Every year, without a fail, certain artists come out of nowhere and become borderline superstars. Producers such as TroyBoi, ATTLAS, Claptone, Slander and more all had a career years in 2015, but they weren’t the only ones. In fact, they didn’t even make our list of the ‘Top 5 Breakout Artists Of 2015’. In order to determine the best of the best, we (the editors) decided to create a Facebook poll and ask our staff members who they thought the biggest breakout artist of 2015 was. This was the fairest way to compile the list and while many of you might not agree with the selections, we feel that we were pretty accurate. It’s crazy to think that there were some relatively new acts that had bigger years than the names mentioned above, but you can find a handful (along with some honourable mentions) below.
T5. Jai Wolf
About a year ago, Skrillex discovered Jai Wolf after his remix of “Ease My Mind” was tweeted at him. Sonny then released the track through OWSLA and ever since then, Jai Wolf has been killing it. He is now a part of ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective and even released his debut single, “Indian Summer”, via the duo’s label.
T5. REZZ
This Canadian producer went from DJing her high school dances to performing at TomorrowWorld and HARD Day of the Dead. Not bad for a teenager from Niagara Falls. Her unique brand of techno has taken the Internet by storm and has even caught the attention of Skrillex and deadmau5.
4. KSHMR
Many people do not agree with the DJ Mag Top 100, but something that a lot of people can agree on is that KSHMR truly deserved the 7UP Next Up Award for being the highest new entry. The guy is a production wizard and we’re excited to see what he will come up with in 2016.
3. NGHTMRE
A lot of people say trap music is dying, but if there is anyone with the ability to resurrect the genre, it’s NGHTMRE. This year alone, he remixed the likes of GTA, GRiZ, Keys N Krates and more. It’s also worth noting that he had one of the craziest trap songs of the year in “Street”.
2. Marshmello
We still don’t really know who this guy is (*cough* DOTCOM *cough*), but one thing we do know is that he can produce a mean track. His take on Adele’s “Hello” was one of the biggest remixes of 2015 and we bet he will drop a whole batch of new ones in 2016.
1. Jauz
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would know that Jauz had a year to remember. His breakout hit, “Feel The Volume”, was released last year, but you could argue that it was actually one of 2015’s biggest tunes. That being said, the Los Angeles producer did drop some big songs over the past 12 months, including originals “Rock The Party”, “Deeper Love” and “Squad Out!” as well as remixes of “PLUR Police”, “Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwd-inz” and “Lean On”.
Honorable Mentions:
Shaun Frank
Oshi
Malaa
How did we do? Let us know who you think 2015’s biggest breakout act was in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our lists of the ‘Top 10 Remixes Of 2015’ and ‘Top 5 Albums Of 2015’.