songwriter
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Sidon Farris and the art of the second introduction
Before he connected brands with talent, Sidon Farris was the talent. The Onyx Agency founder’s career turns on what happens when a relationship gets a second act.
Rob Resnick’s next act began with an invitation.
Before he founded TapRoom, Rob “Rez” Resnick built a musical following one Tuesday at a time. His path from a basement studio to virtual tables keeps returning to the same question: what brings people together?
David Mastran and the unexpected logic of a second act
He built Maximus around the machinery of government. Then David V. Mastran turned to music education, discovered he could play piano by ear, and took on a problem no spreadsheet could solve: writing a musical.
Steve Syatt and the business of making dreams
He built a public relations agency around other people’s stories. Then the bedtime world he invented for his children became a business of its own.
Samyr Qureshi and the question that changed who paid
Knack began with students buying help from other students. Samyr Qureshi spent a decade turning that idea into university-funded tutoring, then handed the CEO seat to someone else.
Betsie Larkin and the business between two songs
While touring with Armin van Buuren, Betsie Larkin used the gap between performances to sketch garments and talk to factories. Honeylove grew out of a problem she could no longer ignore on stage.
Anne Armistead and the Quiet Art of Doing the Small Things
At Workstream, Anne Armistead works in the measured language of account development. Away from the sales floor, a guitar, a Utah ranch and a preference for overlooked work reveal the more interesting rhythm underneath.
Tainy Spent 116 Weeks at No. 1. He Still Produces for the Surprise.
At 15, a borrowed copy of FL Studio opened a door. Two decades later, Tainy is still widening it - for reggaeton, for his collaborators and for his own restless imagination.
Fred again.. Turned His Camera Roll Into a Dance Floor
Before the stadiums and Grammys, Fred Gibson was the fellow saving voice notes, filming the night out and making tea at Brian Eno’s choir rehearsals. His career is an argument for paying close attention: ordinary life becomes extraordinary once somebody bothers to listen.
Jungkook Learned Pop in Public - Then Chose His Own Tempo
He joined BTS before he had finished growing up, wore the word “golden” before he believed it, and made a solo career out of curiosity rather than confession. At 28, Jungkook is still more interested in getting better than arriving.
Netón Vega Wrote the Door Open - Then Walked Through It
Before the spotlight found him, the young songwriter from La Paz had already learned how a hit moves. Now he is bending corridos, rap and reggaetón around a voice built for all three.
Dolly Parton Built a Life Big Enough to Give Away
She wrote her way out of the Smoky Mountains, kept the rights when it mattered, and turned fame into jobs, stories and more than 300 million books for children.
Zedd Spent Nine Years Turning the Drop Into a Doorway
Before the festival stages and pop-radio hooks, Anton Zaslavski was a pianist counting Bach and a drummer learning odd time. With Telos, Zedd made the long way back sound like forward motion.
JENNIE Is Learning to Sign Her Own Name
After a decade of executing other people’s plans with exquisite precision, the BLACKPINK member founded a label, made Ruby and discovered that creative freedom comes with paperwork, doubt and a much more interesting kind of spotlight.
ROSÉ Found Her Own Voice by Letting Rosie Speak
She crossed three countries, four years of training and one giant girl group to make a record intimate enough to carry her family nickname. Then a Korean drinking game became a worldwide chorus.
Calvin Harris Figured Out Pop by Stepping Out of the Spotlight
He began with an old Amiga, a bedroom in Dumfries and a stack of unanswered demos. The breakthrough came when he stopped insisting on being the voice and became the architect behind it.
Badshah Built the Party. Now He Is Building What Comes After It
An engineer learned to hear the mathematics inside a hook, then spent two decades turning everyday speech into Indian pop. His next calculation is bigger than another hit: building a label that lets new artists keep their own names on the work.
Sabrina Carpenter
She spent ten years as a Disney kid before Espresso. Now she headlines Coachella - and writes pop songs that land like punchlines.
Tate McRae
She learned to command a stage before she could drive. Now the dancer from Calgary is one of pop's most-watched performers - and she is still counting steps.
Kehlani
Kehlani Ashley Parrish is an Oakland-born R&B and neo-soul singer-songwriter who turned a childhood of hardship into one of the most compelling careers in contemporary music. After finishing fourth on America's Got Talent as a teen, surviving homelessness, and years of near-misses with mainstream recognition, she finally broke through with 'Folded' - a Grammy-winning hit that charted in the top 10 for 33 weeks in 2026 and led to her landmark self-titled album. Known for radical emotional honesty, political outspokenness, and a voice that channels Brandy and Erykah Badu simultaneously, Kehlani has become both a commercial force and a genuine cultural touchstone for queer communities and R&B lovers worldwide.
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey (born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) is an American singer-songwriter whose haunted, cinematic sound redefined indie pop in the 2010s and continues to dominate streaming charts and TikTok culture into the 2020s. With nine studio albums, 11 Grammy nominations, and a philosophy degree from Fordham University, she has built one of the most distinctive and enduring catalogs in contemporary music - blending melancholic Americana, baroque orchestration, and hip-hop beats into something entirely her own.
Lil Baby
Lil Baby is one of Atlanta's most commercially dominant rappers, born Dominique Armani Jones on December 3, 1994. He went from dealing drugs in Southwest Atlanta to releasing four consecutive number-one Billboard 200 albums between 2020 and 2025. His 2020 album 'My Turn' was the best-selling album of the year across all genres, and 'Drip Too Hard' with Gunna is RIAA Diamond certified. In his Trendsetter era (2025-2026), he released the birthday mixtape 'The Leaks' and the charting singles 'Mrs. Trendsetter' and 'Mr. Trendsetter,' continuing to define Atlanta trap for a new generation.
Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X (born Montero Lamar Hill) is an Atlanta-raised rapper, singer, and cultural provocateur who turned a 99-cent beat, a TikTok meme, and sheer internet genius into a record-breaking 19-week #1 hit before he had a major label deal. Since 'Old Town Road,' he has released three #1 Billboard Hot 100 singles, two Grammy wins, a debut album with universal acclaim, a Satan Shoes controversy that sued Nike, and a documentary on Max - all while being one of the most openly gay, openly himself artists in pop music history. Now in his Dreamboy era with a second studio album on deck, Lil Nas X remains the internet's favorite provocateur.
Mk.gee
Mk.gee (Michael Todd Gordon) is a New Jersey-born musician, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose debut album Two Star & the Dream Police (2024) became a critical phenomenon - ranking #1 album of 2024 by The New York Times, Dazed, and Clash, and earning a Metacritic score of 83. A reclusive guitar savant with an ear for lo-fi distortion and cassette warmth, he has co-produced for Omar Apollo and Dijon, co-written for Bon Iver, and collaborated with Justin Bieber, all while maintaining a fiercely independent artistic identity.
MOIO
MOIO (Moyo Mobolaji) is a Nigerian-Irish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Dublin whose 2023 single 'Moments' went viral in late 2024 - racking up 19M+ Spotify streams and hitting #1 on Spotify's Viral 50 in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and New Zealand. His debut EP 'Earthday' (October 2025) announced him as one of Ireland's most compelling new artists, blending R&B warmth with indie introspection and self-produced bedroom-pop textures. A co-founder of the Chamomile Club collective in Dublin, he now performs internationally and is signed to Republic Records.
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is the best-selling Latin female artist of all time, a Colombian-Lebanese singer-songwriter who has sold 100+ million records worldwide across a 30-year career. In her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran era (2024), she transformed a very public split from footballer Gerard Piqué into a global cultural phenomenon - breaking Guinness World Records with her Bizarrap session, sweeping the Latin Grammys, winning the MTV Video Vanguard Award, and releasing her most commercially and critically successful album in years. She writes her own music, speaks six languages, holds an IQ of 140, and runs a foundation that has educated thousands of Colombian children.
Ozuna
Ozuna (Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado) is Puerto Rico's reigning melodic reggaeton king — the artist who spent more consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums than any male in history, held four Guinness World Records simultaneously, and became the most-viewed artist on YouTube globally in 2018. Raised by his grandmother above a San Juan bodega after losing his father at age three, he turned hardship into a sonic empire spanning seven studio albums, 23+ million Instagram followers, and collaborations with Cardi B, Selena Gomez, DJ Snake, and Rosalía. His smooth melodic tenor and genre-fluid approach — blending reggaeton, melodic trap, Afrobeats, and Latin pop — have made him a defining voice of the streaming era.
Post Malone
Post Malone (born Austin Richard Post) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for pioneering a genre-less sound that fuses hip-hop, pop, rock, country, and R&B. Rising to fame with his 2015 debut single 'White Iverson,' he has become one of the best-selling digital artists of all time, with six studio albums, nine Diamond-certified songs, and six Billboard Hot 100 number-ones. His 2024 country album F-1 Trillion debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and featured collaborations with Tim McGraw, Morgan Wallen, Dolly Parton, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, and others, cementing his cross-genre appeal.
Reneé Rapp
Reneé Rapp is a 26-year-old actress and singer-songwriter from North Carolina who rocketed from high school theater champion to Broadway's Regina George to pop music headliner - all before most people her age have a LinkedIn. She won the Jimmy Awards at 18, debuted on Broadway in Mean Girls a year later, built a cult following as Leighton Murray on HBO Max's The Sex Lives of College Girls, reprised Regina George in the 2024 film musical that grossed $101M worldwide, and has since released two critically acclaimed albums (Snow Angel and BITE ME) while selling out arenas on the Bite Me Tour. Known for radical candor, zero media training, and a goose-like live performance ad-lib that became a fan religion.
Rosé (BLACKPINK)
Rosé (Park Chae-young) is a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised South Korean singer-songwriter and main vocalist of BLACKPINK, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. Her 2024 collaboration 'APT.' with Bruno Mars became the best-selling global single of 2025 per IFPI, making her the first K-pop artist nominated for Grammy Record of the Year and Song of the Year, the first to win a Brit Award, and the first female K-pop act to crack the US Billboard Hot 100 top 3. Signed to The Black Label and Atlantic Records for her solo career, Rosé is simultaneously the most-followed K-pop solo artist on Instagram and a global fashion icon as YSL's first-ever global brand ambassador.