Shazam, the music identification powerhouse owned by Apple, has once again flexed its predictive muscle with the release of its annual Fast Forward 2026 list and accompanying playlist. Announced in mid-January 2026, this year’s edition spotlights 65 emerging artists from around the world who are showing strong early signals of breakout success based on Shazam’s massive global data trove. Every day, millions of users turn to Shazam to identify songs they hear in TikTok videos, commercials, radio, or just out in the wild. This real-time discovery data gives Shazam a unique edge in spotting talent before they hit the mainstream. Curated with input from Apple Music’s global editorial team, the Fast Forward program has proven remarkably accurate over the years. Past honorees who went on to major stardom include Benson Boone and Young Miko (featured in 2023), Ayra Starr and Teddy Swims (2022), and aespa (2021). Last year’s 2025 class saw an average 67% increase in Shazam discoveries year-over-year, with radio spins up 70% and significant gains on Apple Music streams. The 2026 lineup is impressively diverse, spanning 20 genres — from Afrobeats, Country, Electronic, and K-Pop to Rock, Urban Latino, French pop, and música mexicana — and representing artists from 22 countries. Highlights include: • CORTIS, a K-pop group whose debut EP COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES and track “GO!” have already topped charts in South Korea and cracked global K-pop lists, with massive growth in Apple Music plays. Other standouts like Alessi Rose, Liim, Kidd Carder, Clarent, Ghana’s Gonaboy (with his hit “SAME TIMBS”), Indonesia’s no na, and more. Shazam describes the selection as “the most exciting talent being discovered on Shazam,” with artists set to “make waves in 2026 and beyond.” The diversity reflects how global listening habits — fueled by platforms like TikTok and social media — are blurring borders and blending sounds like never before. The Shazam Fast Forward 2026 playlist is now available on Apple Music, featuring tracks from all 65 artists (clocking in at over 3 hours of music). Listeners are encouraged to dive in, add favorites to their libraries, and get ahead of the curve before these names dominate charts and playlists worldwide. Whether you’re into rising K-pop stars, boundary-pushing country acts, or global hip-hop newcomers, this is your early ticket to the sounds that could define 2026. As Shazam and Apple Music continue to combine data-driven insights with editorial expertise, Fast Forward remains one of the most reliable bellwethers for the next wave of music superstars. What artists from this list will you be adding first? The future of music is already playing — time to hit Shazam and find out. MacDailyNews Note: For the full list and deeper breakdowns of each artist, head to Shazam’s dedicated Fast Forward 2026 page here. Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon. The post Apple’s Shazam predicts 2026 stars: Fast Forward list names 65 artists set to explode appeared first on MacDailyNews. You're currently a free subscriber to MacDailyNews. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Apple’s Shazam predicts 2026 stars: Fast Forward list names 65 artists set to explode
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