Tag: on our radar

Meet Lous and the Yakuza, the Belgian Artist Who Can Sing in Any Language

May 22, 2020

A subtle assortment of styles swirl together in the music of Lous and the Yakuza, the stage name of Marie Pierra-Kakoma. Across her first three singles, Pierra-Kakoma leans into snappy, minimalistic R&B (“Dilemme“), slinky, melodic trap (“Tout est gore”), and nuanced, introspective pop (“Solo”), all of which she sings in French with equal parts age-old poise and modern swagger.

Having penned her very first songs at the same time as she learned how to read and write—around age 6 or 7—Pierra-Kakoma found her calling early on and hasn’t doubted herself since. “I started writing and never really stopped. I was writing until my wrist hurt, but now I’m more relaxed about it,” she said to For the Record.

Meet Alaina Castillo — Bilingual Singer-Songwriter and Featured U.S. RADAR Artist

March 30, 2020

Recently, Spotify launched RADAR, a global development program for emerging artists around the world. RADAR allows us to deepen our commitment to young talent at all stages and strengthen their connections to their audiences. One such young talent we’re excited to support is U.S.-based singer-songwriter Alaina Castillo.

Prior to her junior year of high school, Alaina’s musical career revolved around singing in the church choir. Then, she began posting original songs, covers, and ASMR content on her video channel. In a matter of months, the Houston native had accumulated nearly 800,000 subscribers and made a fan of RØMANS — a producer known for churning out hits from pop stars like Demi Levato, John Legend, and Clean Bandit. From there, her career took off. 

RØMANS went on to produce Alaina’s debut EP in 2019, Antisocial Butterfly, which showcased her ability to weave beautifully between her two languages, English and Spanish. The album’s hit single, “i don’t think i love you anymore,” raked in more than 3 million streams on Spotify and paved the way for her sophomore single, “Valentine’s Day.” Most recently, she released two new singles, “ocean waves” and “just a boy,” and two Spotify Singles recordings.

We caught up with the RADAR U.S. representative for an inside look at her EP Antisocial Butterfly, what it was like to collaborate with RØMANS, and life on Spotify’s RADAR.