At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we believe are about to make a serious impact. Enter our Artists to Watch list.
These are the artists turning heads on our playlists, gaining momentum around the world, and pushing their genres into new territory. Whether they’re rewriting the rules of pop, bringing raw energy to hip-hop, or blending global sounds into something entirely new, they’re all redefining what’s next in music.
To celebrate this year’s stars, our team has handpicked one standout track from each artist and then compiled them into the Artists to Watch 2026 playlist, a genre-spanning, culture-driven collection of what’s around the corner.
Ready to find your next favorite artist? Dive into the list below, organized by genre, and start exploring the sounds of 2026.
Afrobeats
Essential track: “Shake It To the Max (FLY) (Remix)”
Christian
Essential track: “Desperate”
Country
Essential track: “Damned If I Do”
Essential track: “Happy For You”
Essential track: “Luck Of The Draw”
Essential track: “Better Me For You (Brown Eyes)”
Dance
Essential track: “Man With a Second Face”
Essential track: “Love Songs (feat. Kosmo Kint)”
Essential track: “You Go I Go”
Hip-hop
Essential track: “Drugs Callin”
Essential track: “WHIM WHAMIEE”
Essential track: “soulless”
Essential track: “Small Talk”
Indie/folk
Essential track: “If You Know Me”
Essential track: “Pale Song”
Essential track: “The Actor”
Essential track: “Bon Bon”
Essential track: “300 dreams”
Essential track: “MAKKA”
Latin
Essential track: “QLOO*”
Essential track: “Bien Bien”
Essential track: “malibU”
Essential track: “DIOS POR DELANTE”
Pop
Essential track: “Freaks”
Essential track: “Too Pretty For Buffalo”
Essential track: “The Pines”
Essential track: “Superscar”
Essential track: “piano in the sky”
R&B
Essential track: “I CHOSE YOU”
Essential track: “Won’t Force You”
Essential track: “Candycrush”
Essential track: “Lullaby”
Rock/alternative
Essential track: “CRUISING TO SELF SOOTHE”
Essential track: “PEACE”
Essential track: “Throw Yourself to the Sword”
Check out the full playlist on Spotify and get to know the voices shaping the soundtrack of the year.
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