Check out the ‘Class of 2020,’ featuring artists SiriusXM helped break out this year

This year’s class includes Doja Cat, Phoebe Bridgers, Roddy Ricch, Gabby Barrett, Clairo, and more.

by:
Jackie Kolgraf
December 17, 2020

The music discovery and curation team at SiriusXM has crafted a cross-genre list of artists called the Class of 2020, featuring musicians and bands that SiriusXM was the first to commit airplay and playlist support to and subsequently went on to have major breakthroughs this year.

This year’s list is composed of Arizona Zervas*, Ashe, Cannons, Clairo, Doja Cat*, Fire From The Gods*, Gabby Barrett*, Joel Corry, Niko Moon, NLE Choppa, Phoebe Bridgers, Powfu, Roddy Rich*, and Wallows (*denotes artist/band as a Future Five for 2020 member as well).

SiriusXM’s commitment to these artists extends across multiple channels. This year’s class includes artists in the pop, country, hip-hop, alternative, indie, and hard rock genres.

Class of 2020

Ashe – Alt Nation

Ashe

Alt Nation was the first broadcast outlet to play and add Ashe’s “Moral of The Story” within a week of its release. SiriusXM Hits 1 followed the support as one of the first Top 40 radio channels to add the song, leading the nation in airplay. The song has since garnered over 170 million streams.

Cannons – SiriusXM Chill

Cannons

The SiriusXM Chill channel was the first broadcast outlet in the nation to play and commit airplay to Cannons’ “Fire For You” on May 12, 2020. That same month, Alt Nation became one of the first alternative radio outlets to feature the song on its new music show Advanced Placement. Both channels have led the nation in playing the record and the song has now entered the Top 10 on the Alternative radio chart.

Clairo – SiriusXMU

Clairo

Having supported indie-pop singer/songwriter Clairo since 2018, it’s no surprise SiriusXMU became the first broadcast partner in the nation to play her song “Bags” from her debut full-length album, Immunity, in 2019. SiriusXMU’s support for Clairo’s song “Sofia” has led the nation in total airplay by more than double. With over 93 million streams, the song cracked the Top 20 on the Alternative chart.

Joel Corry – BPM & Diplo’s Revolution

Joel Corry

SiriusXM’s BPM channel and Diplo’s Revolution were the first to support Joel Corry’s “Lonely.” In July, both channels were again at the forefront in supporting Joel’s new music by playing “Head & Heart” within 24 hours of the song’s release and have gone on to (along with SiriusXM’s Venus channel) lead the nation in support of the track, which has now accumulated over 64 million streams. The song went on to hold the No. 1 spot on BPM’s Top 20 Beats of The Week Countdown for eight consecutive weeks. In August, all three channels again led the way in support of “Sorry,” with Diplo’s Revolution being the first to play and continuing to lead the nation in support. All three songs have gone on to reach No. 1 on the Dance chart.

Niko Moon – The Highway

Niko Moon

Country artist Niko Moon has been supported by SiriusXM’s The Highway since 2019 when the channel became the first to play “Good Time” as a Highway Find. To date, the channel leads the nation in total support for the song, which has now garnered 125 million streams and is currently breaking into the Top 15 on the Country chart. The Highway’s support continued into 2020 by leading the nation on airplay for Moon’s songs “Paradise To Me” and most recently “Dance With Me.”

NLE Choppa – Hip Hop Nation

NLE Choppa

After supporting NLE Choppa back in 2019 by playing “Camelot + Remix” more than double the amount of any other radio channel to date, SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation and The Heat became two of the first radio channels to play “Walk Em Down” featuring Roddy Rich earlier this year as well. The song has gone on to reach the Top 10 on the Urban chart, while Hip Hop Nation also currently leads the nation in radio support for his latest single “Narrow Road” featuring Lil Baby.

Phoebe Bridgers – SiriusXU

Phoebe Bridgers

In April of 2020, SiriusXMU world-debuted Phoebe Bridgers’ song “Kyoto” prior to the drop of her now GRAMMY-nominated album, Punisher, which the channel also supported with an exclusive SiriusXMU Session. Additional support came from The Spectrum, Alt Nation, and The Pulse over the summer. To date, The Spectrum leads the nation in total airplay of “Kyoto,” and the song has now accumulated 13+ million streams. Bridgers has since been nominated for four GRAMMY Awards in the categories of Best New Artist, Best Alternative Music Album, and Best Rock Performance.

Powfu – Alt Nation

Powfu

In February of 2020, Alt Nation became the first broadcast outlet to play “Deathbed” from Powfu as part of the channel’s new music program, Advanced Placement. Soon after, the song was added to regular rotation on Alt Nation as a “Critical Cut.” The record reached No. 2 on the Alternative chart in late June, landed in the top 10 on the Top 40 charts by August, and has since accumulated over 360 million streams.

Wallows – Alt Nation

Wallows

Alt Nation has supported Wallows since early 2018 and has continued that trend year after year. Alt Nation was the first radio channel to support their song “Are You Bored Yet?” featuring Clairo in March of 2019, which was prior to the release of their debut album, Nothing Happens. The song recently reached No. 2 on the Alternative chart in November of 2020 and has garnered 205 million streams to date.

Future Five for 2020

Rounding out the Class of 2020 are the artists selected for SiriusXM’s Future Five for 2020. All five artists had an undeniable breakthrough year in music. Arizona Zervas first found early support of his now multi-platinum hit “Roxanne” on SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation, The Heat, and Hits 1. The now GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter/rapper/producer Doja Cat received her first national airplay for “Juicy” on SiriusXM’s Shade45, while The Heat, Venus, and SiriusXM Hits 1 have all continued to support her music in 2020. SiriusXM’s Octane was the first to play “Right Now” from hard rock band Fire From the Gods, and their song went on to reach the Top 10 on the Active Rock charts.

For country artist Gabby Barrett, SiriusXM’s Highway was at the forefront of playing her breakthrough song “I Hope” when she was still an unsigned artist. The song went on to reach No. 1 on the Country chart, became a top 5 Pop song, and has since accumulated over 525 million streams. Finally, GRAMMY winner Roddy Ricch was championed early by SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation and continues to be supported by the channel as Rich heads into 2021 with eight GRAMMY nominations. His breakthrough song, “The Box,” has garnered over 1.4 billion streams, the most of any song across all genres in 2020.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.



Share: