FEATURE
Female Artists Ready to Breakout in 2021
In keeping with Women’s History Month, Muzique Magazine offers a list of female artists to keep an eye on in 2021.
Compiling a catalog of emerging and/or likely to hit it big artists is pertinent for two reasons: one, female artists receive short shrift in the music industry, being perceived as less popular than their male counterparts and, two, female artists are writing, recording, producing, and releasing music at once alluring and innovative.
As expected, this list is subjective and does not reflect most of the current litanies set forth by other outlets, which are, for better or worse, influenced by the major labels.
Listed in no particular order, Muzique Magazine is keen on the following artists:
Maggie Szabo
Originally from Canada, now based in Los Angeles, Maggie recently released a new single, “Sail Away,” which was self-produced.
We think she’s on the brink of going big-time. So far, Maggie has amassed 20 million streams on Spotify, along with being featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday Canada, Best New Pop, Pop All Day, Pop Brandneu, New Music Friday Switzerland, and New Music Friday Deutschland, as well as being featured on beaucoup media outlets, like Perez Hilton, Ryan Seacrest, Rolling Stone India, CelebMix, Yahoo Music!, PopCrush, and Huffington Post.
Akin to Britney Spears, Maggie is not just a singer, she’s the complete package – a performer, who delivers stylish dance moves, astute lyricism, and a smoldering sensuous voice.
Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Siren and the Sea
Electro-pop singer-songwriter and producer Siren and the Sea, aka Cristina Cano, will release her full-length album, For Bathing, on May 7.
Although fairly new, Siren and the Sea’s listeners grew over 1500% on Spotify in the last month, accumulating 28,500 streams. She’s been featured in Bust Magazine, The Deli Mag, and Vortex Music Magazine, along with features on Fresh Selects ‘Tight Songs,’ CD Baby, Hypebot, and Marmoset Playlists.
Siren and the Sea’s latest single, “Secrets,” travels on lush pop-laced colors fused with tropical savors, while her dazzling, sumptuous voice infuses the lyrics with opulent tones and nuanced timbres.
Cheryl B. Engelhardt
Singer-songwriter Cheryl B. Engelhardt just released her brand-new single, “Unwind,” following “The Listening” and her 2020 LP, Luminary, which was named the “Best New Age Album of 2020” by New Age Music Guide. Luminary topped both Amazon’s and iTunes’ New Age charts.
A classically trained pianist, Cheryl blends ethereal melodies with her plush voice, creating scrumptious concoctions made of pop elements and delicate textures of dream-like tendrils.
“Unwind” opens on low-slung emerging coloration, while Cheryl’s soft, wraithlike voice imbues the lyrics with luxurious washes of wispy hues. Suffused with fine, ghostly harmonies, the tune assumes the delicious urgency of Evanescence.
Spotify | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Melissa Priller and Eleanor Dunbar
As the violinists of the Dallas String Quartet (DSQ), Melissa and Eleanor deliver not only sweeping sonic beauty, but also electrifying flair.
Melissa studied violin in Chicago, playing in an elite violin ensemble, playing for Pope Benedict XVI in Rome and Prince William Lobkowicz in Prague. An accomplished and in-demand model, she’s appeared at many fashion shows and in print ads.
Originally from California, Eleanor Dunbar began studying music when she was three years old. Working with violinist Gail Gerding Mellert, she started performing up and down California, entering competitions and appeared as a soloist with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. By the time she was sixteen, she was enrolled at Southern Methodist University, where she took her B.A. in Music in Violin Performance.
Together, Melissa and Eleanor form the backbone of the Dallas String Quartet, which amalgamates classical and contemporary music and has performed all over the world, including home performances for Presidents Obama and Bush, as well as venues such as the House of Blues. DSQ has shared the stage with Chicago, Josh Groban, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Instagram | Facebook | Spotify
Sophia Fracassi
Pop singer-songwriter Sophia Fracassi just released a haunting song, “Wish I Never Met You,” a poignant song about trying to heal a broken heart.
As Sophia shares, “You should probably let them go, but now they’re all tangled up in your heart and mind. They are a part of your life, a part of you. The only way to get out of it without even more pain is simply if you had never met them at all.”
On the chorus of “Wish I Never Met You,” Sophia’s complex voice fills the lyrics with gorgeous textures and depth. It’s a grand voice – expressive and bewitching, flavored by visceral tonality.
Photo: Katherine Kwan
Sikk Ivy
Swedish artist Sikk Ivy recently released “Psycho Baby Run,” a dark pop tune imbued with tints of ‘90s rave elements. Previous releases include “Ice Baby Ice” and “Sikk Fukk.”
Sikk Ivy told She Makes Music, “Writing music has always felt natural to me, I wrote my first songs right after I learned how to play guitar. I have always been drawn to 90’s rave and dark pop music. I want to create rave and dark pop with a modern touch. Sometimes it feels like today’s music sounds the same and I don’t wanna be in that box.”
Working with producer BACALL, Sikk Ivy is generating beguiling, shimmering music.
