The Official ACL Blog for like Eight People!
If you want the daily schedule post, look below at those tabs or down and to the right at the September posts. Have fun!
One Liner: More flipping R&B, this one kind of like a rapper doing a hook but for the whole song
Wikipedia Genre: R&B, soul, funk, dirty south hip hop
Home: LA (via Anderson, South Carolina and Tampa)
Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 14 Weekend Two Only. Saturday at 2
SnapChat Stage
Thoughts: You know when Andre 3000 sings R&B type stuff in the later Outkast music? This is reminding me of those songs and that vocal tone. It is pretty generic sounding R&B to me - the background synths and beats just sound pretty plain to my ears, like I heard them before on a Justin Timberlake song or a Lauryn Hill track or some Timbaland b-side. I will admit, I looked up during "gutta child" to make sure it was still this same guy, because that one got me grooving.
Just one album, 2025's gutta child, and a bunch of singles that started in 2023 prior to that. The top track is called "the one" with 6.8 million streams.
That skate rink looks fun, but I really do not like the singing on that song. It feels like there is never an actual song, just the little hook that you would hear between rapped verses in a real rap song. Also, I need to go try roller skating again. In my head, I am truly godawful. But what if I can dance like an angel now? It isn't the top streamer, but I want to give you the title track to the album anyway. 1.4 million streams.
I like the funk and groove of the background on that one. I'd like to be that lady, eating takeout noodles and bobbing my head. But I will not be there for this show - y'all can have fun without me on this one.
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, this is R&B-ish pop
Home: Toledo, OH
Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 16
Weekend One Only. Sunday at 2pm.
Beatbox Stage.
Thoughts: Just the first song already has \me turned off to this one. Very overly breathy and affected voice on top of generic pop sounds. The tiny bio I found on Apple Music says "Ashlee Britton Robinson aka Britton is [sic] blends R&B and electronic-influences [sic] into her own emotionally vulnerable and sonically layered alt-pop." Another bio paragraph claims she is from New York and is making waves in the indie pop market. Another agrees that she is from Toledo, Ohio, who moved to L.A. in 2020 to pursue music full-time and claims that her music lives at the intersection of dark pop confessionals and cinematic vulnerability. WTF does that even mean? But here is why she was signed to a music label - "Britton comes to Position with an impressive following across streaming and social media with 1.4M+ on Tik Tok, 316K+ on Instagram, 220K+ on YouTube and 200K+ on Spotify."
All singles from 2018 to 2026, when she finally released an album - Loving You Almost Killed Me. No song on the album has more than 3.1 million streams. One of her singles, 2021's "To My Younger Self" is the big hit, with 24.2 million streams.
Well that shit is super depressing. I also find that sort of song very off-putting - maybe it helped someone going through a hard time and was great to help! But it also feels like a money grab of someone cynically trying to figure out how to get a viral hit by mentioning mental health and platitudes about being a survivor. Maybe I am the cynic.
The biggest tune on the album is "clawmarks" with 3 million streams.
That does nothing for me at all. I find it fascinating that the first handful of YouTube comments are all stuff like "I guess I'll play this on repeat for the rest of my life" or "your voice is so angelic and pure every song is something different and there all very relatable" or "this is a masterpiece." Not for me, Russian bot commenters! Hope y'all enjoy your time at the BeatBox stage!
Speaking of the Beatbox drinks? Woof. Those things taste like butt and will turn an otherwise enjoyable music listening experience into a blur. We got a handful of them for free one year and, because I am a cheap bastard who would not want to waste alcohol (even if it does taste like truck stop air freshener), I fired those suckers down and then lost the next few hours. Avoid.
One Liner: Back to the classic and uninteresting style of R&B
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is R&B and some rap
Home: Louisville
Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 23 Weekend Two Only Sunday at 12:45 pm.
BMI Stage.
Thoughts: Brutal time slot. Literally up against the Jazz Collective and no one else at the first slot of the day. Getting blasted by the heat to play some sultry R&B grooves sounds miserable, but I guess she is out there making money as a touring musician and I'm just sitting here like a lump.
She apparently grew up hiding her queer identity in a very religious home in Louisville, KY. But the interview I am reading is weird about it, like, sounding like she had to hide her identity but then describing how most of her family is "super open-minded" and how supportive her mom, grandma, and Uncle Paul were. I guess this means her dad was an asshole. She got started singing to make people smile. She says people at school would come to her to ask her to sing for them to cheer them up. That is sweet. But while in high school, she started posting little freestyles onto Instagram after school, and somehow Timbaland saw one. He apparently DM'ed her to say "Yo, your pin game is crazy. We gotta work." I have no clue what that means, but she told him she was in, and he flew her out three days later. Since then, she's gotten to open for Jack Harlow, open on the H.E.R. tour, and perform at the Soul Train Awards.
Her first single was in 2020, so I expect that the pandemic really jacked up her rollout. The put out an EP in 2021 (Love Letterz) that became a full album (Love Letterz 2) in 2022. Since then, a handful of singles, but nothing else, which seems weird. I guess that is why she is down at the bottom of the poster, despite being discovered by Timbaland. Top track is "Countless Times" with 11.8 million streams.
I don't know the term for that beat/rhythm there in the background, but it feels like a frequently used groove for traditional R&B. The drums and bass laying down a slinky groove while the singer warbles and whispers and squeals over the top. Never my style of tune, but she has a nice voice.
Second most streamed is "KMS" which is not standing for what I expected (kill my self) but is instead about killing me slowly. 2.8 million streams for the studio version.
More of a rap beat to that one, but the lyrics aren't getting me much of anywhere. Feels pretty well-trod space and without a special beat or an especially cool voice saying something new.
Not my jam. If it's yours, I hope you enjoy the heat stroke that will come with the show.
One Liner: A more organic sounds R&B style that I enjoyed
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is R&B, neo-soul
Home: Baltimore (to L.A.)
Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 23 Weekend Two Only Sunday at 2 pm.
BMI Stage.
Thoughts: What is the actual deal with all of the R&B on this poster? Is that the hot new genre and just no one in the entire world knew about it? Really weird.
I actually like this better than several of the other R&B things, because this one frequently uses real instruments. Like, right now, I am re-hearing "i'll remember you" and it is honestly a really pretty love song with poignant lyrics and a nice coffee house sound. Sometimes her voice is a little too affected for me, a little extra vibrato or breathiness that always tires me out when people go there, but generally she has a nice voice, good lyrics, and the background music isn't so bad.
Weird that we also have a Rochelle Jordan on the poster. Y'all need to make band names.
Interestingly, as least to me as a lacrosse dad, she committed to USC (assuming that is Southern California in this instance) to play lacrosse out of high school. When she got there, she took a songwriting class and realized that sports wasn't all she wanted to do. It lit a fire, she switched from business major to music major, and the rest is history for her. She started out online doing fit checks and otherwise showing off her fashion sense, and it took off enough to allow her to quit her three jobs and become a full-time online person. And that gave her the freedom to work on her music enough to get an EP together and then get signed by Arista. She has since been compared to Olivia Dean, and I think that is pretty appropriate - she even mentioned that sometimes her writing sounds too close to Dean and so she changes it. She also says she loves Lola Young and Amy Winehouse. Makes sense.
She only has 11 songs total though, so while that is enough to get a good idea of the sound, its not great for an extended listening session. Two EPs, 2024's BETTER WHEN I'M LONELY and 2026's better late than not at all. Why is she either all caps or none? The youth, amiright?!?!
Top track is a 2025 single that ended up on the new EP called "halfwaythru." 10.1 million streams.
I don't know why but it really bothers me for her to mess up those nice and white clothes with the wine. You need a stain stick, girl. But yeah, I like the smooth groove going on in this track.
Second biggest streamer is also on the new EP, called "picky choosy," with 4.1 million streams. Apparently about being picky with who you give your time to.
See, how those real instruments come in there with the piano, drums, bass and create a legit backing for the song that feels warmer and funkier than some plain synths. No way you are eating cake in the bathtub looking like that, Chelsea. That is some false advertising bro.
BUT, maybe this means I don't dislike all R&B sounds, it is just certain ones. Maybe having a ridiculous overload of R&B on this poster is actually a good thing to teach me some things.
One Liner: Perfectly fine London R&B singer Wikipedia Genre: R&B, trip hop, soul Home: London Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 21 Day: Sunday at 6 Weekend Two Only.
BMI Stage
Thoughts: Why is every artist on this line just someone's name. Just fake me out and only use your last name or something. Just be Keable! I'm very tired of the generic pop singer style today. And luckily for me, this isn't that! Oh, but wait, its generic R&B singer style instead. Which is terribly rude to say, but I am just not the right guy to dig into a R&B singer lady. Sorry.
She British, born in South London, and was previously featured in a Disclosure track in 2013. I feel like another singer on this poster was also in a Disclosure song? Or maybe I just accused someone of sounding like them. Her father was British and her mother was Columbian. She graduated from the BRIT School, which is a performing arts school in a London borough that has produced many famous alums from Adele to Winehouse to FKA Twigs to Jade Bird to Lola Young to Olivia Dean.
Many, many EPs and singles over the past 8 years. None of the early stuff really popped, but she has had a few gain some traction more recently. Her top song on Spotify isn't hers, something called GIVEON. And her most streamed is also not hers, something called Isaiah Falls. So, her top streamer that just belongs to her is "WHY" with 16.7 million streams.
Sure. Forgettable and uninteresting for me, personally, but her voice is nice. I feel like a jerk when I review R&B, because I just don't care for it. Might as well be gospel or classical, which I would never seek out to hear. If you love London R&B lady singers, then go check this one out! I'll stop while I am ahead here and just say it is not for me.
One Liner: Puerto Rican reggaeton lady with lots of famous collabs
Wikipedia Genre: Latin trap, Latin R&B, reggaeton
Home: Rico
Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 3 Both Weekends. Saturday at 4:30
American Express Stage
Thoughts: DAMMIT! I don't know why, but I was certain that this was going to be a rapper. Do y'all remember FEID from last year's poster? This guy's top song is actually that guy's song, that this guy appears on. I can't tell which one of them is nasally yelping in Auto-tuned Spanish, but I know that I dislike it immensely.
Oh, wait. She is the lady singing behind the yelping in that song. She is not a reggaeton bro, she is a reggaeton lady.
I have had this thought before, and it is just an interesting thought exercise. Probably shows some latent racism inside of me that I still have not been able to shake over the years. But it is really interesting to think of how when you walk by certain construction sites where Hispanic people might be working, you frequently hear a certain style of music playing inside of the house. Or like if you go to the shop where I take my vehicle, it is always pegged to a classic rock station. And so it makes you wonder whether an immigrant from Mexico rolls their eyes when they hear Foreigner followed by Van Halen followed by Journey followed by David Bowie, because in their mind those all sound just the same and it is so weird that someone would listen to those things. Anyway, I say this because all of the reggaeton-type music sounds similar to me, where a moment ago I was like, "this could be Bad Bunny for all I know" and it actually was.
María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano Cardona is a Puerto Rican rapper/singer who apparently used to play soccer professionally and for P.R. That is actually interesting - I didn't think about Puerto Rico having its own national soccer team - seems like they should be playing for the U.S.? She got her start by writing raps over beats she found on YouTube, and was also a tattoo artist as she was working on her music. Her 2022 debut EP was called Trap Kitty, but most of her early notoriety came from being featured with Feid, Bad Bunny, Karol G and other artists. She was even there at the Super Bowl halftime show for Bad Bunny.
Her collab-heavy world makes it harder to find the songs that are just her. That Feid track has 1.2 billion streams, but that isn't her song. Of her top ten, only four appear to be her own song, and one still features FEID. I'll give you "WASSUP," with 184 million streams, and an instantly recognizable sound like Lil Wayne's Lollipop.
I find that one sort of boring. Maybe if I had any clue what she was saying other than WASSUP, then maybe it would feel better. That is a lot of tattoos. That track was on her 2025 album called Do Not Disturb. Why use English in the name of the album but not sing in English? She has a 2023 single that had a lot of streams too - "Lisa" has 304.3 million.
Sure. Kind of a basic beat, but the flow sounds pretty good. No clue what she's rapping about, but I find myself kind of bumping along to it anyway. Not going to go see it. But have fun if you want to get into it.
One Liner: More bedroom pop with a big TikTok tune
Wikipedia Genre: pop, rock, R&B
Home: California
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 9. Both Weekends. Sunday at 3:30
Miller Lite Stage
Thoughts: She was last here in 2022.
Another TikTok star, as Wikipedia says that she came to "wide recognition" when a song went viral on TikTok. She's then released two EPs since then. But, at least her story is a little different. She hadno idea that she had gone viral, which seems much nicer than the folks who are doing it in a deeply calculated way and trying to go viral every step of the way. Her friends texted her that she was blowing up and when she checked it out she had over 300k videos using her song, and then had to let everyone know it was hers.
Kind of generic bedroom pop with guitar, although most of these songs are catchy fun. The big tune is "Backyard Boy," with 330.5 million streams (up from 193.2 in 2022).
Oh, wait. Is she like 8 years old? Her Wikipedia didn't list an age, but now that I see this video, she looks like she's in Middle School. And that whole entire video feels like she's aiming for further TikTok dances to be attempted. It's a cute little tune - nothing much to it - but catchy and cute.
Her father was an Icelandic composer, producer, violinist, and jingle writer. Wikipedia says that some of his notable compositions for film and TV include "The Whole Truth" and "The District." Sure. Those. Her Spotify bio just says she makes music with her dad, which is wholesome. She has something called synesthesia, which apparently causes her to envision shapes and colors in response to auditory input. That sounds fun! Maybe it would be awful, but it sounds like free drugs for life!
A 2022 single I like just because it reminds me of a funny story. Many years ago, one of my co-workers sent an e-mail to several of us at work that said it was too pretty [outside] to work today. I misread it as her telling us that she was too pretty to do any work today, which has been a consistent inside joke for us ever since. Good times. So, Claire girl put out her single called "i'm too pretty for this," and it reminds me of the same.
Seems like she shouldn't cuss when she's still in middle school. But, I'll give her credit for another catchy little ditty. As a dad, I really don't like her riding in that pickup bed with her back against the tailgate. That sucker could pop open at any time and spill her out onto the highway. Come on, Ragnar! Protect your baby!
Since those early songs, she has grown up a little on 2023's Just Because and 2026's Lover with a little more pop and cursing. Some of it veers too far into the R&B world for me. But nothing on either of those albums is anywhere nearly as popular as her early hit. The top song from either of those two is "Dancer" from the 2026 album. 14.3 million.
Feels like she is aiming for an Olivia Rodrigo vibe. I could see that tune being fun to boogie to at the Fest in a few months. More than likely I would not go see this, but I would suggest it to my kid who will be there for weekend!
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative R&B, dance-pop, house
Home: Wheatley, Canada
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 10 Weekend One Only. Saturday at 2pm
SnapChat Stage
Thoughts: More stinkin' R&B. On the 10th line! So, instead of writing another depressed screed in which I admit repeatedly that I know nothing about R&B, I give you Claude's version.
Background: Rochelle Jordan is a Jamaican-British singer born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, on October 21, 1989, who moved to Canada at age 4 and was raised primarily around Toronto. Her sound blends alternative R&B, dance-pop, and house, and more broadly draws on hip-hop soul, the Missy Elliott/Timbaland collaborations with Aaliyah, deep house, drum'n'bass, and UK garage. She's cited that eclectic upbringing directly: her father, a drummer, introduced her to Northern soul, Jamaican reggae, and dancehall, while her older brother's collection exposed her to UK house, drum and bass, and garage.
Jordan started out uploading R&B cover songs to YouTube at 16 after being inspired by Justin Bieber, and producer KLSH discovered her through those videos in 2009. They went on to release the mixtape Alien Phase in 2010, followed by Rojo (2011) and Pressure (2012), before her debut album 1021 arrived in 2014, written and recorded in her bedroom after she'd moved to Los Angeles. After a seven-year hiatus, she returned with her second album, Play with the Changes, in April 2021, then a third album, Through the Wall, in September 2025.
Top two songs by Spotify streams:
"Lowkey" (from 1021, 2014) — her biggest streaming song by a wide margin, currently over 38 million streams.
YouTube:
"Lover/Friend" (with KAYTRANADA, 2023) — her second-most-streamed track, over 20 million streams.
YouTube:
Interesting details:
She has toured with Jessie Ware and provided background vocals for Childish Gambino's "Telegraph Ave." on his Grammy-nominated Because the Internet.
Her single "Follow Me" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Next Big Sound chart in early 2014, and her track "Losing" from Pressure was later sampled by rapper IamSu! on a song of the same name.
She's also lent her voice to Adult Swim's Black Dynamite, voicing Cindy in the episode "How Honeybee Got Her Groove Back."
She's dealt with sickle cell anemia since early childhood, something she's spoken about as shaping her resilience as an artist.
There you have it. If you are super into R&B, then I hope that you have fun watching her!
Poster Position: TOP Quarter - Line 4 Both Weekends. Friday at 7:15
Miller Lite Stage
Thoughts: I forget how it ended up in my new music queue, but his big hit has been bouncing around in there for months. Sort of rap, sort of R&B, but "MUTT" has a funk and bounce that feels old school in a good way. 450.9 million streams.
That bass line has a Thundercat sound to it. Dig it.
He began his career as a child actor on Broadway - The Lion King as Young Simba, The Color Purple - and then gained wide recognition for starring in the Nickelodeon teen sitcom Victorious (2010–2013). He was in the movie August Rush and sang La Bamba, and was the singing voice for one of the Backyardigans. Never saw any of that. But, like many Disney/Nick child stars, he aimed for some music stardom next and he ended up co-writing and c-producing tracks for major stars like Ariana Grande, Drake, Rick Ross, SZA, and Toni Braxton. His song for SZA, "Snooze" won Best R&B Song at the Grammys. So in 2024, he released MUTT, the album, and its lead single became a hit that pushed him to receive six Grammy nods in 2025, and he won Best R&B album and Best Traditional R&B Performance.
The problem for me, is that after "MUTT," this just ends up being regular ass R&B. Which, we have definitely established, is not my thing. He obviously has a great voice, with that track record described above, but the cheesy swing tunes farting along underneath those vocals, or quasi-rap sounds that he trills over, none of this does anything for me. I can't say he is bad, of course, but it is more just that I don't care at all. His second-biggest streamer is "YES IT IS" with 82.6 million streams.
Yeah, sure. If this is your jam, then you ought to be happy because there have been several R&B things I have heard on this poster recently. I hope you enjoy!
One Liner: "Unwritten" from that Glen Powell/Sydney Sweeney movie and other pop
Wikipedia Genre: R&B, pop, dance-pop, blue-eyed soul
Home: Cuckfield, West Sussex, England
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8. Weekend Two Only. Friday at 4:30
Tito's Tent (really? Weird venue)
Thoughts: Had a fun interaction with my 15 year old when the poster came out and we were looking at all of the things she loved on this poster and I was naming off the few things I could stomach. We came to Bedingfield and she had no clue who this was until I told her this was the "Unwritten" lady from that Sidney Sweeney movie and she got very excited. That movie absolutely changed the trajectory of this singer's life. I wish I knew the stream count from before that movie came out, but it is now at a whopping 1.8 BILLION streams.
Funny thing, now the YouTube video has been retitled to say "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Official Video) (as featured in Anyone But You)." But, because of the movie, my kid told me this was their theme song last summer at camp for their group of friends. So, one little movie placement turns an eminently forgettable pop nugget from 2004 into a juggernaut hit in 2023. A Billboard article from 1/4/24 says it went from 511k streams a week to 1.3 million streams a week after the release of the movie and spiked on TikTok as well. If I am being entirely honest, when I heard the song in the movie, I liked it and it worked really well in the flick. But I thought it was by Nelly Furtado.
Other funny thing about that is that she had already pulled this move - get a song to be central to the plot of a hit RomCom and profit. Do you remember Easy A with Emma Stone? Well in that flick she receives card that won’t stop playing Pocket Full of Sunshine, and she decides it is the most annoying song ever. But then in the end, a mall flash mob is performing the song and the world is loving it
She was born in England to two Kiwi parents and grew up in between London and Auckland. She and her siblings formed a teen dance/electronic group called The DNA Algorithm, where Natasha sang the vocals. She went to one year of University before leaving to explore the music career. Her first work was on live albums with the Hillsong Church UK (meaning cheesy Christian tunes). When she was about 22, she signed with a label and they threw her in the lab with a pile of collaborators to create 2004's Unwritten. It sold well, hitting platinum in the UK and gold in the US. She was nominated for a few Brit Awards and a Grammy, but didn't take any hardware home.
2007's N.B. had mixed reviews and didn't get much chart traction. She got to open for Justin Timberlake though, and performed "Unwritten" at the Concert for Diana held at Wembley ten years after Princess Diana's death. Her label held off on her next album for a while because of the disappointment from the prior disc. After some heavy re-work, Pocketful of Sunshine came out in 2008, repeating six songs originally on NB, which seems bad. The title track from that is her second-biggest streamer at 646.3 million streams.
Doesn't seem like a good way to react to your boss giving you some correction, but maybe thats just me as an old man. I figured I would not know any of her other songs, but actually "Pocketful of Sunshine" sounds familiar for sure. Very Brit Pop from the 90's vibe (even though it was from 2007). "These Words" is familiar too. 2021's single "Lighthearted" sounds like she is trying to be Taylor Swift.
Her more recent albums are not good. She was "Pepper" in a 2021 season of The Masked Singer. She lives in New York. I will let the teens go and scream the hit together and see something else during this slot.
One Liner: Brit R&B Belter following the Winehouse model
Wikipedia Genre: Neo soul, R&B, pop, indie rock
Home: L.A. (via Mississippi)
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 9. Both Weekends. Saturday at 3:30
SnapChat Stage
Thoughts: Doing that Amy Winehouse brassy blowout belting thing here with a good number of cuss words and a heavy Brit accent. Sounds sort of like I am dissing it, but I find that I like this sort of R&B more than the American style. It's not my favorite thing ever, but it has me grooving along a little bit. I like that she is also singing about real things.
I like that Wikipedia calls her a singer/songwriter. In my mind, a singer-songwriter is holding a guitar and singing a simple, folky-style tune. Not belting lyrics about being high and you being annoying. But also, her Wikipedia entry is very short. Pretty much mentions two singles and then says her aunt was a jazz and blues singer who influenced her.
A handful of singles that were later collected into a 2025 EP called SE9 Part 1, and then the 2026 eight-song-"single" Woman I Am, which again collected those songs together. "Hairdresser" was her first big one, 30.2 million streams.
As a novice to the world of smoking, I'm curious how she does that thing where the smoke puffs out for a sec, gets sucked back away, and then comes blowing out. Kinda cool looking. That song is less appealing to me though, more of a traditional R&B tune. "My Addiction" is more my speed I think. But the other big streamer is "Family Matters" with 41.3 million.
Again, pretty standard R&B sort of thing for that one. I guess those are the ones people like! I probably would not go see this one, but I was surprised to find that some of the songs resonated.
One Liner: Up and coming rapper who won the Tiny Desk contest this year
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but rap, hip hop, R&B
Home: Dallas
Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 19
Weekend One Only Saturday at 2pm
BeatBox Stage
Thoughts: This is a Dallas-based rap collective, and they are pretty solid. The rapper who seems to front it is named Cameron McCloud, and he is apparently a preschool teacher on the side. I can't imagine the concept of thinking of the sweet, little old ladies who were my preschool teachers at Good Shepherd leaving their day feeding us graham crackers and stacking blocks to go write a sick rhyme about their gay identity or their depression.
A year ago, he challenged himself to release a new verse daily on Instagram, so that he would push his writing forward no matter what. He says that helped him to let go of his perfectionist mentality and just go with things rather than obsess. Also, his mom died of a heart attack while he was completing his last EP, which is terrible.
Aside from that sad shit, this is pretty fun. The name comes from his mental health journey and being placed on medication a decade ago for bipolar depressions and paranoid schizophrenia. he soon realized that creating music was a better cure than the drugs, so he went for it with these jams.
His early singles from 2015 and 2017 are not as good or as fun. Feels like he is feeling out the plan on those - more R&B focused to me. But by the 2021 album BAMN and 2023's Center of the Maze you can see the focus is onto the rap and wild fun. His 2025 album, Work of A.R.T. is where he seems to finally get noticed though, as it has his top streamer - "No Brainer" - with 652k streams.
Got some Andre 3000 flavor in that as the beat just barrels forward with funky joy. I know that those drums aren't actually groundbreaking of whatever, but that beat is funky and tight. Dig it. His newest single is called "WTF (Where the Files)" that appears to be about the Epstein files.
The other top streamer is a 2025 single called "THE ARTSHOW" with 652k streams. Just like his other single! How did he do that?!?!
As you might imagine from that video, he made a submission to Tiny Desk, and actually won! His show just got published about 3 weeks ago!
Those outfits are fire and his hair matches... The text below that video says that he applied four years in a row for the contest, and then finally won this year! it also says that the decision to crown Cure for Paranoia was unanimous. That is really pretty cool. And now we have the chance to see him go off in person!
One Liner: R&B action and a very difficult to Google moniker
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, this is R&B
Home: L.A. (via Mississippi)
Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 22. Weekend Two Only. Friday at 3:30
BMI Stage.
Thoughts: Well, this will be a short entry, because the band does not appear to exist yet. When I search on Spotify, I get that Rebecca Black has an album named Girlfriend, and that Avril Lavigne, Matthew Sweet, and Michael Jackson all had songs named "Girlfriend." Wikipedia lists that there is an Australian pop group and a South Korean pop duo who use that name, as well as an American girl group called The Girlfriends. Oh no, wait. Maybe this is it? Really weird that the artist with this name would have been like 20 items down in Spotify's search, but there is an R&B lady who goes by Girlfriend? One song in, and its not good!
If it is this person, this is Kenya Edwards, and she sings pretty standard R&B stuff. it is sort of hard to find things written about her just because the searches bring up those other items I mentioned before that also use her name.
3 albums - 2022's Girlfriend (no song w more than 250k streams), 2025's It's Complicated (only seven songs for an album?), and 2026's Honey Water (no song more than 2 million streams). Top track is from that 2025 album, "Emergency" has just over 5 million streams.
Sure, she has a nice voice and can do cool stuff with those notes, but R&B is just never the thing for me. Feels like I've already heard a song just like this. And I'm sure an R&B lover will tell me the same thing about rock songs, but this just isn't interesting for me.
One Liner: Squawky, glitchy R&B with infrequent forays into rap-ish squawks. Squawk.
Wikipedia Genre: R&B, hip hop, electronic, grime, soul, pop, rock, funk
Home: London
Poster Position: Top Quarter, Line 2 Both Weekends. Friday at 6:30
American Express Stage.
Thoughts: Last here in 2023. Has somehow released five albums in the three years since then, which seems either to show that he has an insane pace or that he just shoves out half-baked crap. Unclear which.
Appears that he made the soundtrack for the HBO show Euphoria. My middle kid watched that show long before she would have been allowed to watch that show, and in order to do so she would create a new login for HBO Max each day, watch a few episodes, and then delete that login. I only discovered it because HBO kept telling me that the next episode for me to watch was named whatever. So, I looked over at the wife, and was like, "are you watching the druggy teenagers boning show?" and she was like "what are you talking about." So, we figured out that the kid was sneaky. Since then, the younger kid has also watched it, so now my children probably know everything about everything. Cool Cool.
Instant read on this is that this is horrible music. This maybe going up against Geese and the Chainsmokers is like trying to pick whether it is better to get pooped on by a cat, a racoon, or a possum. What even is this? It feels like a joke - like someone is playing a joke on me by saying this is a headliner at ACL. I'm listening to "Mount Everest" right now and the guy is just squawking for like a minute. What is happening. I'll give you the most popular tune first, this one was from Euphoria. "Formula" with 1.1 BILLION streams.
Squeaky R&B is apparently what the people want. Also, it feels like a partial song, like he was planning to flesh it out later and actually have a full song, but then forgot to slow down the lyrics and make it a full song and his manager just went ahead and uploaded it as incomplete. So dumb.
I think it just has to be that he is associated with Euphoria, and it was a huge show for the young people. I can't understand any other reason that this makes sense for this to almost be a headliner.
Wikipedia claims that he is a rapper, which I find interesting. Maybe those are further down in his song list, because so far this feels like an SNL skit of someone trying to make fun of The Weeknd. Real name is Tomothy Lee McKenzie. In addition to releasing these songs on his own, he also made the supergroup LSD that included Sia and Diplo. Again with the Diplo collaborators for ACL. When he was young, he and his eight siblings formed a band called Mac 9. I'm guessing that was unsuccessful. He got his solo start by producing music for others, and even since making his own music he has still been getting credits with big names like Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Eminem, and The Weeknd.
His third biggest streamer is from a 2014 EP, and it is the best thing I have heard out of his discography so far. No generic beat or weird, off-putting sounds, just a John Legend-ass piano track. "Jealous," with 855.1 million streams.
That is lovely. Literally a million times better than the newer crap he has released. Really great voice. That song is legit, but when you listen to the more recent stuff in the catalog, you can tell that he left the nice sounding stuff in the dust. Oh Lordy, on "Forever," he is doing those same little squawks forever. Why is that a thing for him? Why isn't he actually a cool rapper? So many times in his tracks he just yelps and squawks and makes weird noises. Why?
Let's try the 2023 album - Ends and Begins - the top track on that one is called "Never Felt So Alone." 438.5 million streams. (and some that don't even crack 5 million on that disc? Weird)
Sleepy track turns into blurted little words over the same sleepy beat. I still just don't get why this is popular. I'm trying to imagine the experience of standing in a huge crowd at the T-Mobile stage and just grooving along with this meandering thing while he stands by a laptop and yelps little blurted words at a crowd of kids. My kids seem to think this is one of the big rap acts they'll get on the poster, but it just feels like they are going to be deeply disappointed if they are expecting a hype show.
Because I signed up for this crap, I need to check out some of the new discs too. 2025's Prelude is kind of EDM plus R&B? Luckily it is only 15 minutes long. 2026's COSMIC OPERA ACT I caught me grooving a little bit to "IMPLOSION," another kind of R&B/rap thing, but with a pretty hard beat behind it. ACT II didn't hit the same way. I have no clue why this is a thing. Welcome to ACL 2026.
One Liner: Strong voiced Brit singing hard-edged and confessional pop
Wikipedia Genre: Pop, R&B, Soul
Home: Croydon, UK
Poster Position: Top Line - 2 (up from line 16 in 2024!) Both Weekends. Saturday at 6:30
American Express Stage.
Thoughts: Welp, another one who was just here in 2024. I guess there just aren't any other artists out there so we need to see the same things over and over...
This is not the first Lola Young that comes up on Wikipedia, who is the Baroness Young of Hornsey, and a British actress, author, crossbench peer, and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. Instead, this is a gal who alternatively reminds me of both Amy Winehouse and Billie Eilish. Her Wikipedia is pretty useless. I know she is English and was born 1/4/01 and that she was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2021 and then placed fourth in 2022 in the BBC Sound of... competition. In an interview, she claimed to have more shoes than brain cells.
Four albums - 2019's Intro, 2023's My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, 2024's This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway, and 2026's I'm Only F**king Myself. My normal reaction to a pop star who reminds me of Eilish would be to tell you that I hate this, but instead, I have actually enjoyed listening to it. The backing music is a little funkier and harder, and her voice can sometimes do the annoying whispery shit, but can also belt in an appealing way. I guess I now see why she is already back to the 'Fest, because one of the tracks on the 2024 album blew up in a massive way. Like, dwarfing all other songs in the catalog for sure. "Messy" fires up 1.1 BILLION streams. I guess this struck a chord on TikTok.
It used to weird me out if I hadn't ever heard a major hit, but now it feels semi-normal to realize that the kids are jamming things that never cross my space. But I can see the teenagers doing stuff with this one about being too messy or too clean or whatever. I actually like it. And listening to the whole album, this just really sounds familiar to me.
Her top single from that 2023 album, this is "Don't Hate Me," with 43 million streams.
Her lips are so ridiculously full. Like Jennifer Lawrence playing Roseanne Barr. Almost a rap track, but I'm definitely grooving on it. The second most streamed tune is a single that came out after the albums, "Conceited," with 99.8 million streams.
That is the one that feels even more like Eilish/Winehouse crossover. But in her own way - she's not exactly like either of those but just flashes it here and there. "Wish You Were Dead" is pretty solid too, with a well-written look at a shit relationship.
Then the newest album also works pretty well. "SPIDERS" makes me think of Olivia Rodrigo with the rock and roll edge and confessional lyrics. I honestly came here to bag on this, thinking that I would tear it up for being another repeat visitor doing nothing but generic pop music, and then I found myself really enjoying it. She has some swagger and good lyrics and its not just a vacuous pop money grab thing. I might go see it.
One Liner: Bummer R&B crooner over down-tempo synth beats Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock, baroque pop, folk, contemporary R&B, jazz, new wave, soul, electronic (that is a LOT of different genres, man) Home: London Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8 Day: Sunday at 7:30 Both Weekends.
BeatBox Stage
Thoughts: I know you are going to be shocked to hear that he has been here before, but guess what? Another repeat. And from reading what I have already written about the guy, I am not a fan. My teenager was excited to see him on the poster though...
FYI, the three most common types of blood oranges are the 'Tarocco' (native to Italy), the 'Sanguinello' (native to Spain), and the 'Moro', the newest variety of the three, although Wikipedia doesn't provide its native zone, which I find disappointing. I'll say it is from London, like this dude.
Let's run through a quick name game on this guy: Born: David Joseph Michael Hynes Goes By: Devonté Hynes But Really Goes By: Dev Hynes Formerly Performed As: Lightspeed Champion Now Performs As: Blood Orange. Before Either of Those, was a Member of: Test Icicles. Which was apparently a band. With an awesome name. That released an album in 2005. These tunes are like someone took a bet that they had to simply use the basic presets on a fancy keyboard as the backing music for a successful musician. There are a few flourishes otherwise, but this is very low key, kinda funky, electronic synth stuff for this guy to sing over. He's gotten a ton of good press and critical recognition, but it misses the mark for me. Here is my review of his 2016 album Freetown Sound, where I lamented the fact that I spent the time listening to it. Pitchfork loved it, giving it a Best New Music sticker and ranking it a 8.8 (of course). Similarly, I was not in to 2013's Cupid Deluxe. Pitchfork said that was a Best New Album and gave it 8.5. His 2018 album, Negro Swan, likewise passes me by. He's got a nice voice. His lyrics can be interesting. But the music is just boring for me - I don't hear anything on here that I makes me look up from my work and need to listen more closely. Meanwhile Metacritic has it at Universal Acclaim and and 83 out of 100, with a perfect score from NME. Well, OK. A perfect album? Really? The top track, with 149.2 million streams, is "Charcoal Baby."
Huh. Comments are disabled for that video on YouTube. Can't recall the last time I saw a popular song that didn't allow comments. The guitar in that song is weird, it reminds me of something else I've heard recently. Some sleepy indie singer, like Mac Demarco or something? Its like out of tune while still being in tune? What is that? Lyrically, he pretty much just repeats that no one wants to be the odd one out all the time, and then asks repeatedly if you can break sometimes. I don't know man, sure, go ahead and break? Go for it. While I can dig the sentiment of wanting to be accepted more often, and not be treated like the "black swan," maybe you could spend like 5 minutes writing lyrics that would reflect a story about that, or something more personal than just repeating the same thought over and over?
His most streamed tune comes from his 2011 album Coastal Grooves. "Champagne Coast," another feel great anthem (not), has 565.5 million streams.
The bass is at least funky and cool in this one, instead of it just being a synth on rhythm #9. Kind of a Prince vibe on that one. "I never was in love, You know that you were never good enough." That's a pretty cold ass burn. Comments also disabled on that video. What happened to this guy with comments?
Here's a weird note from the Wikipedia page: "Hynes contributed music to the 2010 film MacGruber, including the duet "Rock My Body" with Saturday Night Live cast member Kristen Wiig." Let's check that one out.
Man. I mean, I'm fully aware that Macgruber was a silly movie intended to be a caricature, but that blows. And unfortunately, reminds me of the synths he used in his new album. I'm super glad that the critics love this guy, and I hope that he gets a bunch of money so that he can find happiness, but I don't plan to go to the group therapy session.
One Liner: Good voice and songwriting giving me Midnights vibes Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, indie pop, R&B Home: L.A. (but raised in New Jersey) Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 24 Day: Sunday Weekend Two Only.
BMI Stage at 1:30.
Thoughts: A tale of two singers. The old stuff, like first single "Stranger Things," is more of a generic R&B thing. Also, any coincidence that her first single was "Stanger Things" and then her second single is a cover of "Running Up That Hill"? Sounds like someone is a stan of the Upside Down! Anyway, the more recent stuff is less R&B and more indie pop/Taylor Swift's current Era.
She grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey - love their bacon - and was taking singing lessons by age 7. At 14, she applied for a talent search ad, became a finalist, and was flown to L.A. to meet with studio people and industry execs. After that, she worked on growing her audience with YouTube and TikTok to share originals and covers. She has a great voice.
No albums, and her EPs are weird. She released a 2025 EP called Tattoo (selective memory), which collects some singles from the prior few years. Then she released a 2025 EP called Change of Plans that includes those same songs as well as two new songs. Odd. Anyway, top track is a single that made it on to both of those. "Pretty Face" has 2.9 million streams.
That video is deeply annoying for me. But the song is a nice little strummy pop nugget. 2024 single "Deeper Meaning" has the second-most streams. 2.1 million.
Switches out the guitar for the piano but keeps the introspection and investigation of a boy and relationship as the key to the tune. "Horror Movie" is enjoyable as well. I like the end of the chorus. I definitely like the newer direction more than the older music. But, weekend two on Sunday morning means not going to see this one!
One Liner: R&B that is deeply on my nerves Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, R&B Home: Houston Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 26 Day: Sunday Weekend One Only.
BMI Stage at 12:15.
Thoughts: I know you have seen me be dismissive and annoying about R&B before, and I'm sorry to this guy and to all of the big time R&B fans out there, but I just have to turn this off. I have a ton on my plate at work and it is making me deeply annoyed to have this echo-laden, soft-falsetto, electronica R&B beating my earholes in. It must stop.
Here is what a terrible webpage says about him: "Moving seamlessly between R&B and Hip Hop, singer songwriter Aaron Page has the confidence and the ability to forge an incredible path in the music world. Growing up in New Haven CT and now based in the epicentre of the music industry Houston, Tx, has been spreading his wings far and wide.
Inspired by Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Drake, Usher and Bryson tiller, these seminal artists barely scratch the surface when it comes to the music he creates. Deep, luscious with a sentimental touch that speaks to love, losses, and wins with a touch of romance, Aaron recently dropped the instantly recognisable Lord Knows in 2024 which exceeded all expectations.
Tender and soulful vocals sit atop a deep enthralling beat and a warm embracing bass. This is music that is liquid, heartfelt and intelligent all in the same moment. Undeniably setting a standard for others to follow, his ambition to pour himself into every single release is paying dividends. The freedom to express his innermost feelings through the medium of song delivers an extraordinary sonic palette that all can enjoy.
Trusting in himself to use his real name, Aaron is a musical Page turner. From one beat to the next, he is bringing his best game to the recording industry who are looking at him with increasing admiration."
Even that write-up sucked ass.
Top song is "Lord Knows." 950k streams.
For sure the best of this batch. I promise the rest are much worse. He also has a song called "Pretty Girls Like R&B," and "Make Up" is one of the ones that is offending my brain. Godspeed to you all.
One Liner: Oddball R&B gal from Minnesota Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but R&B, pop, synth pop, hip hop Home: Minneapolis, MN Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 23 Day: Saturday Weekend Two Only.
BMI Stage at 3:15.
Thoughts: From the name and the flavor of the first song, I thought this was a Brit for sure. Nope. Minnesotan! Just like no one thought! Funny that I just talked about Gwen Stefani in the last post, and now "Hug My Throat" has a bratty sound like Stefani talking about Harajuku Girls.
No Wikipedia, and honestly not many good articles that really dig into her background, so I will just give you this slightly unhinged comment she made when she was asked about how she came up with a song called "My Baby Loves Me."
I love dissecting this world. I really have for a long time built a world, and I kind of want to take you through the journey of it real quick. It's pretty fun to talk about, but it kind of helps with all the projects I've put and where it's going. And I'll probably say this a few times, because I think it helps anybody at any time, get on the bandwagon, but understand me a little bit more. I'm a very visual thinker, and so I think of like, okay, boom — Alice in Wonderland. I'm in a field, it's beautiful, there's flowers everywhere. And then I'm reading my book, my cat is probably doing his thing, climbing up the tree. I'm like, "Get out of the tree!" I'm very in my element. And that is Free Form, my first mixtape. That is just me, free flowing, free forming, just kind of being who I am, what I am, in this space. And then it starts to get a little cold, and I'm like, "Oh, I should probably bundle up, figure out my next move. I can't lay here forever." And so on that journey of just being like, "Alright, my consciousness is starting to need a plan. Something is happening." That's my next mixtape, NO GMO. So I'm kind of going, I see this river. I like to say chocolate, because I like to add a little pizzazz. And so I'm like, "Let me get on this river." I get on a boat that's going down the river, and there's a map in it. And I'm like, "Oh! Okay." I hold the map up, that's my EP Antenna. So now I'm like, "Okay, I have directions, an antenna. I have something calling to me to do what I'm supposed to do. I felt it earlier from NO GMO, and I was building from Free Form." So I'm like, moving the map around, upside down, looking at it. I'm like, okay, North West, South — okay, period. I'm like, "I should probably get off the river, because the map is telling me that." I get off the river, I continue to follow the map. And then the map takes me to this door, and I look down, and the place mat in front of the door says, "Are We There Yet?" And that's my last EP. Because now it's kind of at a point where like, "Okay, well, this is the map takes me, takes me right here, like, are we there yet? I think we might be!" So I look inside the keyhole. Hence, "My Baby Loves Me" at the beginning, when I started doing content, you saw a keyhole, then it zoomed in, and I look in, I'm like, "Okay! I see some in there." I open up the door, and that is going to be my next project. So that's gonna be my debut album.
Wow. Yeah, sure, now it all makes complete sense.
As you may have surmised from that diatribe, she has yet to release a real album. 2018 mixtape called Free Form Mixtape, the 2019 NO GMO Mixtape, the 2021 Antenna EP, the 2024 EP called Are We There Yet, and then some more singles that will maybe be about her keyhole and what you can see inside when you drop acid and read her interviews.
Top track is a single that then made it onto the Antenna EP. "Body Move" with 6.3 million streams.
Speaking of taking acid - do not walk toward the talking tree with the big mouth, girl. I am guessing this was a minor TikTok hit to get it those streams, because I don't hear anything great to keep around. She was apparently classically trained in opera and jazz, which is kind of wild as I listen to her rap about boning in a backseat. She caught the eye of Lizzo and got to open some shows for her on tour a few years ago.
Second-biggest streamer is from the debut mixtape, "Baby Pillz" has 4.5 million streams and a deeper electronica sound.
She's got a good voice and a pretty face, but I just don't care for the actual songs themselves. By the way, she claims her fanbase are called Dizzerts. Which made me grin. Not my jam, but I can definitely see how the combination of oddball stuff and her great voice could appeal to others.
One Liner: Afrobeats R&B from a genre shifting Brit Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia - afrobeats, R&B, alté Home: U.K. Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 15 Day: Saturday Weekend Two Only.
Tito's Tent at 2:00.
Thoughts: I find it so strange when an artist has a pdf/downloadable biography. Why not make this a webpage? Am I missing something?
He moved around a lot as a child - Germany, Spain, Nigeria, and his native U.K. by the time he was a young teenager - which he credits with creating his genre-spanning style. And he really does go all over the place - my first impression was like a male Sade from Africa. His time in NIgeria was at a boarding school, and while there he learned to love local musical heroes like Fela Kuti and Burna Boy. He came back to London and got to work with a laptop to release his debut EP in 2017. Also, his biography is like so many of these written for musicians with absolute slop included like: "Odeal has proven adept at finessing any situation and making moves toward the next level. ... No matter where he lands, Odeal always comes out on top." What an absolutely useless set of statements. Does anyone learn anything about this artist from those? Absolutely not. Annoying.
NME calls him "UK's alté renaissance man" which I looked up to find it is a Nigerian music subculture. A fusion genre of music that combines elements of afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, and alternative R&B. He has apparently had great success on TikTok and has leveraged that into a brand called OVMBR. I will say that when he slows down the sound, it sort of reminds me of that low-key whiny phase that Drake can give. He released lots of EPs to get started, and honestly they are not very popular. His first track with more than a million streams was a 2019 single about police brutality. His first album was 2020's OVMBR: Roses, and the top track on there is "24/48" with 6.9 million streams.
Not nearly as good as his later stuff. Just more of a straight up R&B song where the africa beat pops in half-way in, but isn't really carrying the song. His biggest track was a 2023 single with someone called brazy, "Be Easy" with 64.7 million streams.
I am still hearing Drake vibes. His second album is 2023's Thoughts I Never Said, and it's top single is another introspective-sounding R&B song without the afrobeats. I don't love it - "Into (Landmine)." Instead, let's go with the significantly more fun top single off of his 2024 EP called Sunday at Zuri's - "Soh-Soh" has 34.5 million streams and that Sade vibe I mentioned before.
Summertime vibes all over that one. I probably won't go out of my way to catch this show. I will definitely say that letting his songs just stream while I got work done today was a nice vibe, but when I dig in and listen more intently, I'm not that excited about it.
