Country music in 2017 was overtaken by a wave of new talent as emerging creators like Luke Combs, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi infiltrated the charts and the airwaves. While there was a surplus of fresh faces and content, the question remains: which new set of stars will keep their momentum and remain on top in the new year? Before we close out our Vydia Creators To Watch series, we are bringing you the hottest Country talent like Jon Langston, Kalie Shorr, Lucas Hoge, and Abi Ann we believe will take over 2018:
Jon Langston
Sounds Like: Brantley Gilbert, Luke Combs, Kane Brown
Why You Should Pay Attention: Country rocker and Vydia creator Jon Langston took the industry by storm in 2017 with his signature style and unique sound. He has already made a name for himself touring the Southeast with some of the biggest names in country music including Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Chase Rice, and Cole Swindell. This past year Jon Langston dropped his first two official music videos including his massive debut hit, “Right Girl Wrong Time” followed by “Prob’ly At A Bar” which generated combined 12M views on Vevo. These two hits saw similar success on audio streaming services as well, and even landed Jon Langston a spot on Pandora’s “Country Artists To Watch 2018”.
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Kalie Shorr
Sounds Like: Kelsea Ballerini, RaeLynn, Clare Dunn
Why You Should Pay Attention: Vydia’s country girl Kalie Shorr has come a long way from selling hot dogs on the streets of Nashville. Since her knockout debut single, “Fight Like A Girl”, dropped in 2016, Shorr has recieved a shower of critical acclaim including being named “Highway Find” (The Highway, SirusXM), “Artist You Need To Know” (Rolling Stone), and “2017’s Hottest Artists Under 25” (Taste of Country). Shorr’s impactful music videos like “He’s Just Not That Into You” perfectly compliments her involvement with Country Music’s Female Empowerment Movement, #LetTheGirlsPlay, which landed her a spot on Teen Vogue’s “10 Female Artists Who Are Changing the Music Game”. Shorr has already been working hard to make an even bigger impact in 2018. She recently released her first single, “Two Hands”, from her upcoming EP which is scheduled to launch later this year. You can also catch her alongside the legendary Sara Evans on this year’s CMT Next Women of Country Tour.
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Lucas Hoge
Sounds Like: Randy Houser, Jerrod Niemann, Jake Owen
Why You Should Pay Attention: Vydia creator Lucas Hoge is looking to keep his momentum going after a stellar 2017. Last year he successfully dropped two albums including the long-awaited Dirty South and his first-holiday album Christmas Is Here. Within a week of its debut, Hoge’s Dirty South album beat out Country legends Chris Stapleton, Lady Antebellum and Joe Nichols claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Sales Chart in addition to peaking at No. 5 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart. His single, “Dirty South”, saw similar success and broke into the Top 10 on the CMT 12 Pack series. We aren’t the only ones to recognize the potential of this rising star, even Rolling Stone has spotlighted him as one of their top 10 “Country Artists To Watch”! This Vydia talent is showing no signs of slowing down, in 2018 as he says in an interview with Pop Culture, “If I had to pick a New Year’s resolution, it would be to dig in even deeper and work even harder … I’m literally just going to dive in and dig harder, and do everything I possibly can to get to do the things I want to do.”
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Abi Ann
Sounds Like: Shania Twain, Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini
Why You Should Pay Attention: 2018 is poised to be a breakout year for Vydia country star, Abi Ann, whose single ‘Matches’ quickly caught fire and sizzled throughout the summer of last year. The success of ‘Matches’ scored Abi a spot on CMT’s Artist Discovery Program, earned her 8+ weeks of airplay on CMT music, and generated over 150K views on Vevo. Abi has also had the opportunity to open and tour with superstars in both pop and country music including Kelly Clarkson, Sam Hunt, Jesse McCartney, Frankie Ballard, and Eli Young Band. Make sure you keep tabs on this Vydia creator who is set to drop her brand new EP, Heart Broken, early this year.
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That’s a wrap! We’ve spent the week introducing you to the top trending creators from Hip Hop/R&B, Pop, Latin, and Country. Now that you know their names, get to know their content by heading over to our Staff Picks Playlist on YouTube. Don’t forget to follow us on social media to find even more fresh content from all of our talented creators!