As the new year begins, Shazam has released its Fast Forward class for 2026, an annual list that identifies emerging artistes gaining rapid traction through music discovery data. The programme draws on Shazam’s global listening trends alongside editorial insight from Apple Music, offering an early view of artists who may see wider recognition in the year ahead.

This year’s selection spans 20 genres and 22 countries, reflecting how global listening habits continue to shape new musical movements across borders.

How Fast Forward works

Fast Forward is built around Shazam’s predictive data, which tracks how often users search for unfamiliar songs in real time. This data is then analysed alongside Apple Music’s editorial expertise to identify artists whose discovery rates are rising unusually fast.

The effectiveness of this approach was evident in the 2025 Fast Forward class. On average, those artistes recorded a 67 per cent increase in Shazam discoveries year on year, while their radio airplay rose by 70 per cent. Several artists more than doubled their Shazam activity, and many reached their highest-ever daily discovery peaks.

Streaming data followed a similar pattern. Collectively, the 2025 cohort saw Apple Music plays grow by more than 100 per cent, with nearly half experiencing year-on-year increases of over 100 per cent.

Here is a closer look at seven artistes from this year’s Fast Forward list.

Alessi Rose: UK pop with momentum

From: Derby, England
Style: Pop with shifting influences across eras
Breakout track: First Original Thought

Alessi Rose first appeared on Shazam’s radar in 2024 following the release of her debut EP Rumination as Ritual. Her momentum accelerated in 2025 with the EP Voyeur, driven by First Original Thought, which reached number 22 on the UK Shazam chart and marked her strongest performance on the platform to date.

On Apple Music, her audience grew rapidly throughout 2025, with total plays rising by more than 400 per cent year on year. A significant spike followed the release of Same Mouth, reinforcing her position as one of the UK’s fastest-rising pop artistes.

Liim: genre-blending from New York

From: Harlem, New York
Style: Hip-hop, R&B and indie pop
Breakout track: Regista Gyal (with Opraah)

Liim gained wider attention in 2025 following the release of his debut album Liim Lasalle Loves You. While his strongest Shazam day came earlier in the year with Older Than Me, his discovery numbers peaked again in September alongside the album’s release.

On Apple Music, his plays increased by more than 150 per cent compared with 2024, reflecting growing interest in his understated, genre-blurring sound.

Florence Road: Irish alt-rock revival

From: Bray, Ireland
Style: ’90s-influenced grunge and alternative rock
Breakout track: Goodnight

Florence Road began building a domestic following in Ireland in 2022, but their international breakthrough came in 2025 after the release of new singles and an EP. Their music has since found strong audiences in the US, the UK and Australia.

Touring support slots with artists such as Olivia Rodrigo and Wolf Alice helped introduce the band to wider audiences, while new releases contributed to a dramatic rise in Apple Music streams... up more than 1,600 per cent year on year.

Kashus Culpepper: Southern roots, modern reach

From: Alexander City, Alabama
Style: Country, soul, blues and folk
Breakout track: Sexbomb

Kashus Culpepper’s profile rose sharply in 2025 when Sexbomb appeared on the soundtrack of the romantic comedy The Wrong Paris. The song became his first entry on the US Shazam country chart.

Streaming growth followed, with Apple Music plays more than doubling compared with the previous year, supported by a steady run of new releases.

Kidd Carder: Afrobeats breakout from Nigeria

From: Lagos, Nigeria
Style: Afrobeats
Breakout track: Calculate

Kidd Carder emerged as one of the fastest-rising artistes in this year’s Fast Forward class. Calculate reached number two on Nigeria’s Shazam chart and entered the Global Top 200, while also charting across several African countries.

On Apple Music, his total plays increased by more than 2,300 per cent year on year, signalling rapid international growth.

CORTIS: fast-rising K-pop newcomers

From: Seoul, South Korea
Style: K-pop with hip-hop, indie and electronic elements
Breakout track: GO!

CORTIS experienced a swift ascent after debuting in mid-2025. Within weeks, GO! topped South Korea’s Shazam chart and helped the group place multiple songs in global K-pop rankings.

The release of their debut EP Colour Outside The Lines drove a sharp increase in Apple Music plays and saw the group chart in more than 20 countries.