PinkPantheress, Wet Leg and María Becerra are among NPR Music's best new artists and discoveries of 2021.
Photo illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Photo illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images
![](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/12/11/bestnewartistsbreakthroughs2_wide-0ee80d468dd3af94241f48fb97090341d1363029-s1200.jpg)
![](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/12/11/bestnewartistsbreakthroughs2_wide-0ee80d468dd3af94241f48fb97090341d1363029-s1200.jpg)
PinkPantheress, Wet Leg and María Becerra are among NPR Music's best new artists and discoveries of 2021.
Photo illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images
We have a lot to be thankful for: vaccines, a steady return to live events, and an abundance of great tunes. We've already listed the best albums and songs of the year, so let's talk about the best new artists and breakthroughs of 2021.
On December 9th, we had a live discussion on NPR Music's YouTube channel about the artists who shaped the year. NPR Music's Ann Powers, Alt.LatinoAnamaria Sayre, World CafeRaina Douris, Radio Milwaukee's Tarik Moody and Pop Culture Happy HourStephen Thompson caught up with host Lars Gotrich to discuss how these musicians work “across genres, across styles, across borders, transnational, bilingual,” as Powers noted. “It gives me a good feeling about connections rather than disconnection.”
For the purposes of this Listening Party, we've decided that a new artist meant they released an album, demo, mixtape, or single in 2021. (If they were previously in a band, but made their solo debut this year, that counts!) For pioneers artists, the instructions become somewhat more vague. These are musicians who have released albums, toured and found a small but dedicated following. this year, they've broadened their scope either through chart topping, major festival bookings or finally earning some long overdue critical acclaim.
Below you can find our staff's picks for the best new artists and discoveries of 2021.
Best New Artist: Wet Leg
After I got through the pandemic, a lot of serious, serious albums came out, which are beautiful and important. But it left me wanting something that was kind of fun and silly and just unrelated to all that. The first song Wet Leg released, 'Chaise Longue', got me right away. It's a fine line to walk when you want to be funny and goofy in a song without being very stupid and they walk it. They are just the coolest. —Raina Duris, World Cafe
YouTube
Best New Artist: María Becerra
María Becerra is a 21-year-old from Argentina. She started doing a cappella covers on YouTube with Ariana Grande and the likes, so she proved her vocal prowess at an early stage. But then he was found by members of Argentina's burgeoning trap scene. The really interesting thing about “Acaramelao” is that it uses a sample from “Yo No Sé Mañana”, which is a huge Salsa song. He's really trying to establish himself as more than just a member of this trap scene, but rather to immediately fit into this larger Latin music family that comes from many different world sounds and time periods. —Anamaria Sayre, Alt.Latino
YouTube
Best New Artist: PinkPantheress
Basically I'm a drum and bass kid. I feel like drum and bass isn't gone, it's just been out of the limelight and PinkPantheress has brought it back in a fun, new way. The art of sampling and the beauty of black artists' contributions to electronic music has been overlooked, and artists like PinkPantheress are bringing back what black artists did for electronic music that was long overlooked. —Tarik Moody, Radio Milwaukee
YouTube
Best New Artist: Alison Russell
Out Kid tells Alison Russell's story of growing up Black in Montreal, abuse at the hands of her stepfather, escape — She actually lived on the streets for a while as a teenager — and then redemption and recovery through moving to Vancouver, discovering music, joining a punk band. All the songs take us on this journey, not only through the lyrics, but through the incredibly musical tapestry of the album. You feel the love, community and healing in this album. —Ann Powers
YouTube
Breakthrough Artist: Arooj Aftab
There's a Venn diagram where Sade intersects with Jeff Buckley, and right in the middle of that Venn diagram is my whole heart. Vulture Prince manages to swim in that space… Arooj Aftab's drawing of all these different sounds and styles to make this wonderfully metaphorical record where we could drop anywhere on this record and find something beautiful that's not like nothing else. It's rooted in real heartbreak and sadness, but at the same time it's so beautiful and heartfelt that you don't just sit and wallow in that sadness, you celebrate it as well. —Stephen Thompson, Pop Culture Happy Hour
YouTube
Breakthrough artist: Yasmin Williams
Yasmin Williams treats her guitar like a playground. He taps the wood of the instrument, taps the finger – in other songs, taps dancing shoes, plays the kora or a piano with his thumb while playing the guitar. In many ways, the joy and potential he brings to the guitar reminds me more of Eddie Van Halen than any of the other fingerstyle players he's been compared to. This music goes back to the Black blues guitarists. she re-claims, but stakes her claim at the same time. —Lars Gottrich
YouTube
Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis co-produced this story with Lars Gotrich.