Meet SiriusXM’s ‘Future Five for 2021,’ the artists predicted to break through next year

The music discovery and curation team at SiriusXM is looking to the future after an unprecedented year in music. Meet the Future Five for 2021, an exclusive list of five new artists that the team predicts will go on to have breakthrough years in 2021: Don Toliver, Drew Parker, Fousheé, Royal & The Serpent, and Zero 9:36.

Year after year, SiriusXM’s Future Five picks have proven to be successful. They are often (if not always) artists that SiriusXM is first to champion. Future Five selections last year included major breakthrough success stories from Doja Cat, Gabby Barrett, and Roddy Rich, who are all featured in SiriusXM’s Class of 2020.

Don Toliver: The Houston rapper’s now Gold-certified hit “After Party” was first played on SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation on May 1, 2020, and the channel continues to lead the nation on plays to date. Hip Hop Nation continues to support Toliver as a featured artist on Internet Money’s “Lemonade.”

Drew Parker: Selected as a prestigious Highway Find — the highly sought-after spotlight platform on SiriusXM’s The Highway channel — with his single “While You’re Gone,” Parker was first played by the channel as an unsigned artist on October 5, 2020.

Fousheé: SiriusXM’s The Heat became the first broadcast outlet to play “Deep End” in October of 2020 and continues to lead the nation in airplay. Foushee’s music is currently being supported on several SiriusXM channels across multiple genres including SiriusXM Hits 1, Alt Nation, Chill, Heart & Soul, and Coffee House.

Royal & The Serpent: SiriusXM’s Alt Nation was the first outlet in the country to play “Overwhelmed” back in July 2020, as part of the channel’s Critical Cut program. The artist was also a part of SiriusXM’s Next Wave Virtual Concert Series last week.

Zero 9:36: SiriusXM’s Octane was the first in radio to add “Adrenaline” as an Octane Accelerator on November 11, 2020, leading to increased streaming numbers that were nearly doubled, with still no other radio support.