My Favorite Music

James Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible", was released by Syco Music after the final, and debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Since then, it has gone on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide, making it the most successful winner's single in the show's history.

The follow-up single, "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You", reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. He released his self-titled debut studio album in November 2013. The album debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. After the release of his debut studio album James Arthur, he was involved in a series of controversies which led iTunes to offer refunds for the album.

Echosmith is an American indie pop band formed in February 2009 in Chino, California. Originally formed as a quartet of siblings, the band currently consists of Sydney, Noah and Graham Sierota, following the departure of eldest sibling Jamie in 2016. Echosmith started first as "Ready Set Go!" until they signed to Warner Bros. Records in May 2012. They are best known for the song "Cool Kids", which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA with over 1,200,000 sales in the United States and also double platinum by ARIA in Australia. The song was Warner Bros. Records' fifth-biggest-selling-digital song of 2014, with 1.3 million downloads sold. The band's debut album, Talking Dreams, was released on October 1, 2013.

Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtûːvɛ ˈluː]), is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actress who has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by Rolling Stone. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Her honest, complex and autobiographical lyrical content has led to her being dubbed "the saddest girl in Sweden".

Raised in the Djursholm district of Danderyd, Lo is an alumna of the music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet. She formed the rock band Tremblebee in 2006. After it disbanded, Lo pursued a career in songwriting and earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011. Working with producers Alexander Kronlund, Max Martin, and Xenomania, she became a successful songwriter, while also recording and releasing her own compositions independently.

Edward Christopher Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play, No. 5 Collaborations Project. He signed with Asylum Records the same year.

Matthew Bair (born June 2, 1987), known professionally by his stage name Matthew Koma, is an American singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. Matthew Koma wrote numerous hit songs, including Zedd's "Spectrum" and Grammy Award-winner "Clarity", also with Zedd.

Koma was born and raised in Seaford, New York, on Long Island. He attended Seaford High School. He is of Jewish heritage.

Inspired by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and Stephan Jenkins, Koma started his music career in punk rock, later transitioning into a mixture of genres ranging from pop and hip hop to EDM. Koma's early collaborations include work with Hardwell, Zedd, Miriam Bryant, Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Tiësto, Vicetone and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.

Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up has consisted of Joseph and drummer Josh Dun. The duo is best known for their singles "Stressed Out", "Ride", and "Heathens". The group received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for "Stressed Out". The band independently released two albums, Twenty One Pilots (2009) and Regional at Best (2011), before being signed by record label Fueled by Ramen in 2012. Their label debut, Vessel, was released in 2013 and became the second album in history on which every track received at least a gold certification, making Twenty One Pilots the first band in the history of music to see every song on two albums earn gold or platinum awards.

AJR is an American indie pop trio composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Metzger. Their most successful songs include "I'm Ready", "Sober Up", "Burn the House Down", "Way Less Sad", "100 Bad Days", "Weak", "World's Smallest Violin", "Bang!", "I Won't" and “The DJ Is Crying For Help”. In 2019, their third album Neotheater debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, and hit number one on the Top Rock Albums chart. "Bang!" is their highest-charting song and only song to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 20, 2021.

Sam Smith is a contemporary Australian filmmaker and artist, based in the UK. He is the co-director of contemporary art space Obsidian Coast, with Nella Aarne.

American Authors (formerly known as The Blue Pages) is an American rock band based in New York City, currently signed to Island Records. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Zac Barnett, bassist Dave Rublin, and drummer Matt Sanchez. Former member includes guitarist and banjoist James Adam Shelley. They are best known for their hit singles "Believer" and "Best Day of My Life", from their debut album, Oh, What a Life, as well as their top 20 hit "Go Big or Go Home", from their second album, What We Live For.

The members of American Authors met while attending Berklee College of Music in 2006. The quartet spent their first years in Boston recording and performing music under the name The Blue Pages. In May 2010, the band opened for Cash Cash on the Robots in High-Tops tour. In 2010, they relocated to Brooklyn. On December 1, 2010, the Blue Pages independently released their single "Run Back Home" on iTunes.

Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for Brit Awards and VMAs, while two of them, "Symphony" and "Rockabye", each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with Rockabye having reached over 2.7 billion views. The group currently consists of founder Grace Chatto and brothers Jack and Luke Patterson. Jack Patterson is the principal songwriter and has been awarded two Ivor Novellos for the writing of "Rather Be". Many of their projects are known for blending elements of both classical and dance music, and featuring guest vocalists. Notable collaborators include Marina, Demi Lovato, Jess Glynne, Anne-Marie, Sean Paul, Zara Larsson, Julia Michaels, Luis Fonsi, Ellie Goulding, Iann Dior, Mabel, and Lizzo.

X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York. Its members currently include lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member that plays guitar and bass. Their most notable songs include "Jungle", "Renegades", and "Unsteady". The band's debut full-length album, VHS, was released on June 30, 2015. Their second album, Orion, was released on June 14, 2019. Their third album, The Beautiful Liar, was released on September 24, 2021.

X Ambassadors began as a band titled Ambassadors, touring with artists such as LIGHTS. During this time, they self-released their debut EP, Ambassadors EP, creating a music video for its lead single, "Tropisms", shot and directed by Rodrigo Zedillo. Shortly after, the band self-released its debut LP, Litost, which included the song "Litost", which would later be used on the soundtrack for The Host. The band signed a music publishing deal in 2012 with SONGS Music Publishing. The band started a Kickstarter account to shoot a video for the lead single, "Unconsolable", which would be re-recorded later. The group was noticed by Imagine Dragons while frontman Dan Reynolds was sick in the hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. Reynolds heard an acoustic version of "Litost" on 96X WROX-FM and asked Interscope to sign the band as soon as possible.

Walk the Moon is an American pop/rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2006, while a student at Kenyon College, deriving the band's name from the song "Walking on the Moon" by the Police. The band is notable for its charting hit singles "Anna Sun", "Shut Up and Dance", and "One Foot".

The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with their 2014 song "#Selfie", which became a top-twenty single in several countries. They have won a Grammy award, two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and nine iHeartRadio Music Awards. According to Forbes 2019 list of highest-paid celebrities, the Chainsmokers were the highest-paid DJs, dethroning Calvin Harris after six years.

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton, which led to him signing a deal with the record label. Mendes' self-titled debut EP was released in 2014, followed by his debut studio album Handwritten in 2015. Handwritten debuted atop the US Billboard 200, making Mendes one of five artists ever to debut at number one before the age of 18. The single "Stitches" reached number one in the UK and the top 10 in the US and Canada.

Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, known professionally as Kygo, is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 2014 single "Firestone". In late 2015, he became the fastest artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, and by June 2016, he had reached 2 billion streams on Spotify.

5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, formed in late 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin. Originally beginning their career as YouTube celebrities, they rose to international fame while touring with English-Irish boy band One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. Since 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer have sold more than 10 million albums, sold over 2 million concert tickets worldwide, and the band's songs streams surpass 7 billion, making them one of the most successful Australian musical acts in history.

Elena Jane Goulding is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and A&R. After signing to Polydor Records in July 2009, Goulding released her debut extended play, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, later that year.

DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018. DNCE's music is mainly dance-rock, dance-pop, pop rock, and funk-pop. The band signed with Republic Records, who released their debut single, "Cake by the Ocean", which was released on September 18, 2015. The song reached the top 10 on several charts, including on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number nine. Their debut extended play (EP), Swaay, was released on October 23, 2015. Their self-titled debut studio album was released on November 18, 2016. Their second EP, People to People, was released on June 15, 2018. They were also nominated for Favorite New Artist for the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards and Best Song to Lip Sync and Best Anthem for the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards. The group performed at the 2017 Fashion Meets Music Festival. In February 2022, DNCE returned after their hiatus with a collaboration with Kygo titled "Dancing Feet".