Tag: Pop

Share Your Top 5 BTS Songs in Our Latest In-App Experience

Over the last decade, BTS has become a global cultural phenomenon, putting K-Pop on the map worldwide. The group has fueled—and is fueled by—one of the most enthusiastic fan bases in the world. Each listener has their own special relationship with the band’s music. So to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary, Spotify and BTS curated a special love letter experience: My Top 5: BTS Songs

This interactive experience lets listeners curate their personal favorite songs from a selection of BTS’s discography, then share their picks with friends on social media. BTS worked with Spotify to curate a special selection that celebrates much of their collective discography from the past decade.*

“Each step of our journey together has been unique and has sounded different along the way,” the band shared. “We hope many people enjoy this new experience with Spotify’s My Top 5: BTS Songs and share their favorites with us.”

Here’s how to enjoy My Top 5: BTS:

  1. Make sure you’re in one of the 48 markets where the experience is live** and ensure your iPhone is up-to-date with version 8.8.40.x. 
  2. Visit https://spotify.com/top5 on your device.
  3. The experience will present a curated selection of BTS’s songs. Select your five favorites. Then drag and reorder them in the visual display to create your top list. 
  4. You’ll receive your picks in a visual sharecard. Then, choose a sharecard backdrop with the option to highlight your BTS group bias—aka your favorite group member. 
  5. Finally, share your personalized digital card with your selections and compare with your friends on social media using #spotifymytop5.

My Top 5: BTS Songs marks the next iteration of this interactive experience on Spotify that follows My Top 5 moments with other iconic artists, including The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, and ROSALÍA. Visit https://spotify.com/top5 to get started. 

*The available songs to select from do not include the full BTS catalog or songs by other artists where BTS is featured

**The My Top 5: BTS Songs experience will be available in 48 markets: U.S., Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Poland, Turkey, U.K., Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Botswana, Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; and 15 languages: English, English-GB, French-CA, French, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Arabic, Spanish-LATAM, Korean, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, German, and Bahasa Indonesia.

한국 론칭 1주년, 스포티파이가 공개하는 데이터와 그간의 성과

스포티파이가 한국에서의 서비스 론칭 1주년을 맞아 지난 한 해 동안 스포티파이와 한국 아티스트들이 이뤄낸 주요 데이터와 성과를 발표했습니다. 

전 세계 리스너들이 보다 많은 대한민국 그리고 한국계 아티스트를 발견하고 깊이 연결될 수 있도록

데이터에 따르면, 지난 1년 동안 K팝 음원은 전 세계적으로 월평균 79억 7천만 회 이상 스트리밍된 것으로 나타났습니다. 이는 스포티파이의 한국 론칭 이전과 비교했을 때 약 27% 증가한 수치입니다. 나아가 전 세계 4억 6백만명 이상의 청취자를 보유한 스포티파이의 184개 국가 중 한국 아티스트를 새롭게 발견한 청취자가 가장 많은 상위 10개국은 미국, 브라질, 인도, 인도네시아, 멕시코, 독일, 영국, 필리핀, 일본, 프랑스 순으로 나타났습니다.  

앞서 언급한 데이터 비롯하여 지난 1년간 더 많은 아티스트들을 더 많은 전 세계 청취자들과 새롭고 깊이 있게 연결하기 위해, 스포티파이는 아래와 같이 다양한 방식으로 쉼 없이 달려왔습니다. 

또한, 폭넓은 한국 음악과 아티스트를 전 세계 청취자들에게 소개하는 ‘K팝 허브(K-Pop Hub)’는 스포티파이가 국내 론칭된 지 1년도 되지 않아 총 스트리밍 횟수 14억 3천만회를 달성, 이 역시 코리아팀의 론칭 전과 비교했을 때 19.5% 증가했습니다. 지난 1년간 인도, 인도네시아, 미국, 일본, 필리핀, 말레이시아, 태국, 브라질, 멕시코, 대만 순으로 K팝 허브에 가장 많이 접속한 것으로 나타났고, 전 세계적으로 K팝 허브에서 가장 많이 스트리밍된 상위 10개 플레이리스트는 K-Pop Daebak, TrenChill K-R&B, WOR K OUT, Women of K-Pop, Dalkom Cafe, Girl Krush, K-Pop Rising, KimBops!, Korean OSTs, 그리고 Best of Korean Soundtracks 순이었습니다. 

박상욱 스포티파이 코리아 매니징 디렉터는 “긴 여정의 초기단계에 있는 만큼, 앞으로도 한국의 아티스트, 창작자 및 업계 파트너들에게 신뢰받는 글로벌 파트너로서 함께 성장해갈 것“이라고 강조, “아티스트들에게는 전 세계 곳곳의 청취자들과 연결될 수 있는 기회를, 청취자들에게는 새로운 음악을 발견하고 일상 속 듣는 기쁨을 드리기 위해 스포티파이 코리아팀에서 항상 노력할 것”이라고 소감을 밝혔습니다.

S4A의 확산, 더 다양하고 많은 한국 아티스트들이 국경 없는 음악 생태계 속 활로 개척할 수 있도록

론칭 이후 한국 아티스트 및 레이블에 대한 지원 역시 대폭 강화해왔습니다. 그 중 특히 아티스트 전용 플랫폼이자 혁신툴인 S4A의 확산과 교육을 통해, 아티스트들이 전 세계 청취자와 팬에 대한 깊은 이해를 바탕으로 보다 효율적으로 활동을 기획할 수 있도록 도움을 제공해왔습니다. 

S4A는 실시간 글로벌 청취 통계 분석과 다양한 리소스를 무료로 제공하는 만큼, 레이블과 아티스트에게는 유용한 데이터 및 툴로 작용합니다. 현지 뮤직팀에서 S4A의 확산을 위해 노력해온 결과, 1년도 채 안 되어 한국 아티스트의 S4A 가입률이 국내 론칭 전보다 42.4 증가한 것으로 나타났습니다. 또한, 각 수록곡을 시각적으로 표현하는 디지털 아트워크 개념의 캔버스(Canvas) 영상 기능을 이용한 한국 아티스트의 수 역시 254% 증가한 것으로 집계됐습니다.

One Year in South Korea and Local Artists Are Finding Fans Around the Globe

One year ago, Spotify made its debut in South Korea, and since then, even more listeners around the world have fallen in love with K-Pop music. So to celebrate the anniversary, Spotify is sharing data that shows how Korean artists have found a home—and global audience—on the platform. 

K-Pop’s borderless reach 

Spotify’s global K-Pop hub, which was unveiled last year at the South Korea launch, has become a one-stop destination for listeners to discover a wide range of Korean artists and music. In just one year, the monthly average K-Pop streams worldwide reached over 7.97 billion per month, a 27% increase compared to the year before. In the same time frame, traffic to the K-Pop Hub reached 1.43 billion, a 19.5% increase in comparison to the year before launch.

Across Spotify’s 184 markets, the top 10 countries whose listeners had discovered Korean artists during the last year were the United States, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Germany, UK, Philippines, Japan, and France. Listeners from these countries also went to the K-Pop hub in droves to discover new music. And among the playlists within the K-Pop hub, the top 10 most streamed globally were K-Pop Daebak, TrenChill K-R&B, WOR K OUT, Women of K-Pop, Dalkom Cafe, Girl Krush, K-Pop Rising, KimBops!, Korean OSTs, and Best of Korean Soundtracks.

Spotlight on artists 

Spotify also showed support for the Korean music industry with the launch of “Spotify for Artists,” a platform designed to help singers, producers, and musicians expand their reach. 

Spotify for Artists provides real-time stats and helpful resources for artists, and in the year since Spotify South Korea’s launch, the registration rate on Spotify for Artists by Korean artists grew by 42.4% when compared to pre-launch figures. Korean artists were also big fans of the “Canvas” feature, which lets artists experiment with their album artwork by creating short-form looping videos for each of their songs. The number of sign-ups for Canvas increased 254% compared to the year before. 

The best is yet to come 

“As a committed global partner to Korean artists, creators, industry partners, and more, we will continue to support the growth of the Korean music-streaming ecosystem and offer more opportunities for Korean artists to be connected with more listeners around the world,” said David Park, Managing Director of Spotify Korea. “This is just the beginning.”

To top off an exciting year, here’s a look at some of the achievements since Spotify launched in South Korea:  

Ready to stream with the masses? Discover the artists climbing the ranks on Spotify’s K-Pop Hub.

https://open.spotify.com/genre/kpop-page 

 

*All data is from Feb 1st 2021 to Feb 1st 2022, 1 year since launch in South Korea

The Spice Girls Continue to Find Fans 25 Years After Their Hit ‘Wannabe’

In July of 1996, the Spice Girls burst onto the music scene with their platform heels, Union Jack clothing, and their single “Wannabe.” Their lyrics of female empowerment made waves and started a global “girl power” revolution unlike anything the music and pop culture industry had witnessed before, with a lasting impact ever since.

So to celebrate the anniversary of their debut hit, on July 9 the Spice Girls will be releasing an EP, Wannabe 25, that includes a demo of the original single, a remix by Junior Vasquez, and a new ballad called “Feed Your Love.”

On the platform, Spotify’s celebrating the occasion with This Is Spice Girls, the ultimate destination for fans of the girl group. There, listeners will find a new long-form version of the “Wannabe” music video that’s exclusive to Spotify. The playlist also includes new storylines from the band, where they share details on their biggest hits.

Spotify may not have been around during the group’s ’90s inception, but that doesn’t mean fans aren’t listening to their music on the platform two decades later. In fact, “Wannabe” has been streamed more than 590 million times on Spotify, with listeners in the United States streaming the most, followed by Germany and the U.K. 

“We continue to see a huge number of streams daily for their music, ranging from the songs we all know and love, such as “Wannabe,” “Stop,” and “Spice Up Your Life,” to niche releases that only a die-hard fan would play on repeat,” shares Sulinna Ong, Head of Music at Spotify U.K. and Ireland. “They truly changed the pop landscape forever, giving women a voice in the industry and giving fans the confidence to be their true selves.’’

Music from the Spice Girls has also found a home on millions of user-generated playlists—20 million, to be exact. As to the age of those streaming the British pop sensation’s tracks on Spotify? You may be surprised to learn that 18-to-24-year-olds are the ones streaming the Spice Girls’ music most (despite being born after the group’s first single was released).

Remarking on this, the band said, “Spice Girls has always been about unity and inclusion, and it makes us so proud that after 25 years our music is still inspiring a whole new generation. Thanks to Spotify for keeping us connected to our fans around the world. Streaming has been a huge part of keeping our music alive and it’s amazing that so many people around the world listen to us on Spotify.”

For fans looking to dive a little deeper into the archives, there’s plenty of podcast content on Spotify that offers a glimpse into the lives and minds of Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Scary, and Posh Spice. The WANNABE podcast shares insights into where the famous five are now, and how their careers progressed since their time in one of the world’s most famous girl bands. BBC’s Raw, a podcast that curates “rare and newly discovered interviews,” released an episode that highlights sound clips from the group members from 1996 and 1998.

Whether you want to practice the dance moves to “Stop” or hear the WANNABE podcast cohosts discuss Melanie C’s single “Who I Am,” there’s plenty of Spice on Spotify. 

Revisit the Spice Girls’ catalogue and sing along to your favorite girl power anthem below. 

Get a Taste of the Trending Genres in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka

Ninety days ago, we announced that we were launching in three new markets in South Asia: Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Since then, listeners in the region have explored Spotify and a world of music now at their fingertips. 

We were particularly excited to see what homegrown genres and artists were gaining popularity and traction in each country. So we picked out one playlist per market based on what’s been trending most to give listeners around the world a taste. 

Pakistan – Pakistani Indie 101



Traditional Pakistani music includes instruments like sitar, rubab, and flute, and falls into genres like qawwali, rock, and Sufi. Modern Pakistani musicians, who are extremely diverse in their creations, have combined those traditional elements with contemporary ones, leading to a new crop of musicians that can only be described as indie. 

Pakistani Indie 101 is a compilation of the best of new-era Pakistani Indie musicians, producing indie-pop, fusion house, hip-hop, retro-wave, sufi, classical, progressive math pop-rock, and more. Some of the key creators include Hassan Raheem, Shamoon Ismail, Abdullah Siddiqui, Arooh Aftab, Bayaan, Zahra Paracha

Bangladesh – Bangla Rock

Rock is one of the top-performing genres in Bangladesh—even more than pop. (In Bangladesh, you might say that rock is the new pop.) This means listeners can easily explore rock subgenres including heavy metal, folk rock, soft rock, thrash metal, and alt rock. 

Bangla Rock focuses on the best rock music coming out of Bangladesh. It features creators like Artcell, Nemesis, Warfaze, and Black, who create music across rock’s many subgenres. 

Sri Lanka – Sinhala Pop

Unlike Bangladesh, Sri Lanka is still big into the top trending artists and songs. However, pop in Sri Lanka differs from that of other regions: A large number of songs in the genre open with a soulful, ballad-like quality. Piano is a key instrument. By the chorus, however, some of these songs change in tempo and tone, infusing catchy drum beats and underlying synth beats. 

Sinhala Pop is one of the top playlists in the region. (Sinhala is one of the two languages spoken most in the country). Up-and-coming artists like Yohani and Hiyum, in addition to longer-time favorites Ridma Weerawardena and Raj Thillaiyampalam, all have hits on this playlist.

Dive into the top genres of South Asia with Pakistani Indie 101, Bangla Rock, and Sinhala Pop.

Spotify’s Emerging Artists Program, RADAR, Kicks Off in Russia

Last year Spotify launched RADAR, our emerging artist program that spotlights rising talent from around the globe. RADAR’s goal is to help up-and-coming artists in all stages of their development as they connect with new audiences. Now, after working with creators in the U.S., New Zealand, Spain, and many other markets, the program is ready to launch in Russia.

Since Spotify’s launch in Russia in 2020, we’ve seen tremendous success with subscriber growth and service adoption. According to our 2020 Q3 results, Russia has been our most successful new market launch to date and represented the largest portion of subscriber outperformance for the quarter. 

With RADAR, we will amplify emerging artists in the region through ongoing marketing and editorial support. Artists will be featured in the local creative marketing campaigns, and their tracks will be added to the RADAR RUSSIA playlist in the global RADAR hub, helping fans from all over the world discover their music. For the Record had the opportunity to chat with two bands that are a part of Russia’s RADAR program.

Сёстры (pronounced “sestry,” translation: Sisters) is an indie pop duo that debuted their first album, Когда были волны (When There Were Waves), in October of 2020. The group has already seen success, including having recently performed on a popular Russian late-night talk show.

Три дня дождя (pronounced “tri dnia dozhdia,” translation: Three Days of Rain) is an alternative band that released their first album in February of last year. Their most popular track, “Не киряй,” has racked up more than 4.5 million streams on Spotify.

Read what the bands had to say about their music, their experience, and more below.

What are you looking forward to as a Spotify Russian RADAR artist?

Сестры: We have been watching the RADAR program for a long time now, as it’s helped us discover many talented foreign artists, and it is very unlikely we would have discovered them without it. Now, through RADAR, it’s amazing that many more listeners will learn about us—our tracks will become a part of Spotify’s global ecosystem, and our songs will be heard by many people all over the world. We are just at the beginning of getting to know our audience, and it is so important for us to develop strong relations with our fans. 

Три дня дождя: We have big plans and ambitions going forward, and we hope the support of Spotify can help us with establishing our name not only in Russia but also abroad. We are honored to have been chosen as one of the first artists to take part in the program in the country. Russian rock is not dead and we’d love to prove it! We are hopeful that RADAR can help us bring our art to the new audiences.

What advice do you have for fellow emerging artists?

Сестры: Trust yourself and your vision, work hard, and carry on no matter what.

Три дня дождя: First of all, don’t ever give up. Ever! And practice as often as possible. Secondly, try to minimize all factors that restrain you from doing what you love. Lastly, always believe in yourself and your art.

What message do you want people to take from your music?

Три дня дождя: With my music I’d love to convey the emotions everyone is familiar with. And about showing the listeners that love can be a very dangerous thing at times. 

This past year presented many unprecedented challenges. How has it changed the way you approach your musical career?

Сестры: 2020 is exactly the year when our music career began developing. The music industry turned to online, but it somehow brought us all even closer together. We are definitely looking forward to the day when live concerts and performances become possible again, but our approach to our music career has not changed a bit. We will continue gathering at home or at the studio to make new music together.

 

Ready to give these Russian artists a listen? Check out the new RADAR Russia playlist below.

From BTS to BLACKPINK, the Power of K-Pop Has No Bounds

K-Pop is beloved by fans around the world, so we took to the data to see just how popular the music is globally. The genre, which originated in South Korea, has since taken on a life of its own. Thanks to East-meets-West collaborations from BTS and U.S. singer-songwriter Halsey, whose “Boy With Luv” track has over 380 million streams, the reach continues to grow as more and more fans in countries like Egypt and Colombia connect with the music.

Since Spotify released its first K-Pop flagship playlist, K-Pop Daebak, in 2014 (and then a massive hub dedicated to the genre in 2015), there have been more than 41 billion K-Pop streams on Spotify. From rising artists to international collaborations, there’s something for both new and old K-Pop lovers on the platform.

Top-streamed K-Pop artists on Spotify include BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, TWICE, and Red Velvet. In 2019, BTS was the first group from Asia to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. And, as of February 2020, the boy band reached a new milestone: more than 8 billion streams (8 billion streams!) on the platform.

No “FAKE LOVE” here, folks. See how much Spotify listeners love the genre.

Download the infographic here.

Check out the K-Pop Daebak playlist and stream BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 The Enhanced Album, which is exclusively available on Spotify.

Sir Elton John Shines on Spotify and in New “Rocketman” Biopic

Photo credit: Sam Emerson

Listeners from all corners of the world know (and can surely sing along to) Sir Elton John’s many piano ballads, from “Tiny Dancer” to “Bennie and the Jets.” But what they may not realize is how he came to be a beloved global superstar. That’s why Rocketman, the new Elton John biopic out this week, is shedding a [spot]light on the singer’s sensational journey.

The singer-songwriter has staged numerous world tours and claimed several number-one hits across the decades thanks to a large and unfailingly loyal listening base. On Spotify, Elton John has been streamed more than 2 billion times and appears in more than 39 million playlists streamed worldwide.

Elton John attracts listeners, young and old(er) alike, with a steady stream of new releases, such as the number-one collaboration on Spotify, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (with Kiki Dee)” and a live performance of “Young Dumb and Broke” with Khalid.

So as you count down to the Rocketman release, celebrate the singular sensation with a sparkling, shiny infographic of Sir Elton’s massive listening base, below.

Find “Your Song” on the Rocketman soundtrack.

K-Pop Takes Over, From ‘Gangnam Style’ to Global Domination

Last week, when K-pop group BTS took the stage at New York’s Citi Field, international #BTSArmy members showed up in droves; some had traveled from across the country and camped out weeks in advance for the promise of catchy beats, a chorus that hooks you, and charismatic dance moves.

Just a few years ago, a sold-out show at one of America’s biggest stadiums may not have been in the cards for a young Korean band. And yet, BTS has inspired fans of all ages, races, cultures, and genders not just in Asia, but in the U.S. and around the world. Call it an official global phenomenon.

K-pop’s popularity has reached a fever pitch: On Spotify, more than 14.2 billion K-pop tracks have been streamed globally, and fans have spent over 46 billion minutes since July 2015 listening to their favorite Korean tracks. These numbers grow each day, making K-pop one of the most-streamed genres across the globe. Its fast tempos, thrilling visual components, and resonant use of melody and storytelling have captivated fans on every continent—and on our dedicated K-pop hub.

The K-Pop hub on Spotify

“K-pop or the Hallyu wave is truly an Asian success story. For a genre that’s in a different language and from a very different culture, it is inspiring to see how K-pop is making its mark on the global stage,” says Eve Tan, Shows & Editorial, Team Lead, Spotify, Southeast Asia. “It is our aim to be a platform of discovery for both artists and music lovers, and we are excited to help Spotify fans across the world enjoy and be inspired by Korean music.”

K-pop first captured the world’s attention with PSY’s 2012 viral “Gangnam Style.” Ever since, the genre has evolved into a diverse and popular subculture internationally. Driven by social media fan fever and Korean TV dramas, the Korean Wave—an increase in global popularity of South Korean culture and entertainment—has broken through to the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and beyond.

Recently, K-pop hit some major international milestones. In September 2017, the genre had its first Billboard Top 10 debut with BTS’s Love Yourself: Her. This past July, GOT7 became the first K-pop act to play Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and last month, BTS, in partnership with UNICEF, became the first K-pop group to deliver a speech at the United Nations.

To capitalize on their rising popularity across the globe, many K-pop artists now record songs in multiple languages. GOT7 recently dropped their new album title track “Lullaby” in four languages: Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and English. Some bands have even formed subunits to target different audiences, like supergroup EXO, who perform in both Korean and Mandarin. NCT even has three subunits—NCT U, NCT 127, and NCT Dream—each focused on reaching different age groups and demographics.

Plus, more K-pop artists than ever are collaborating with popular English-speaking artists. BTS and Nicki Minaj dropped their buzzy and vibrant “Idol” video in September 2018, and girl group BLACKPINK has an exciting new collab in the works with English pop singer Dua Lipa. Consider K-pop’s crossover officially complete.

For your K-pop cravings

From the latest K-pop tracks to Korean OSTs (dramatic and highly addictive love songs), there’s a suitable Spotify playlist within our dedicated hub. First introduced in 2015, our K-pop hub is as addictive as the music itself, leading to a significant increase in streams and sharing of Korean music on Spotify.

Today, our K-Pop Daebak playlist (daebak is Korean for cool) hosts exclusive access to vertical video premieres from emerging and chart-topping acts. To keep up with the latest news, dance tutorials, and all things K-pop, be sure to follow the official Spotify K-Pop Daebak twitter account, @SpotifyKDaebak.

Ha*Ash Le Pone Sabor Agridulce al Primer Spotify Singles en Latinoamérica

Hanna y Ashley, el dueto que forma Ha*Ash, son conocidas por dos cualidades: su habilidad para crear canciones pop con gancho y como bien saben sus fans, por un sentido del humor que sólo puede existir entre hermanas.

En una pausa dentro de su gira 100 Años Contigo, Ha*Ash hacen escala en México para grabar los primeros Spotify Singles en Latinoamérica. Para ellas, el estudio de grabación es como su segunda casa, así que se apropian del espacio muy a su manera.

Desde su llegada, Ha*Ash llenan con su inconfundible energía el estudio Panoram, en una casona de la colonia Condesa en la Ciudad de México. Los músicos están casi listos para dar comienzo a la grabación. El dueto vocalizaba e intercambiaba aún algunas ideas sobre las dos canciones que grabarán, mientras se acomodan el peinado una a otra. Quizá igual que hace 16 años cuando empezaron su carrera.

Antes de iniciar la sesión, hablamos con Hanna y Ashley sobre lo que las inspira, su proceso para escribir canciones y por qué les gusta la canción que eligieron para hacer un cover.

¿Qué se siente ser las primeras en grabar Spotify Singles en Latinoamérica?

“Nos encanta ser parte de este gran proyecto con Spotify Singles por la oportunidad que nos da de volver a interpretar una canción tan importante para nosotras y, además, sumarle nuestro sello especial a una canción nueva”.

¿Cómo es su proceso para componer canciones antes de entrar al estudio?

“Cuando vamos de gira, podemos escribir y componer, grabamos un demo, para luego hacerla en el estudio. A veces, se nos ocurre algo durante el concierto, incluso cambiar el arreglo de una canción que llevamos tiempo cantando de la misma manera, así que hacemos un brainstorm para tener mejores ideas”.

Cuéntenos cómo fue que eligieron hacer un cover a Adios Amor de Christian Nodal.

“Cuando componemos, tratamos de no pensar tanto las cosas y de ser lo más directas posibles. Las mejores canciones de Ha*Ash han sido las que salieron de historias que nos han pasado. Con Adiós Amor buscamos llevarla al mundo de Ha*Ash”.

Ha*Ash le pone sabor agridulce al primer Spotify Singles en Latinoamérica

Inmersas en la música country desde pequeñas, la música regional mexicana es parte entrañable de la influencia musical de Ha*Ash.

“Cuando estamos de fiesta, en un karaoke, en una reunión, Christian Nodal nunca falta, Adiós amor es la canción que me hubiera encantado haberla escrito. Tiene un lenguaje que bien podría aparecer en algunas de nuestras canciones”.

¿Cómo se sienten al cantar una canción que originalmente se pensó para el género ranchero?

“Nos dimos cuenta que un género no es tan lejano a otro, convertimos una canción de regional mexicano a pop, con una versión completamente diferente pero conservando el mismo mensaje e intención que Christian imprimió en ella”.

La sesión transcurrió entre bromas, risas y la interpretación de dos canciones populares que, en estos primeros Spotify Singles, incluyeron un violoncelo como toque final.

“Para una sesión acústica, la grabación es mucho más directa, sólo se necesita una toma para grabarla, incluso van a tener que soportar las desafinadas de Hanna”, bromea Ashley ante la mirada de complicidad de Hanna.

Escucha los nuevos Spotify Singles de Ha*Ash aquí.

Singer-Songwriter Jade Bird Gets Geeky About Words

Self-proclaimed “obsessive songwriter” Jade Bird has more in common with David Bowie than their shared British heritage and adoption of the U.S. as a songwriting muse. They share a unique songwriting process that allows them to spin intricate, flowing, familiar stories. Yet, as Jade pointed out, Bowie’s method was more visual, sporadic, and inimitable.

“I think the visual element was a really big part of his project. He used to cut out words or sentences and jumble them all up, and then put them together so they’re really quite random,” she told us at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York, where she recently played at an event honoring the David Bowie is exhibit.

“It’s interesting because when I was doing a cover of his song, ‘Quicksand,’ it felt like that. When you cover one of his songs, it feels like no one else can do it but him. He’s got this special kind of magic that’s almost got a random nature to it, that I fully appreciate as a songwriter. It’s something really incredible.”

Jade’s had a busy year. The 20-year-old left her British roots for an “Americana,” folk-country feel on her first LP, Something American, which debuted in July 2017Since then, she’s recorded in Woodstock, New York; toured North America with First Aid Kit, Brent Cobb, and Son Little; showcased at South by Southwest (SxSW); and on May 7th, announced her own North American headlining tour.

How The Shadowboxers Gained 1,200+ New Followers in Two Weeks

Once upon a time, an artist built a following by word of mouth: playing for people live, slowly cultivating fans, and hoping that next time one of those fans would bring a friend. But today, artists can develop a fan base across the world through online platforms.

Case in point: Pop group The Shadowboxers has been wildly successful using Kickstarter, Twitter, and Spotify – they drew more than 1,200 new followers to their Spotify page in just two weeks. But if you ask the Nashville, Tennessee-based trio about their social media prowess, they’ll say they just got lucky.

“We kind of feel like we’ve been accidentally good at the internet,” says The Shadowboxers guitarist and singer Adam Hoffman.

In 2012, the group, comprised of Scott Tyler, Matt Lipkins, and Adam Hoffman, used a Kickstarter campaign to fund their first album, “Red Room.” The next year, the band covered Justin Timberlake’s “Pusher Love Girl” and tweeted the YouTube recording to him. Timberlake retweeted it, and signed the group to his label, Villa 40, soon after. This year, The Shadowboxers are opening for Timberlake on his “Man of the Woods” tour across the U.S. and Europe.

“That tweet was absolutely crazy and blew our minds. It’s still kind of hard to wrap our heads around,” says Hoffman. “In a way we felt, from an artist’s side, prepared for that and we had a fan base at that point who were all incredibly stoked to see that tweet. We weren’t existing totally in a vacuum.”

Luck notwithstanding, The Shadowboxers were ready for their big break. The band had been hard at work performing, creating new music, and perfecting their soulful, R&B-leaning sound. Before connecting with Timberlake, they had written albums’ and albums’ worth of unreleased music dating back to when they first connected in 2007. A selection of those tracks was compiled into an EP, “Apollo,” which was released in March. The collection of six songs includes new material and previously released singles, like “Hot Damn!,” with the influence of Timberlake.

The Shadowboxers open for the first leg (33 shows) of Timberlake’s 110-show “Man of the Woods” tour, which kicked off in March. At the beginning of the tour, the trio was looking for a way to engage with as many fans as possible. Their brainstorming led to a text-to-capture communication that encourages fans to follow the group on Spotify and post about it on Instagram.

“We came up with the idea for the Spotify follow because that’s really what we want – to drive people to our music,” says Hoffman.

You know the message you’ll see on a big screen at a concert or pro sports game, prompting you to send a text to a short number for some sort of cool offer? Fans receive that message just after The Shadowboxers set, and those who participate are signed up for an email list. Their first message from the email list prompts them to post a screenshot to Instagram of the band’s page from their Spotify account, showing that they are following the band on Spotify with the hashtag #TSBbacktage. If they do so, they are entered for a chance to meet the band backstage.

“The coolest takeaway from these interactions, which we were not expecting at all, was the relationship and connection after meeting,” says Lipkins. “We just wanted to connect on a more personal level with some fans, but we’ve made lifelong fans from these interactions just by hanging out with people for 30 minutes after a show.”

For fans of The Shadowboxers – whether or not they won the backstage contest – Spotify keeps them up to date on new music releases, tour schedules, and even what the band has been listening to lately. And for musicians, Spotify for Artists allows them to keep track of their most popular music, and where people are listening. For The Shadowboxers, whose music has appeared on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 and New Music Friday curated playlists, the platform has given the band a geographic reach they’ve never had before.

“We get messages on our socials from people from Europe who have heard the songs. We’ve never played over there so the only way they could have heard the stuff is Spotify,” says Tyler. “That’s a really cool feeling for us.”

The Shadowboxers are currently performing for the first leg of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Man of the Woods’ tour. Check out their remaining tour dates, and follow along on Spotify.