SiriusXM’s Class of 2022 and Future Five Artists to Watch in 2023
The ‘Class of 2022’ is composed of artists that SiriusXM was first to commit airplay and playlist support to.
Wrap up 2022 with a look back at the SiriusXM-supported artists that broke through this year. The Class of 2022 is composed of artists that SiriusXM was first to commit airplay and playlist support to and subsequently went on to have a major breakthrough year; this commitment extends across multiple channels and genres.
The Class of 2022 includes Sleazyworld Go, Jelly Roll, Wage War, Zach Bryan, Bailey Zimmerman, Corey Kent, Nate Smith, Arin Ray, Muni Long, Fred again.., Leah Kate, Becky Hill, Nicky Youre, Jax, Ryan Castro and Wet Leg.
SiriusXM’s Class of 2022
Sleazyworld Go: Hip Hop Nation world debuted “Sleazy Flow” in March, playing the track more than 1,500 times, and in July featured Sleazyworld Go as part of SiriusXM’s Next Wave Concert Series. In late September, the track reached #1 on the Urban chart.
Jelly Roll: Octane was the first national hard-rock outlet to embrace Jelly Roll’s track “Dead Man Walking” by naming it an Octane Accelerator in October of 2021. Since then, it has been played more than 1,500 times. In April, the song reach #1 multiple times on the channel’s listener-voted weekly Big Uns Countdown, over a month before it reached #1 on the national active rock chart. SiriusXM also championed the artist on The Highway, providing early support for his track “Son Of A Sinner,” which reached #1 on the channel’s Hot 30 Countdown two months prior to it reaching #1 on the Country charts.
Wage War: In August of 2021, Octane world debuted Wage War’s “Circle The Drain,” which landed in the top 10 of the channel’s Top 30 Big Uns of 2021 Countdown and earned the band a place on SiriusXM’s Future Five for 2022 list. In 2022, Octane’s massive support continued by featuring the band on SiriusXM’s Next Wave Concert Series and by leading national airplay with over 1,600 spins to date.
Zach Bryan: In early January, The Spectrum became the first to commit airplay to Zach Bryan’s song “Heading South” and has since played the song (which in late April reached the top 15 at Triple A charts) more than 1,000 times. The Spectrum continued their support in March by becoming the first to play and amplify his song “From Austin.”
Bailey Zimmerman: In 2022, The Highway’s feature On The Horizon premiered multiple Bailey Zimmerman singles, including “Fall in Love” in March — which, in less than three months, went on to reach #1 on the channel’s Hot 30 Countdown and finally reached #1 on the Country charts in early December. The Highway’s support continued in June by becoming one of the only outlets to play “Rock and a Hard Place,” which also reached #1 on the Hot 30 Countdown. Upon the song’s release in mid-September, The Highway became the first and only outlet to play “Never Leave” and in 2022 has played Zimmerman’s music more than 2,500 times.
In conjunction with SiriusXM’s support, Pandora has also heavily supported the artist by becoming one of the first platforms to add “Fall In Love” to curated playlists, which has led to the track receiving more than 67 million platform streams and the first ever three-station takeover (Today’s Country, The 615, and Country Grit) to mark the release of his EP “Leave The Light.” Bailey Zimmerman’s “Fall in Love” also landed on Pandora’s Top Thumb Hundred of 2022, the annual ranking of the most-loved songs by Pandora listeners.
Corey Kent: The Highway was first to play Corey Kent’s “Wild As Her” on the channel’s On The Horizon feature in March, which quickly moved into regular rotation. In August, the song landed at #1 on the channel’s Hot 30 Countdown, and in mid-December the song finally cracked the top 25 on the Country chart. Support continued in October when “How You Know You Made It” debuted on On The Horizon with The Highway being the only outlet to support the track to date.
Nate Smith: Starting in early May, The Highway began championing Nate Smith and his music by being the first national outlet to commit significant airplay to his song “Whiskey On You” on the channel’s On The Horizon feature. The Highway has since gone on to lead the nation in airplay with over 1,200 spins. In September, the song went on to reach #1 on the channel’s Hot 30 Countdown and is finishing the year by cracking the top 5 on the Country chart. The Highway is wrapping up 2022 by being the only outlet to support his songs “I Found You” and “Wreckage,” both of which had their national debut on the channel’s On The Horizon feature.
Arin Ray: The Heat was an early supporter of Arin Ray’s “Bad Idea,” playing the song in June just shortly after its release. To date, The Heat has played the song more than 1,500 times, which is more than four times that of any other station. “Bad Idea” is also being amplified on Pandora Hip-Hop and R&B channels, which have delivered more than 7.2 million streams to date.
Muni Long: In early January, The Heat kicked off 2022 by becoming one of the first to play and add Muni Long’s “Hrs and Hrs,” and the channel has continued to lead the way by playing the song more than 2,000 times to date. SiriusXM and Pandora went on to feature Muni Long on a number of high-profile Pandora stations and playlists, helping the song land on Pandora’s Top Thumb Hundred Songs of 2022, the annual ranking of the most-loved songs by Pandora listeners. “Hrs and Hrs” finishes the year having topped the Urban chart, reached #2 on the R&B chart, and peaked at #3 on the Rhythmic chart.
Fred again..: Chill’s support of Fred again..’s track “Kyle” — in addition to Diplo’s Revolution channel’s early support of “Billie (Your Loving Arms)” and “Marea” in 2021 — earned him a spot on SiriusXM’s Ones To Watch for 2022. Fred again.. started the new year with an exclusive SiriusXM “Fishbowl” performance and has since had Diplo’s Revolution lead the way on multiple tracks including “Deliah (pull me out of this),” “Danielle (smile on my face),” and most recently combined with BPM to be the only outlet to support “Clara (the night is dark).” To date, SiriusXM’s BPM, Chill, and Diplo’s Revolution have played his music more than 2,400 times.
Leah Kate: BPM’s support of LA-based Leah Kate dates back to 2021 (when she was an unsigned artist) and was subsequently instrumental in getting her signed with 10K Projects. The channel’s support continued in 2022 by being the only outlet to play and support her song “F U Anthem.” In April, Hits 1 was the first in the country to play her song “10 Things I Hate About You,” a song that delivered her first top 20 on CHR chart.
Becky Hill: SiriusXM’s support of Becky Hill’s music dates back to 2019 with airplay on BPM. It continued in 2021 by being the one of the first national radio outlets to support her song “Remember” with David Guetta on both Diplo’s Revolution and BPM. In 2022, SiriusXM once again led the way nationally in support of her song with Joel Corry “History” and her song with David Guetta “Crazy What Love Can Do.” In September, Becky delivered an exclusive SiriusXM performance, as her platform-wide support grew to include airplay on The Pulse, Venus, and TikTok Radio. In total, her music has received more than 4,200 platform plays to date.
Nicky Youre: In February, Hits 1 and Pandora Now on SiriusXM became the first to support and commit airplay to “Sunroof,” Nicky Youre’s viral song with Dazy. SiriusXM’s massive support ultimately led to Columbia Records signing Youre. Seven months later, the song went on to reach #1 on both the CHR and Hot AC charts. In November, Hits 1 once again led the way by becoming the first outlet to play and support his latest single, “Eyes On You.”
Jax: Jax started the year by being named to SiriusXM’s Class of 2021 and is now the first artist ever to appear on this list for two consecutive years. In early July of 2022, SiriusXM’s industry-leading support of the singer-songwriter continued when Hits 1 and Pandora Now became the first to play and add “Victoria’s Secret,” with TikTok Radio adding support later that month. To date, the song has received over 3,622 platform plays, with Hits 1 leading all broadcast outlets in total support. Five months after its first support on SiriusXM, “Victoria’s Secret” will end 2022 by achieving top 10 status on both the CHR and Hot AC charts.
Ryan Castro: SiriusXM’s Caliente channel began their support of this Latin artist in early February by becoming the first and only national broadcast outlet to play and add his track “Jordan.” In early May, the channel once again led the way by becoming the first to play and support “Mujeriego” and continues to lead the nation in support of the artist. Caliente will wrap up 2022 by closing in on 1,000 plays of his music and welcome him into SiriusXM’s NYC Studios for an exclusive interview and performance.
Wet Leg: Selected as SiriusXM’s Ones to Watch for 2022, Wet Leg enjoyed a massively successful year, with XMU and Alt Nation leading the nation in support of this UK duo, which started with an exclusive XMU session in early January. In March of 2022, their song “Chaise Lounge” finally reached top 15 status on the Alternative charts over seven months after XMU began its support. Both channels have gone on to lead the nation in support of their track “Too Late Now,” with both also supporting “Wet Dream” and XMU leading the nation in support of their songs “Ur Mum” and “Angelica.” Wet Leg finished 2022 with multiple GRAMMY nominations and combined XMU and Alt Nation support, surpassing 3,900 platform plays to date.
Today, SiriusXM’s music programming team unveiled its Future Five, artists that SiriusXM first supported and predicts will break through in 2023. The Future Five for 2023 highlights five emerging artists across all genres — including R&B, country, hip-hop, and rock — that are believed to be some of the most promising, up-and-coming voices.
Year after year, Future Five picks have proven to be on point and spotlight artists that SiriusXM is first to champion. Past Future Five selections include Doja Cat, Gabby Barrett, Roddy Ricch, Lil Uzi Vert, Carly Pearce, Mae Muller, Morgan Wade, and more.
SiriusXM’s Future Five for 2023
SiriusXM’s Future Five for 2023 are Armani White, Bad Omens, Coco Jones, Danielle Ponder, and Megan Moroney.
Armani White
Hip Hop Nation (Ch. 44)
“I met Armani White several years ago as an inspiring artist and gave him a shot. When he released ‘Billie Eilish,’ we teamed up again and kicked off the single with SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation playing it nationally for the first time. It then took off on TikTok, hitting the #1 spot, and it keeps growing. SiriusXM is so glad to see him reach his heights and be a part of his success story. 2023 is going to be a great year for him.”
– Ronnie Triana, Associate Director, Hip Hop/SXM Music Programming
Bad Omens
Octane (Ch. 37)
“Bad Omens are a rising force in the world of hard rock and have had a hell of a year on Octane. In January, we premiered ‘Like A Villain’ worldwide, which landed at #1 on Octane’s Big Uns Countdown. Bad Omens’ blend of heavy riffs and haunting melodies captivates the Octane audience, and their success continues as they will headline the next Octane Accelerator Concert in early 2023 as part of SiriusXM’s Next Wave Concert Series.”
– Vincent Usuriello, Senior Director, Music Programming
Coco Jones
The Heat (Ch. 46)
“Coco Jones is the future of R&B! Already an accomplished songwriter and actor, she is now ready to set the music world on fire with her amazing vocals! Early in her career, Coco faced many setbacks and disappointments, but she persevered and landed a breakout acting role, where she showed the world she’s more than ready for stardom. SiriusXM and Pandora have been championing Coco from the start and recently selected her as the first artist to be amplified through its new Artist Accelerator program, with her track ‘ICU.’ That is just the first of many that will soon see her talent and sing her praises! With her confidence and immense talent, she’s already inspired other young girls to be resilient and enduring.”
– Dion Summers, Vice President, Music Programming
Danielle Ponder
The Spectrum (Ch. 28)
“I listened to Danielle’s album months before it debuted and was particularly drawn to the title track, ‘Some of Us Are Brave.’ The Spectrum was first to play that song, and then we continued support by featuring her songs on the Spectrum Shortlist as they came out. It’s been fun to see how much Danielle has accomplished in a short period of time, including opening for Marcus Mumford, Leon Bridges, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and Young The Giant, plus appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers and CBS This Morning. I’m excited to see what’s next for Danielle in 2023 and beyond.”
– Chris Muckley, Director, Music Programming
Megan Moroney
The Highway (Ch. 56)
“This year, Megan piqued listeners’ interest with the release of ‘Hair Salon,’ which earned early support on The Highway’s On The Horizon playlist that features the best of brand-new country releases. Her breakthrough track ‘Tennessee Orange’ secured her spot as a key artist to watch in the country space and earned her dedicated airplay commitment on the channel. Newly signed to Sony Music Nashville and with her first headlining tour on the books, Megan’s successes in 2022 as an independent artist exemplify the mission of The Highway as a platform to break the next generation of country artists.”
– Kathleen Shea, Program Director
