, even younger Atlanta rapper Kodie Shane, and Dutch chill trap DJ San Holo.
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Guest post by Emily Blake of Next Big Sound
Yung Lean may continue his reign this week on top of the Pandora Predictions Chart—no doubt aided by whispers of a collaboration with buzzing MC Travis Scott — but there’s plenty of new blood, too, like a rapper with a soft spot for emo music, a rising member of Lil Yachty’s Sailing Team, and a Dutch DJ with an apparent affinity for Star Wars.
Read on for more from the chart, which ranks the 20 up-and-coming artists who are most likely to make their debut on the Billboard 200 Chart in the next year.
Lil Peep
It seems that 19-year-old rapper/singer Lil Peep has found a recipe that works: Dashboard Confessional-esque angst mixed with hip-hop. It may be an acquired taste, but it’s one that’s won over a growing legion of fans — and some critics, too. His September mixtape HELLBOY has earned Peep several favorable mentions in the press, with Pitchfork calling Kiss a Best New Track last month and The Fader deeming The Song They Played [When I Crashed Into The Wall] one of the 11 Songs You Need In Your Life This Week back in October.
And it’s all translated to a buzz on social media. This week compared to last week, Peep saw a 115.9% increase in Instagram Likes, a 78.2% jump in Facebook Page Likes, and a 32.5% increase in Twitter followers.
Kodie Shane
Considering she’s one of the members of Lil Yachty’s esteemed Sailing Team, 18-year-old Atlanta rapper Kodie Shane is in good company. And if we learned anything from the rise of fellow up-and-coming rappers like Young M.A., it’s that good company can take you really, really far.
After appearing on Lil Yachty’s posse cut All In in August, she made her debut later that month on the Pandora Predictions Chart at #13. Now, following the release of her new single Sad featuring Lil Yachty and some favorable press mentions — “Why Kodie Shane Should Be Your New Favorite Rapper,” The Fader wrote — Shane returns to #13 once again after seeing a flurry of activity on social media. This week compared to last week, she saw a 115.1% increase in Facebook Page Likes, a 63.3% in Twitter followers and a 50% in Instagram followers. In the past three months, she’s performed best on Instagram, adding an average of 772 followers per day.
San Holo
You think you know San Holo? No, he’s not that guy who travels around with an oversized Wookie, but rather a Dutch DJ who’s been making waves in chill trap. He first popped up on the mainstream radar with a remix of Dr. Dre’s The Next Episode, which so far has racked up nearly 125 million views on YouTube. Now, after the release of his latest single Light on Thanksgiving Day, he debuts on the Predictions Chart at an impressive #5.
This week compared to last week, San Holo — whose real name is Sander van Dijck — saw 114.2% increase in Facebook Page Likes, a 89.4% uptick in Twitter followers, and a 56% increase in Instagram followers. He also saw an uptick in engagement, with a 229.3% increase in YouTube Likes this week compared to last week.
And Christian soul-grass duo Jenny & Tyler — composed of husband and wife Tyler Somers and Jenny Somers — make their debut on the chart after the release of Christmas Stories in late October. This week compared to last week, the duo saw a 1,300% increase in YouTube Subscribers and gained over 2,100 fans on Facebook. On Pandora, they saw a week-on-week 38.7% increase in Artist Station Adds. And it isn’t just their holiday music that’s getting love: Songs off their 2015 album Of This I’m Sure are getting more and more attention on Pandora, too.
Elsewhere on the chart, rising funk band and masters of the modern album drop Vulfpeck rise two spots this week as songs off their latest album, The Beautiful Game, start to pick up Steam on Pandora. And I Hate U, I Love Uvocalist Olivia O’Brien stays steady in the Top 3, while Tomboy rapper Princess Nokia jumps back up to #6.