Doechii and Olivia Dean Top List of Artists Expected to Dominate in 2026
As we move closer to 2026, people have taken a look at their top artists of the year. Some of the artists people listened to this year could have an even bigger 2026. Here are the new artists most anticipated to dominate next year based on search data, Spotify listens, and social media followers.
Doechii, Olivia Dean, and more artists are expected to be everywhere in 2026
In 2025, Doechii was an opener on Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour. She also received a number of Grammy nominations for her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. Last year, she took home the award for Best Rap Album. Ticketing experts at Ticket Source tell Showbiz Cheat Sheet that they expect her to have an even bigger 2026.
The Tampa-born artist has 5.9 million social media followers. She has garnered 14,844,000 Google searches in the past year, and has 22,938,639 monthly Spotify listeners. They expect her momentum to continue into next year. This puts her at the top of the list of artists to watch in 2026.
Doechii shares this top spot with singer-songwriter Olivia Dean. Dean opened for Sabrina Carpenter on her Short n’ Sweet tour. She was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys. She has 2.8 million followers, brought in 5,390,500 Google searches, and has 44,346,996 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Ticket Source notes that other artists to look out for in 2026 include Young Miko, Tems, Amaarae, Arya Starr, and Griff. Each of these artists opened for larger acts on tours in 2025.
The anticipated hot artists of 2026 come from a variety of genres
Doechii is a rapper, and Dean is a soul and pop singer. Though their genres are different, they are both poised to have career explosions next year. The artists anticipated to break through in 2026 come from a number of different genres. This could reflect changing listening patterns.
“The top 10 spans a wide range of styles from rap (Doechii) and soul-pop (Olivia Dean) to Afro-pop (Tems, Ayra Starr and Amaarae), indie/alt-pop (Beabadoobee and Griff), plus electronic and alt-R&B (Magdalena Bay and Syd),” Ticket Source says. “Today’s listeners discover music via playlists rather than genres, and major tours are increasingly using eclectic support acts to reach broader audiences.”
Doechii and Olivia Dean are already Grammy-nominated artists
As noted, both Doechii and Dean are already Grammy nominees. Dean recently received her first nomination for Best New Artist.
“Had to take a sec to process this but i’ve been nominated for a Grammy,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank u world and the @recordingacademy ! no words.”
Doechii has received eight nominations in her career and won for Best Rap Album. She was only the third female artist to win in this category.
“The last thing I want to say … I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there, that are watching me right now, and I want to tell you, you can do it,” she said at the end of her acceptance speech. “Anything is possible. Anything is possible. Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, to tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark, or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic, or you’re too loud. You are exactly who you need to be to be right where you are, and I am a testimony right now.”
