Trendy Artists of the Week: KSHMR, Rod Stewart, Morad, BLACKPINK, Hozier

KSHMR Drops New Single “Happy”

American DJ and music producer KSHMR really knocked it out of the park with his new single “Happy” - at least according to the traffic on his landing page on our website. The song itself is not getting on any Billboard charts just yet, and is not what you would necessarily consider “viral” either - it currently has 640,000 views on YouTube and 545,000 plays on Spotify. But it’s a catchy, immersive, somewhat eerie EDM banger, featuring Finnish singer-songwriter Tiina on the vocals.

Indian Actor’s Wife Fulfills Lifelong Dream of Seeing Rod Stewart Live

Mohanlal Viswanathan is quite a big celebrity in India. What most people even in his home country didn’t know, however, is that the actor/playback singer’s wife Suchitra Mohanlal is a life-long, die-hard Rod Stewart fan. However, now that too has been revealed, thanks to their daughter who got the mom of the Mohanlal family to the British rock superstar’s live show in Tokyo, Japan. The wholesome moment of Mama Mohanlal losing her mind at the Rod Stewart concert went viral on Instagram.

Catalan Rapper Morad Found Guilty of Inciting a Riot

There was a time when hip hop and crime were very much interlinked with each other - especially in the United States. However, out of Catalonia, Spain, we have news of an unusual conviction of a local rapper. Morad accepted a plea deal for a conviction of “incitement of public disorder and aggravated assault with a dangerous instrument,” for which he got a 2-year suspended prison sentence and a €2,400 fine.

The incident occurred in 2021, when Morad was shooting a music video in a public space outside Barcelona with around 150 people on set. The police were called on a noise complaint, and when they arrived, they were attacked by the cast and crew, on the instruction of Morad. Stones and eggs were thrown at the officers, which resulted in charges for the young artist.

Jennie From BLACKPINK Breaks Into Billboard Radio Chart for the First Time

Jennie from the popular K-pop girl group BLACKPINK has been doing solo projects since 2018. Yet it wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that one of her own singles, namely, “One of the Girls”, made it to Billboard’s Radio Songs chart, which measures the total air time of songs on American radio. Jennie’s new track debuted at #49. It just goes to show that it takes some time for American program managers to get used to the K-pop trend, even if it has been around for over a decade now…

New Hozier Track “Too Sweet” Released

Irish indie rock/soul singer Hozier is still best known for 2013 hit single “Take Me to Church”. He hasn’t been able to match that success since, leading many to classify him as a “one hit wonder”. However, he is still putting out new music every year. This year, his first release is “Too Sweet,” linked below for your listening pleasure.