5 Rising Artists Who’ll Be Everywhere by the End of the Year
If 2024 was the year of the pop girlies, 2025 is the year of indie-pop and alternative R&B with new artists ushering in future styles, sounds, and culture.
The music industry is buzzing with the arrival of these new talents, and new fandoms are being created in support of them. Here are five rising artists who are set to make a significant impact by the end of the year.
Ravyn Lenae
First up, we have Ravyn Lenae. What fans love about Ravyn Lenae is that she makes dreamy, atmospheric sounds with her music, blending elements of acoustic pop, alt R&B, and hip-hop. A Chicago-born native, she is a singer-songwriter who first came on the music scene in the 2010s as part of the American musical collective Zero Fatigue. The members include Smino, Monte Booker, and Ravyn Lenae. The trio released multiple EPs, ranging from funk to house music. Alongside her work with the group, Rayvyn released her critically acclaimed debut album HYPNOS under Atlantic Records in 2022.
Since then, she has released her sophomore album, which features her single Love Me Not. While it didn’t chart on its initial release in 2024, almost a year later it went viral, reaching Number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April and just recently reaching the peak position of Number 7. This impressive feat, her dreamy pop sound and sweet vocals, along with her genre-blending, solidify her as a rising artist now and a promising talent for the future.
Griff
Sarah Faith Griffiths, or Griff, is a fresh, electrifying, rising British pop singer and songwriter. Growing up, she loved to sing and perform and taught herself music production using her brother’s computer, learning how to record and produce songs. After deciding to take a gap year from school, she created and adopted the stage name Griff, derived from her last name. During her gap year, she signed with Warner Records in 2019 and released her debut single, Mirror Talk, along with a music video. Since then, Griff has been releasing singles such as Eternal Flame, Good Stuff, Forgive Myself, Say It Again, and many more.
On 19th March 2021, the pop singer won the Brit Award for Rising Star. The accolades from winning her Rising Star award solidified her as a new artist to watch. She began touring with Dua Lipa as one of the opening acts for the European leg of her dates. In 2022, she performed with Ed Sheeran and collaborated with Chris Martin from Coldplay in 2023. Griff went on to release her debut album in 2024 and supported the likes of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter on tour.
Griff has been working on new music, and her recent single, Last Night’s Mascara, is a unique, electrifying, and dark pop style. She’s a rising artist to be on the lookout for by the end of this year with her lyrics, sweet vocals and creative visuals. Listening to Griff’s music, you can hear that she has a keen taste and ear for music production, and that’s what sets her apart and makes her a rising new artist.
Alemeda
Indie alternative artist Alemeda, of Ethiopian-Sudanese descent, is a singer-songwriter, and producer. Her songs range from alt, pop-punk, and acoustic ballads to a UK garage sound style. Although she’s an artist, she’s also a mother to her two cats, Cinnamon and Truffles, often posting about them on her social media. Alemeda brings a fresh, breezy style to the music scene. Our first introduction to her was when her song Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows went viral in 2021.
In each of her releases and songs, Alemeda shares her stories, such as in popular songs like Post Nut Clarity, Ur So Full of It, Don’t Call Me, and Guy Girl. Despite growing up in a strict religious household, her passion for music and songwriting didn’t stop her from expressing herself through her songs and sharing her stories with her fans through her lyrics. Recently, Alemeda has released her debut EP, FK IT, and is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, a legendary home to artists like SZA, Kendrick Lamar, and Doechii. Alemeda is a rising force in the indie alternative pop scene, and fans and new listeners should be ready to see her everywhere by the end of the year.
Amelia Moore
You may know her as the girl with orange hair. Amelia Moore brings a visionary alt R&B and pop sound to the scene as a rising artist in the music industry. Amelia became virally known for releasing snippets of her music on TikTok under her username icryatwork. She is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist from Georgia, currently residing in Los Angeles, and signed to Republic Records.
Her soaring vocals in her debut single, sweet and sour, became a streaming hit, and the success of it led to the release of her EP, teaching a robot how to love, and her new EP, released this year, he’s still just not that into you. What makes Amelia stand out as not your typical sad girl singer is that she brings honesty to her lyrics; you can feel her emotion in her voice as she sings.
Rachel Chinouriri
British singer-songwriter born and raised in London, Rachel Chinouriri is the proud daughter to parents who emigrated from Zimbabwe to the UK. She was raised in a traditional African household, which influenced her unique style and sounds in her music. Rachel became popular by posting her songs on SoundCloud, with most of them going viral on TikTok. In the music scene, she falls into the indie genre with a sprinkle of electropop, featuring dark lyrics. Her style and sound in music attracted many fans, and this is the reason many fans love her music.
Her full debut album, What A Devastating Turn of Events, which she released in May 2024, debuted at Number 17 on the UK albums chart. She has recently finished up a stint on tour opening for the European Leg of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour. Following the tour, she released her latest EP, Little House, and later a collaboration single with Alemeda called Chameleon. She is currently making waves online with her feature on Rizzle Kicks’ new track, Follow Excitement. Rachel continues to redefine indie pop, paving the way for more black girls in indie music. She’s one of the rising stars, and fans can expect to see her everywhere by the end of the year.
