One Popz’s Top 10 Underrated Artists – Why Aren’t They More Successful?
Talented singers who deserve to be successful sometimes go unnoticed so here at One Popz, we’ve decided to put together a list of our top 10 underrated artists.
You may have heard of some of the singers and bands before. You may have no idea who some of them are. Either way, we’d definitely recommend that you check them all out!
Singers have to start somewhere and even some of today’s most successful artists were trying to make it in the industry years before they actually got their big breaks. Lady Gaga and Jessie J are just two examples.
We’ll start our list with...
10. Karmin
Some of you may remember Karmin’s track ‘Brokenhearted’ which they released in February last year. It made it to number six in the UK charts and went platinum in several different countries.
Other than that though, Karmin really haven’t been given the exposure they deserve!
Interestingly, the pop duo and real-life couple Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan were found on Youtube after posting lots of covers online. They then signed a record deal with Epic Records and released their very first studio EP ‘Hello’ in May last year. In the album charts, the EP made it to number 10 in Canada and 18 in America but it failed to chart elsewhere.
Karmin are currently touring with the Jonas Brothers and preparing to release their next album ‘Pulses.’ The lead single from the collection ‘Acapella’ charted at number 4 in Australia but only made it to number 72 in America.
9. Joe Brooks
He was named the ‘Number 1 UK Unsigned Artist’ on Myspace in 2008 but five years later, most people still wouldn’t know who Joe Brooks was if you asked them today.
Following his Myspace popularity, Joe Brooks was signed by Lava/Universal Records and he released his first studio album ‘Constellation Me’ in 2010. The lead single ‘Superman’ featured in ‘Step Up 3D’ and it has over 13 million hits on Youtube.
You’d think that would be enough to make it a hit right? Wrong. The single and album failed to be successful and Joe was dropped by his record label in 2011. Joe still hasn’t given up his dream though and has a lot of online support.
He’s currently releasing music as an independent artist and still manages to tour venues across the world.
8. Vers
Like Karmin, Vers also gained a fanbase after posting covers on Youtube imitating the likes of Lil Wayne, Drake and Eminem.
Whilst his songs do have elements of rap, Vers also has more pop-influenced songs too. His work is a mixture of both styles.
His track ‘Beautiful’ could easily be compared to ‘Just The Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars and to date, the music video has over 200,000 hits on Youtube. Just this week, Vers released the official audio for his forthcoming single ‘Next Summer.’
Vers is currently an independent artist but he’s still releasing music all the time and hoping to be signed sometime soon!
7. Kat Graham
Most people probably recognise Kat Graham for her role as Bonnie Bennett in The Vampire Diaries. What most people don’t know however is that Kat’s also a singer, dancer and model. Is there anything she can’t do?
Despite having over 800,000 followers on Twitter, Kat’s music career never seems to have taken off. She’s released many singles and while their views on Youtube have been high, that’s never helped her gain a large amount of record sales.
Her single ‘Put Your Graffiti On Me’ is her most successful to date and it’s generated over 6 million hits on Youtube. It reached number five on the US dance chart but failed to make its mark on the Billboard chart.
Kat’s latest track ‘Power’ was released on the 30th July. She’s currently promoting the single in America but the music video still hasn’t been released so we’ll have to wait and see if it actually manages to chart anywhere when it’s had more promotion.
6. Chris Wallace
Most of you probably haven’t heard of him but believe it or not, Chris Wallace has been in the music industry since 2006!
He started off as the lead-singer of The White Tie Affair but decided to leave the band and launch his solo career in 2012.
Chris released his first single ‘Remember When (Push Rewind)’ on the 12th June last year and we’ve got to say, it’s an absolute tune. It made it to number 102 on the Billboard chart in America but deserved to do so much better.
Chris then released his debut album ‘Push Rewind’ a few months later but it failed to chart. We’re not sure if or when it’ll get a UK release date. He’s spent most of the past year promoting the single and establishing himself as an artist around the world.
‘Keep Me Crazy’ will be the second single from the album and again, it’s a great song that should do well. It was sent to mainstream radio just two weeks ago so we’ll have to wait and see how it does in the charts!
5. Colette Carr
Colette Carr’s music career so far has definitely been a strange one. How many other singers release their debut single two years before actually releasing their first album?
The music video for her first promotional single ‘Back It Up’ was uploaded back in March 2011 and it instantly went viral online gaining over 450,000 hits. It was followed by her first official single ‘(We Do It) Primo’ in May. The track sampled Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and it was produced by Frankmusik.
So when did fans get to hear Colette’s second official single? The music video for ‘Like I Got a Gun’ wasn’t released until June 2012. That’s quite a wait!
Colette’s debut album ‘Skitzo’ was finally released by Cherrytree Records earlier this year on the 9th July. To help tease fans, the tracks were made available in four seperate EPs before being released as a whole collection.
Check out ‘Why Are You Leaving?’ featuring Kev Nish below. It's our favourite Colette Carr single!
4. Thomas Fiss
Thomas Fiss is another independent artist who’s managed to gain a large following online.
He’s been named one of MTV’s ‘Buzzworthy Artists’ and has already released several EPs worldwide. His latest EP ‘Chasing Satellites’ was released in September 2012 and it debuted in the top 100 on iTunes. Singles from the EP so far include the upbeat title track ‘Chasing Satellites’ and the haunting ballad ‘Breathe.’
Over the years, Thomas has toured with many artists over the years including: The Wanted, Cher Lloyd and Karmin. Some of you may have even seen him at one of their shows!
Just today, Thomas announced that if fans in the UK want to see him play a headline show then they can pledge for him to come to certain cities on the website Songkick. If there’s enough demand, he’ll come and play some shows over here!
3. Katy Tiz
Katy Tiz is definitely one to watch out for! She’s signed to Lava/Universal Records and is set to release her album soon.
To date, British singer-songwriter Katy has released three singles in America but at the moment, we’re not sure when we’ll be able to download the songs over here in the UK. We can’t wait to buy them when they do go on sale though!
Her debut single ‘Famous’ was released across the pond on the 13th November last year and it received a mixed reaction online. It’s a catchy pop song and definitely should have done well but lack of promotion meant that it failed to chart.
Katy’s second single ‘Heart’ was released on the 5th March this year and it really showed off her powerful vocals. She proved that she can write and sing ballads just as well as she can write and sing dance tracks.
Our favourite single by Katy Tiz has to be her latest offering ‘Red Cup’ though. It was produced by Red One and you can definitely imagine hearing it on the radio and in clubs everywhere. ‘Red Cup’ was released in America on the 7th May and it was Katy’s first track to make it into Billboard’s ‘Bubbling Under the Top 100’ chart.
There’s no music video for the single yet but we’re guessing we can expect to see one soon. Keep your eyes peeled!
2. Frankmusik
Frankmusik makes it to number two in our list of top 10 underrated artists!
Some of you may remember that he did really well in the charts with his debut album ‘Complete Me.’ The album was released in August 2009 and charted at number 13 in the UK. Two of his singles from the collection also made their way into the top 40 singles chart. ‘Better Off as Two’ peaked at number 26 whereas ‘Confusion Girl’ charted one place lower at 27.
So what did Frankmusik decide to do next? He went to America and signed with Cherrytree Records to release his second album ‘Do It In The AM.’ The album was full of amazing pop tracks but unfortunately, it only managed to chart at number 178 in the UK. Interestingly, the record also featured a duet with Colette Carr who’s number five in our list of top 10 underrated artists!
Following his second album, Frankmusik parted ways with both Cherrytree Records and his UK record label Island Records. He’s now releasing music independently which he prefers as it means he has creative control.
His latest EP ‘Far From Over’ was released for free back in February and it includes the song ‘Map’ which is one of our favourite singles by Frankmusik to date. Frankmusik’s latest album ‘Between’ was released in June and it’s set to be followed by his next album ‘Between Us’ in September. We just wish more people would appreciate and buy his music!
1. Natalia Kills
Out of everyone, Natalia Kills takes the crown as our most underrated artist!
We really don’t understand why she’s not made it ‘big’ in the music industry yet.
The Bradford born singer-songwriter has so many tracks that really did have the potential to be massive chart hits. You can definitely tell that she puts so much creativity and energy into her music videos too.
Natalia’s debut single ‘Mirrors’ was a ‘dark’ pop song that helped show the world who she was as an artist. It’s had over 10 million hits which is something that most artists could only dream of but for some reason, that didn’t translate into record sales.
‘Mirrors’ only made it to number 101 in the UK single charts but the track has thankfully enjoyed success in several other countries. It made it to number 7 in Austria and charted at 18 in Belgium.
The main criticism Natalia faces is from people who say she’s ‘copying’ or trying to be the next Lady Gaga. We can see the resemblance in ways and both singers are controversial but we reckon Natalia deserves to be successful in her own right.
If Lady Gaga did release any of Natalia’s singles, we’re pretty sure she’d have another number one on her hands!
Again, Natalia’s record sales for her debut album ‘Perfectionist’ weren’t too impressive and its highest chart position was number 35 in Austria. The collection only made it to number 129 in the UK but we’d put that down to lack of promo.
How many of you had actually heard her music before reading this article?
As well as having her own single featuring Will.I.Am, Natalia Kills has also featured on many other artist’s tracks herself. Some of the people she’s worked with to date include: LMFAO, Far East Movement, The Knux, and Junior Caldera.
Natalia also collaborated with our second most underrated artist Frankmusik on a track called ‘No Champagne.’ The song wasn’t a single but it featured on Frankmusik’s second studio album ‘Do It in the AM.’
So what’s Natalia up to now? She’s currently preparing to release her second album ‘Trouble.’ It’s set to hit shelves on the 3rd September and will feature her first two singles from the record: ‘Problem’ and ‘Saturday Night.’
We just hope she’ll get more recognition and promotion this time around!
