2019's Youngest Pop Stars

Dutch DJ Martin Garrix has been exceptionally successful in the world of dance music, having headlined festivals including Coachella, Tomorrowland, Lollapalooza, and Ultra Music Festival. This year, he broke into the pop charts with his song “Summer Days,” which features vocals from rapper Macklemore and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy.

In all likelihood, 6ix9ine — also known as Tekashi69 — has received more press this year for his gang-related legal issues than his music. Still, the 23-year-old rapper’s song “KIKA” — originally released in 2018 — spent two weeks on the Hot 100 in January 2019.

Singer-songwriter Doja Cat first signed with RCA Records in 2014, yet didn’t release her first full length studio album until “Amala” in 2018. In 2019, her song “Juicy” — featuring rapper Tyga — became her first single to reach the Hot 100.

Mabel McVey, professionally known as Mabel, began releasing music onto SoundCloud in 2015. While the English singer first found success in the U.K., she scored her first Hot 100 hit in the U.S. in 2019 with the ballad “Don’t Call Me Up.”

Florida rapper Ski Mask The Slump God began his career collaborating with the now-deceased XXXTENTACION. Beginning with the release of his 2018 album “Stokeley,” Ski Mask’s solo work began to reach the Hot 100. His single “Nuketown” peaked at No. 63 in 2018 and spent the first three weeks of 2019 on the Hot 100.

Sarah Jeffrey’s primary profession is acting, but the 23-year-old scored a Hot 100 hit with “Queen of Mean” from the Disney movie “Descendants 3,” in which she plays the character Audrey. Fans of the song may be in luck as Jeffery has shown interest in recording more music. “Music has always been something that I knew that I would eventually want to pursue,” she told Billboard in an interview this past August.

Atlanta-based R&B musician Summer Walker released her first album in 2018 and followed it up with an EP this year. Her biggest hit to date is the remix of “Girls Need Love” — a track that first appeared on her debut album — featuring rapper Drake.

Bronx-born rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie has been recording music since 2016, with much success. To date, he has either appeared on or released as the primary artist 17 songs that reached the Hot 100. His most successful track to date is “Look Back At It,” which peaked at No. 27 in May of this year.

Brooklyn MC Flipp Dinero debuted his first single “I Do” in early 2017. His biggest single to date has been “Leave Me Alone,” which was released in September 2018 and peaked at No. 20 on the Hot 100 in February 2019.

Normani is perhaps best known as a member of the multi-platinum girl group Fifth Harmony. She began releasing music as a solo artist in 2018 and has since seen three of her songs chart on the Hot 100. Two have been duets, with “Dancing With A Stranger” — a collaboration with English singer Sam Smith — peaking at No. 7 in April 2019.

Canadian musician Ali Gatie began releasing music online at the age of 20, gaining some recognition for his single “Moonlight.” By 22, Gatie had broken into the Hot 100 with his single “It’s You.” The song entered the chart in June, 2019 and stayed for 17 weeks, peaking at No. 70.

Michigan-born musician Bazzi scored his first Hot 100 single in January, 2018, with the R&B pop song “Mine.” He’d return to the chart in 2019 with “Beautiful” — a duet with singer Camila Cabello — which peaked at No. 26. A third single, “Paradise,” would also chart in May 2019.

Born Jonathan Porter, Los Angeles-based MC Blueface is recognizable both for his unique rapping style as well as the large tattoo of Benjamin Franklin on his face. The 22-year-old is currently signed with Cash Money Records, which is known for releasing music by artists such as Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. He broke into the Hot 100’s top 10 this year with his song “Thotiana,” which peaked at No. 8 in April.

Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi has enjoyed an immense rise in popularity over the past year thanks in large part to his song “Someone You Loved,” which was originally released in November 2018. The song is his lone single to reach the Hot 100. Still on the chart, the song may currently be peaking at No. 3 the week of Oct. 5.

Rapper Kodak Black has released or appeared as a guest artist on 23 songs that reached the Hot 100 in his relatively short career. His most successful single to date is “ZEZE,” which peaked at No. 2 in October 2018 and remained on the chart through April of this year. The entertainer’s career may soon be on hold as he’s awaiting trial for a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge in South Carolina, which could result in up to 30 years in prison.

Singer Camila Cabello was previously a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, though she left the group in 2017. She’s had tremendous success as a solo artist, releasing four top 10 hits, two of which hit No. 1. One of these — “Señorita” — peaked in August 2019. The song is the second collaboration between Cabello and Canadian singer Shawn Mendes after their 2015 track “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

Swedish singer-songwriter Zara Larsson first appeared on a popular Swedish talent show in 2008 at the age of 10. Her career has since evolved and she has had four songs chart on the Hot 100, three of which peaked in 2016. Her most recent, “Ruin My Life,” reached No. 76 on the chart in January 2019.

Florida-based rapper and singer YK Osiris began releasing his music online before attracting the attention of major labels, eventually signing with Def Jam. In 2019, he had his Hot 100 debut with the song “Worth It,” which peaked at No. 48 in August.

Rapper Lil Skies dropped out of college to pursue music. He signed with Atlantic Records in 2017 and has since released two albums with the label — “Life of a Dark Rose” (2018) and “Shelby” (2019). The latter included “I,” which peaked at No. 39 on the Hot 100 in March 2019.

Harlem rapper Sheck Wes — born Khadimou Fall — originally recorded his hit song in June 2017. It was more than one year later that the song reached its height in popularity, thanks in part to Instagram posts by celebrities, including Odell Beckham Jr., Shaquille O’Neal, and Hailey Baldwin. It peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100 in December 2018 and stayed on the chart into March of 2019.

Grammy-nominated R&B artist Khalid has been highly prolific since graduating high school. In 2019 alone, the singer was the primary artist in nine songs that charted on the Hot 100. Among these were collaborations with Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, and country artist Kane Brown.

Now-21 year old Canadian pop singer Shawn Mendes released his debut single, “Life of the Party,” at age 15, leading to an exceptionally successful career. Since his song “Stitches” peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 2015, Mendes has had another four hits reach the top five. His top-performing song — and only chart topper to date — is “Señorita,” which he performs along with 22-year-old singer Camila Cabello.

Rapper Roddy Ricch has only landed one song on the Hot 100 to date — “Die Young” — which peaked at No. 99. However, he has been featured on two more hits in 2019: record producer and DJ Mustard’s “Ballin'” and Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks In The Middle.”

Ambjaay is among the less accomplished musicians on our list, but he still managed to score a hit with his song “Uno,” released this year. According to the Los Angeles rapper, the song took 10 minutes to complete once he heard the beat. It hit No. 82 on the Hot 100 and helped Ambjaay sign with Columbia Records.

Originally from Ohio, the now-Atlanta based Trippie Redd saw two of his tracks chart on the Hot 100 in 2019: “Under Enemy Arms” and “Mac 10,” which features fellow Atlanta locals Lil Baby and Lil Duke. Both songs appear on the rapper’s new album, “!,” released this past August.

Chicago rapper Calboy struck gold with his song “Envy Me,” released in September of 2018. The single entered the Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 31 in April 2019. Its popularity was enough to help the rapper land a deal with major label RCA Records, on which he recently released a 10-track EP titled “Wildboy.”

Chicago-based rapper Juice WRLD creates melodic and often emotionally-driven hip hop music. He’s released two full-length studio albums as well as numerous EPs, and he had numerous songs appear on the Hot 100 in 2019, including “Hear Me Calling” and “Robbery,” both of which made their debuts this year. Charting songs also include collaborations with artists such as A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Future, benny blanco, and Ellie Goulding.

Rapper YNW Melly began releasing songs on Soundcloud at age 15. His creative trajectory was briefly interrupted when he was sent to jail on weapons charges in 2017. Following his release, he continued producing new music, and in 2019 he sent three songs to the Hot 100, including “Mixed Personalities,” on which rap superstar Kanye West makes a guest appearance. YNW Melly’s promising career may be cut short, however, as he is currently behind bars and is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Chicago rapper Polo G scored his lone Hot 100 hit in 2019 with “Pop Out” — a collaborative track recorded alongside fellow Columbia Records signee Lil Tjay. The song peaked at No. 11 in June, the same month his debut album, “Die a Legend,” was released.

Lil Nas X is the man behind the longest-running Hot 100 chart-topping hit of all time: “Old Town Road.” The song spent 19 weeks in the No. 1 position, solidifying the Atlanta rapper’s place in pop music history. He had two other songs appear on the chart in 2019 — “Panini” and “Rodeo,” which features Cardi B — indicating that the 20-year-old isn’t a one-hit wonder.

Lil Pump rose to fame in 2017 with the single “Gucci Gang” off his debut album. The song eventually peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100. The Miami rapper has kept active, with multiple songs appearing on the pop charts in 2019, the most successful of which is “Arms Around You” — a collaboration with late rapper XXXTENTACION featuring Maluma and Swae Lee that actually peaked in late 2018 but remained on the chart into February 2019.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again — previously known as NBA YoungBoy — is a rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The 19-year-old has sent nine songs to the Hot 100 throughout his career, and appeared as a featured artist on two more. His song “Self Control” debuted at No. 68 on the chart following its release in September, 2019.

Latin trap artist Lunay — real name Jefnier Osorio — has only been recording music for just over one year. Yet in this short period he released the hit song “Soltera” along with fellow Puerto Rican performers Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny. The version with all three musicians is a remix that was released in May 2019, peaking at No. 66 on the Hot 100 in August.

Orlando, Florida, rapper 9lokknine — pronounced “Glock Nine” — has been rapping since age nine. Starting in 2017, he began utilizing online platforms, including YouTube, to release recorded music. In 2019, he crossed over into the mainstream with the track “223’s” — a collaboration with fellow Floridian YNW Melly that has broken into the top 40.

Bronx rapper Lil Tjay has had a fruitful year. His single “F.N” peaked at No. 68 on the Hot 100. He also appeared on Polo G’s song “Pop Out,” which peaked at No. 11, and French Montana’s “Slide,” which hit No. 90. Lil Tjay has released two EPs to date, and he recently announced via Twitter that his debut album was on the way.

Queens-based rapper Lil Tecca turned 17 only days before releasing his debut mixtape, “We Love You Tecca,” this past August. Like many others, his reputation first grew on Soundcloud before signing with a label, in Tecca’s case, Republic Records. The braces-wearing rapper’s biggest hit to date is “Ran$om,” for which he released a video that went viral with more than 143 million views on YouTube.

Despite having only one full length studio album under her belt — her 2019 debut “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” — 17-year-old musician Billie Eilish has sent 16 songs to the Hot 100, including the No. 1 hit “Bad Guy.” Eilish has been writing and uploading songs to Soundcloud with her brother since age 12, though her career is now as big as it’s ever been. The singer will embark on a world arena tour in March, 2020.

Memphis-born rapper, musician, and songwriter Bryson Potts — who performs under the name NLE Choppa — released two singles to the Hot 100 chart this year at the young age of 16. His breakout song “Shotta Flow” received more than 10 million streams the month it was released and peaked at No. 36 on the Hot 100. He followed it with “Camelot” — another Top 40 hit. In July 2019, it was announced that the teen would partner with Warner Records to form his own label, No Love Entertainment (NLE).