It's always exciting when artists enter the realm of bonafide stardom and bring new sounds and ideas to the music world. And it's even more exciting to follow along as it happens. That's why, at the start of each year, we tap our influential playlists to reveal our Artists To Watch.
With this list, we're amplifying the next wave of music stars who we predict will make an impact in 2023. As we considered this year's Artists To Watch, we were guided by four main playlists:
RapCaviar's Most Necessary, our playlist for the next generation of voices in hip-hop
Viva Latino, our flagship playlist for today's top Latin hits
Hot Country, our flagship country playlist
Are & Be's R&B Rising, our newest playlist for emerging artists
Spotify has always been a place for music discovery and artist growth, and our Artists To Watch lists allow us to showcase up-and-coming talent with serious momentum behind them, said Sulinna Ong, Global Head of Editorial. We use our fan-favorite editorial playlists, including Hot Country, Viva Latino, Most Necessary, and for the first time, R&B Rising, to tap into existing listener bases. In return, artists are introduced to listeners who will love their sound.
The end result is 40 artists-10 from each list- representing each playlist that should be on your radar in the coming year. Keep reading for our full list of picks.
Most Necessary's Artists To Watch
Our picks from Most Necessary, who hail from Atlanta, Brooklyn, London, and beyond, are ready to impact hip-hop culture and make their mark in the music industry.
GloRilla
Rising to prominence following her Grammy-nominated 2022 song F.N.F. (Let's Go), GloRilla has gone on to record chart-topping collaborations with Cardi B and Latto.
Finesse2tymes
Revered for his thunderous voice and motivational lyrics, this Memphis rapper recently collaborated with Gucci Mane, Lil Baby, and others on his debut mixtape 90 Days.
SleazyWorld Go
SleazyWorld Go went viral in 2022 with his track Sleazy Flow and later collaborated on an official remix with Lil Baby; he's also collaborated with Migos' Offset.
Central Cee
Known for his upbeat and melodic approach to UK drill, this British rapper and songwriter topped the UK album charts with his first two mixtapes, Wild West and 23.
Destroy Lonely
The No Stylist rapper resonates with fans for the dynamic and eclectic beats featured in his music.
Ice Spice
This Brooklyn drill artist seized the rap world's attention in 2022 with her viral, chart-topping track Munch (Feelin' U).
Babyface Ray
After collaborating with Big Sean and Hit-Boy on his 2021 single It Ain't My Fault, the Detroit native released his album Face in 2022, featuring collaborations with Pusha T, Wiz Khalifa, and more.
Saucy Santana
This makeup artist turned rapper commanded the spotlight when his tracks Walk and Here We Go went viral in 2021. Notable collaborations include the remix of his song Material Girl with the Queen of Pop Madonna, hip-hop duo City Girls, and Latto.
2Rare
This Philly rapper stands out for his 2022 collaboration Q-Pid with Lil Durk, and later appeared on NLE Choppa's Do It Again.
Real Boston Richey
Catching the ear of listeners with his Michigan-style hip-hop production, he's recently collaborated with Future and Lil Durk.
Viva Latino's Artists To Watch
With a selection of artists representing a wide range of styles and countries, Viva Latino's picks are ready to go worldwide in 2023.
Emilia
Finding fame with hits such as Recalienta and No Soy Yo featuring Darell, this Argentine artist continues to generate buzz. Her first album, T crees en m ?, debuted at No. 4 on Spotify's Top Albums Global chart.
Ivan Cornejo
A California native and one of the most promising voices in the sad sierre o scene, Ivan caught the attention of the music world with his debut album Alma Vac a, and is a pivotal figure in exporting M sica Mexicana out of the U.S.
Chris Lebron
This rising Dominican artist already has a few notable collaborations under his belt, most notably teaming up with Romeo Santos on his popular track SIRI.
Kevin Kaarl
His most recent album, Paris Texas, debuted at #5 on the Top Albums Global Chart which experiments with traditional folk, rock, and lush dream-pop and. In addition to being an Artist To Watch in 2023, the Mexican singer was also part of our RADAR Class of 2022.
Paopao
A Latin Grammy award-winning artist known for her mix of reggaeton and alternative pop, this Puerto Rico native released the all-female EP hembrismo in 2022.
YOVNGCHIMI
A rising star from Puerto Rico, this Latin trap artist is best known for his debut single Glizzy's Walk. He has numerous collaborations with prominent artists in the Latin trap scene, including Arcangel, Anuel AA, and Ozuna.
Villano Antillano
One of the leading figures of the queer movement within the urban genre in Puerto Rico, Villano was most recently selected as an ambassador for RADAR US, Spotify's global program for emerging artists.
Young Miko
This Puerto Rican artist burst onto the scene in 2021 with the release of her first single, 105 Freestyle. Her debut EP Trap Kitty and US Tour solidified her as a Spotify RADAR US artist.
3AM
A duo made up of Venezuelan brothers Richard and Christian Berm dez, 3AM started their musical career after leaving their home country and settling in Boston. They are best known for their songs Por Ti and Vuela.
Fuerza Regida
Trailblazers of the urban corrido movement, this California group is making waves for a new generation of Mexican Music artists.
Hot Country's Artists To Watch
Our picks from Hot Country bring a fresh and unique sound to the world, and these artists are primed to make their mark on the country music scene thi
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase future-proof EMC testing solutions at EMV 2026 Rohde & Schwarz will participate in EMV 2026, Europe's premier trade fair and c...
12/03/2026
Modern media operations demand a platform that unites automation, orchestration, and human oversight without compromise. In this post, we explore the six key te...
12/03/2026
A deep dive into the platform
Architecture The Blue Lucy platform follows a distributed microservices architecture, meaning the overall operational capability...
12/03/2026
Orchestration platform enables broadcasters to deploy multiple AI models safely with full auditability, rights protection, and regulatory oversight.
LONDON, En...
12/03/2026
Wuppertal March 12, 2026
Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the Ame...
12/03/2026
Advanced Media Server Delivers Double the Channel Density at Half the Cost per C...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Following a successful first series, UKTV today announces the commission of two ...
11/03/2026
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Sky and CANAL launch new partnership to develop English-language drama
Sky and CANAL are today announcing a strategic co commissioni...
11/03/2026
NTCA, Cartesian Release New Report on the Business Case for USF
March 11, 2026
Network Economics
News
NTCA - March 11, 2026 - As the FCC and Congr...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
10/03/2026
10 Mar 2026
VEON's Largest Market Pakistan Almost Triples Mobile Spectrum i...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
09/03/2026
Two new high-quality DI boxes announced
Boasting some impressive technical specifications and versatile routing options, Strymon's latest active DI boxe...
09/03/2026
Latest MPE-capable Soundbox library released
The follow-up release for Sonora Cinematic's Pure Nylon has arrived, and becomes the latest addition to the...
09/03/2026
Popular wireless mic head design revived
Sennheiser have revealed that the MD 9235, a cardioid mic head designed to pair up with their handheld wireless sys...
09/03/2026
Captures two sought-after Dumble combo amps
The latest TONEX release captures a pair of sought-after Dumble amplifiers from IK Multimedia's private amp ...
09/03/2026
Flexible all-analogue insert matrix joins line-up
HUM Audio Devices don't tend to do things by halves - even the quickest of glances at the likes of the...
09/03/2026
Captures three sought-after pianos
Rhodes latest software release brings together a collection of three virtual pianos: a concert grand, an acoustic upright...
09/03/2026
Flagship compressor gets an upgrade
Techivation's flagship compressor plug-in has just been treated to a ground-up rebuild that kits it out with some po...
09/03/2026
Profiler OS 14.0 enters open beta
Kemper's amp-modelling systems already have a great reputation, but the latest update to their systems' underlying...
09/03/2026
Procedural stems smasher & recomposition engine
Blinksonic have recently launched a new Reaktor-based tool which they say takes a radical departure from yo...
09/03/2026
13 - 15 March 2026 at University of Warwick Conference Centre
The Institute of Professional Sound (IPS) have announced that The IPS Training Weekend 2026 wi...
It's always exciting when artists enter the realm of bonafide stardom and bring new sounds and ideas to the music world. And it's even more exciting to follow along as it happens. That's why, at the start of each year, we tap our influential playlists to reveal our Artists To Watch. 
