The New Year brings with it new possibilities and opportunities; there are a large number of (young) singers throwing their hats into the ring. We’ve taken the liberty of rounding up our top 5 r&b artists, who have been dropping hits, and are poised for breakout success in 2016: Abra, Kyle Dion, WSTRN, Tala & Banks and Ro James.
Abra
Abra is a rising R&B star, with songs that embrace the 90’s musical culture. She was born and raised in London but moved to the United States at 8-years-old. She’s the first female artist singed to Awful Records, a company known for singing only rap artists. Abra‘s first track “Needsumbody” was remixed by Awful’s Father, but it wasn’t until 2015 when she officially became one of Awful’s artists. She released an EP called, Big Velvet, followed by her latest album Rose.
Kyle Dion
Kyle Dion was born in New Haven, CT on April 11, 1994. He’s known for his YouTube videos and music on SoundCloud. He released his first song, “Better,” in 2013 and later recorded his first mixtape in his bathroom, Sixes & Sevens. The project took him a year to complete, and was released in 2014; Immediately following, he released his sophomore mixtape Painting Clouds, which premiered exclusively on Billboard, featuring his hit single “Another Life.”
WSTRN
WSTRN is a popular boy band in English West-London consisting of Akelle Charlies, Haile Rei and Louis Rei. Their single, “In2” debuted at #4 on UK’s singles list, which was released on 13 October 2015, and got them signed to Atlantic Records. The three men had established solo careers until they collectively worked together to produce In2.
Tala & Banks
Tala & Banks are two supremely talented songstresses that came together to produce their hit song “Wolfpack.” London’s newest artist, Tala, 28 and Banks of Los Angeles (legal name Jillian Rose Banks), premiered the track on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio. “Wolfpack” will be featured on TALA’s forthcoming EP album, MALIKA. MALIKA.
Ro James
Ro James, born Ronnie James Tucker, was born in Stuttgart, Germany, but now lives in Queens, NY. As a child, James traveled the world with his father; but, later settled with his aunt who used to be a performer. It wasn’t until he turned 19 that he decided to commit his love for music into a career by writing his songs. James’s music is a mixture of R&B artists like D’Angelo and Maxwell. He has made hits such as “Permission.”
