Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

The Hottest Artists, Trends, and Sounds Coming out of Sweden in 2025

18/02/2025

Sweden has always had great success showcasing its musical talent globally, especially in the dance and pop spheres. But 2025 is shaping up to be a special year for Swedish music at large, especially when it comes to the artists who are experimenting with genre-defying sounds.

At the start of the year, we put a spotlight on this scene with our list of Swedish Artists To Watch in 2025 featuring some of the country's most promising indie acts, as well as hip-hop stars who are pushing their styles into new melodic territories. The list exemplifies the global appeal of Sweden's music scene.

Next month, the 42nd edition of Sweden's Grammis awards show returns to recognize the nation's best and brightest musical talents. As a proud sponsor of this annual celebration, Spotify recently had the honor of announcing the nominees for the Best New Artist category, which include: Becky and the Birds, Hannes Aitman, ORKID, Sunnan, and Y4ska.

NEXT

To get the inside scoop on Sweden's thriving music scene, as well as the genres and artists breaking through, For the Record sat down with Emma Vikstr m, Spotify Music Editorial Lead in the Nordics.

What makes the Swedish music scene so unique? Despite being a small country, Sweden exports the most music per capita. Our artists have had a major impact globally, and Spotify data shows that Swedish artists are streamed more outside of our country than within.

There are legendary groups like ABBA that helped shape the sound of pop music, trendsetters like Robyn that have had an outsized influence on the artistry of stars like Tove Lo, and ubiquitous icons like Avicii that left an indelible mark on dance music.

Songwriters and producers have been just as important to our music culture as well, if not more! You know your favorite global hit? There's a good chance a Swedish songwriter or producer was involved. Max Martin defined an entire generation of pop music and is still making his presence felt through artists like Ariana Grande. And there are so many more examples. Ludwig G ransson has worked with Rihanna, Patrik Berger has worked with Taylor Swift, and Carl Falk has worked with One Direction, to name a few.

Was this still the case in 2024? New releases from Swedish artists are definitely finding fans abroad.

Looking back at 2024, we saw notable releases from hitmakers like Galantis, Zara Larsson, and Robyn, and they all resonated with a global audience. And interestingly, artists who may not be familiar names globally-like Elliphant, Benjamin Ingrosso, and Mapei-have also found new fans abroad. Swedish songwriters Noonie Bao and Linus Wiklund also influenced a whole world with Charli Xcx's Apple, one of the biggest songs from Brat Summer.

And we can't forget that last year's Wrapped also revealed Bladee as the most-streamed artist among other artists.

How do you explain the massive global appeal of Swedish music? From a creative perspective, Sweden has a well-developed music education system, with many young people learning to sing, play instruments, and write songs from an early age. There's a collective affinity for melodic pop sounds here thanks to popular music competitions like Melodifestivalen and generational melodic wealth of ABBA's catalogue. And because many Swedish artists sing in English, their songs have a larger global appeal that has increased with the help of Spotify.

From an industry perspective, this global appeal has definitely been aided by Spotify and the overall growth of digital audio and streaming.

And looking at this in the opposite direction, music fans in Sweden are also early adopters who are tapped into global sounds. The first region where Shaboozey's A Bar Song (Tipsy) landed a number-one hit was in Sweden and Nordics.

How do Spotify's editorial playlists shape music trends in Sweden and the rest of the world? Our playlists highlight the best and most culturally relevant music for users, but in contextual ways. Some playlists will cater to different tastes, moods, and times of day. Other playlists, like New Music Friday Sweden and pov, highlight the new or trending hits. Fresh Finds Nordics surfaces unsigned artists for the listeners who love being the first to know about an artist. And Hot Hits is all about the biggest hits on the planet right now, plain and simple.

It's also been exciting to watch Teddy Swims, Benson Boone, and GAYLE make waves in the music world at large, as well as our global playlist ecosystem. They all had their first hits playlist adds in Nordics or Sweden and reached the top of the charts here before anywhere. Nordic users love discovering new music and being first with trends, which makes our curation strategy even more bold. We bet on songs in our playlist ecosystems that then eventually turn into global hits and keep our users satisfied.

Music sharing and discovery continue to evolve. How does this benefit artists and consumers? Artists from almost anywhere in the world have a chance to be discovered. A Swedish artist could have a bigger fan base and audience in other countries, and artists from other countries could have bigger fan bases in Sweden. That's the beauty of Spotify being global by design.

For listeners, it has never been easier to find their new favorite artists. With more than 100 million songs on Spotify today, there's something for everyone to discover. And sometimes, those discoveries happen through the songs and artists and genres recommended by our editors.

We're aware of the responsibility that our platform has to spotlight promising artists who may be in the early stages of their careers or are just breaking through to stardom and take active strides to ensure we support these by leaning into the Best New Artist category at Grammis or developing our Fresh Finds Nordics flagship
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2025-02-18/the-hottest-artists-trends-and...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

11/12/2025

AI for Sustainability: Lessons from Sarajevo

Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...

11/12/2025

ESPN's Aims for Spectacular With Heisman Trophy Show

ESPN's Aims for Spectacular With Heisman Trophy ShowEvent firsts include 1080p HDR production airing on both national broadcast and cableBy Dan Daley, Audio...

11/12/2025

SVG Students To Watch: Frankie Patton, University of Colorado

SVG Students To Watch: Frankie Patton, University of ColoradoThe 2025 grad is hitting the ground running as a PA on national broadcastsBy Brandon Costa, Directo...

11/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 3

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 3By SVG Staff Thursday, December 11, 2025 - 7:24 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlights The 2...

11/12/2025

SVG Sit-Down: What Makes Gen Z, X, and Y Fans Tick? Dave Gavant of WSC Sports Goes Inside the 2025 Fan Engagement Survey

SVG Sit-Down: What Makes Gen Z, X, and Y Fans Tick? Dave Gavant of WSC Sports Go...

11/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: 5G, MXL, Spectrum Loss, and Outerspace on Tap for Tuesday Tech Talks'

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: 5G, MXL, Spectrum Loss, and Outerspace on Tap for Tues...

11/12/2025

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: David Levy, Turner Titan and Master of All Sports-Media Trades

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: David Levy, Turner Titan and Master of Al...

11/12/2025

SVG Launches Follow the Money' Podcast: Go Inside the Sports Media Biz with Sam McCleery and John Kosner

SVG Launches Follow the Money' Podcast: Go Inside the Sports Media Biz with...

11/12/2025

A Deep Dive Inside Game Creek Video's Bird and Magic Mobile Units, Home to Amazon's NBA on Prime Video'

A Deep Dive Inside Game Creek Video's Bird and Magic Mobile Units, Home to A...

11/12/2025

How Sound Effects for Monsters Funday Football' Emulated the Sonic Soul of Monsters, Inc.'

How Sound Effects for Monsters Funday Football' Emulated the Sonic Soul of ...

11/12/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CSP Mobile Productions' Len Chase on Upgrading Truck Fleet to 1080p, HDR, and ST 2110

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CSP Mobile Productions' Len Chase on Upgrading Tr...

11/12/2025

Spotify and The Game Awards Debut Gaming-Inspired Spotify Singles From Labrinth, Evanescence x GUNSHIP, and Bilmuri

Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...

11/12/2025

Celebrate Taylor Swift's Record-Breaking Year and New Docuseries with Exclusive Playlist Cover Art Stickers

It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...

11/12/2025

L3Harris Ramps Up Production of Next-Gen Missile Tracking Satellites at Expanded Florida Facility

New satellites for the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking program in production at L3Harris&...

11/12/2025

L3Harris Delivers First Meadowlands Production Unit to US Space Force

The Meadowlands system, a compact and mobile version of the CCS, uses ground-based radio frequency units to disrupt satellite communications....

11/12/2025

L3Harris Demonstrates Interoperable Network to Unify Department of War and U.S. Government Agencies

The L3Harris demonstration united tactical communications devices, counter-UAS c...

11/12/2025

2025: L3Harris Year in Review

Throughout 2025, L3Harris delivered innovative solutions to U.S. and allied warfighters across every domain. With an unrelenting commitment to excellence, our...

11/12/2025

Nielsen reveals exclusive new data and insights in annual Tops of Sports report

A Majority of the World's Population (51%) Identify As Soccer Fans The 2025 MLB postseason notched 58.2 billion viewing minutes, up +24% from the prior y...

11/12/2025

Zixi Names Roi Sasson Vice President, Engineering

WALTHAM, Mass. Video-over-IP software provider Zixi said Roi Sasson has joined the company as vice president, engineering....

11/12/2025

LG Ad Solutions Expands Local CTV Data Coverage

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. In a move that highlights the growing competition between broadcasters and CTV platforms for local advertising, LG Ad Solutions has announ...

11/12/2025

Boston Conservatory Earns Several Best of Accolades in 2025

Boston Conservatory Earns Several Best of Accolades in 2025 Highlights include a faculty Grammy win, a seventh consecutive year on Playbill's list of co...

11/12/2025

Lawo, SMPTE To Conduct ST 2110 Practical Lab

RASTATT, Germany Lawo and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) have partnered to launch the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive ...

11/12/2025

Comcast's Xfinity Revamps National Video Plans

PHILADELPHIA Comcasts Xfinity operating brand has announced the launch of new national video plans with all-in pricing that the operator said will provide custo...

11/12/2025

Analyst: Pay TV Video Subs Rise for First Time Since 2017

After eight years of declines, MoffettNathansons new Cord Cutting Monitor for Q3 2025 shows that pay TV subscribers to linear TV packages rose by 303,000, the f...

11/12/2025

Happy Holidays from Berklee

Happy Holidays from Berklee Enjoy this years holiday student-performance video. December 10, 2025 By Office of the President Dear Berklee community, As w...

11/12/2025

As AI Grows More Complex, Model Builders Rely on NVIDIA

Unveiling what it describes as the most capable model series yet for professional knowledge work, OpenAI launched GPT-5.2 today. The model was trained and deplo...

11/12/2025

VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digital Payment Services to Advance Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh

11 Dec 2025 VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...

11/12/2025

Sky Arts paints a picture of Britains beauty as Landscape Artist of the Year returns on 14 January

Thursday 11 December 2025 Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...

11/12/2025

Meet the Most Relatable Hero This Holiday: Main Trailer and Poster Unveiled for Cashero'

Back to All News Meet the Most Relatable Hero This Holiday: Main Trailer and Po...

11/12/2025

'High Tides': Netflix Shares Release Date Final Season

Back to All News High Tides: Netflix Shares Release Date Final Season Credit: Netflix / Thomas Nolf Entertainment 11 December 2025 GlobalNetherlandsBelgium...

11/12/2025

Made in Texas: How Netflix House Dallas Is Leaving a Lasting Footprint

Back to All News Made in Texas: How Netflix House Dallas Is Leaving a Lasting Footprint From left to right: America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerl...

11/12/2025

The Second Part of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' Will Arrive in August 2026

Back to All News The Second Part of One Hundred Years of Solitude Will Arrive i...

11/12/2025

Website launch for pianist Georgina

It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician! So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...

11/12/2025

2026 HPA Tech Retreat Brings Together Visionaries to Navigate Media's Next Chapter

The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced additional programm...

11/12/2025

Shane Lowry, Oti Mabuse and Brendan Fraser among the guests on this week's Late Late Show Christmas Special!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...

11/12/2025

The RT Sport Sportsperson of the Year Nominees 2025 Revealed

RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...

11/12/2025

Ride Into Adventure With Capcom's Monster Hunter Stories' Series in the Cloud

Hunters, saddle up - adventure awaits in the cloud. Journey into the world of M...

11/12/2025

Fair City star Stephanie Kelly revealed as fifth contestant for Dancing with the Stars 2026

Sash is ready to samba as Fair City star Stephanie Kelly is revealed as the late...

10/12/2025

Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack

Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack Johnny Cash for Coca-Cola is the latest in a long litany of sonic approximationsBy Dan Daley, Audio ...

10/12/2025

Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports Venues

Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports VenuesSound-systems suppliers are sanguine, but the market has its challengesBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednes...

10/12/2025

The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years Ago

The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years AgoThe historic Arena of Nimes in France is still in use todayBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednesday, De...

10/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next-Gen Streaming Workflows

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next...

10/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio Spotlight

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio SpotlightBy SVG Staff Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 8:21 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlig...

10/12/2025

SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the Sounds of Powder and Ice at Milano Cortina with a Behind the Scenes Tour of OBS and NBC's Audio Set Ups

SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...

10/12/2025

Advancements in Audio Technology: Capturing the Atmosphere of Live Sports

Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports By David Davies Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:27 Print This Story Although wor...

10/12/2025

Everything Smelled of Popcorn: The Art of Bringing the Complex Sound of Esports to Fans With Sound Supervisor Matt Gilbert

Everything smelled of popcorn: The art of bringing the complex sound of esports ...

10/12/2025

2026 Sundance Film Festival Unveils 97 Projects Selected for the Feature Film and Episodic Program

Top L-R: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Hanging by a Wire, Broken English, Buddy C...

10/12/2025

You're in Control: Spotify Lets You Steer the Algorithm

For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...

10/12/2025

L3Harris to Produce Additional Solid Rocket Motors for Precision-Guided Artillery System

L3Harris' new contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Insensitive ...