Within the music industry, there’s an ongoing debate about the contrast between widely recognized artists and those who receive less attention. Among the more popular singers and songwriters, some receive more hype than fully deserved, and vice versa for the lesser-known musicians. In this article, I will be deep-diving into what artists I believe to be overrated and underrated. 

Amid the averagely known musicians, some artists find themselves elevated to the status of cultural icons and praised by many people around the globe. One common misconception about thinking someone is overrated is that you don’t like them. I completely disagree with that statement. Many of the artists I believe to be overrated are people I enjoy listening to, or I have a couple of their songs on my playlist. Just because one thinks someone is overrated doesn’t automatically make them hate said person. It just means they don’t believe the artist deserves the extremity of the fame they acquired. 

Most of our generation discovers new music on social platforms such as TikTok. With the generation of videos getting millions of hits, many artists have certain songs blow up, or even them as a whole. Adding to the “TikTokified artists” who are highly recognized and overrated, Steve Lacy is at the top of that list. Lacy is so overrated to the point where his self-proclaimed fans aren’t true ones. Lacy blew up on TikTok with his single “Bad Habit,” which quickly climbed the top charts to be one of the most popular songs on the platform. Everyone knew the chorus and the bridge, but no one knew his other songs at the time besides that one song. Everyone was quick to hop on the bandwagon once they saw him getting popular, and even Lacy himself got mad at the crowds at his concerts for knowing only one or two of his songs. With Lacy producing mediocre R&B beats and songs with repetitive lyrics that don’t bring anything to the table, this shoots him to the top of the list of my overrated artists. I enjoy Steve Lacy along with some of his songs, which puts me on that bandwagon, but still, his popularity and admiration are on the extreme side.

Even though I enjoy an occasional listen to “Stick Season,” Noah Kahan is on my list of overrated artists. I’m no musical connoisseur, but his music and the albums he produces aren’t worth the hype. His singing voice is nasally, which I typically don’t enjoy listening to in music. Also, even though I do quite enjoy some of the lyrics that he has incorporated in his songs, it’s not worth it to me to listen to the average guitar chords and singing voice. Kahan suddenly popped out of nowhere, and wherever I turned, someone was always gushing over how good his music was and how they would kill for concert tickets. I never understood how one could become so popular so fast and have the most generic folk music. The biggest takeaway is that Noah Kahan isn’t necessarily a lousy artist, but his idolization is unworthy.

Sitting at 36th in the world currently is average music maker Tate McRae. I didn’t even realize how popular McRae truly was until looking at her Spotify profile. While I occasionally heard a handful of her songs on different platforms, I never grasped how adored she was. I always thought that she was just another artist that would be a one-hit wonder, but she kept releasing music, when a one-hit wonder would’ve been the best for all of us. McRae’s music is nothing special, it especially doesn’t warrant her almost 57 million monthly listeners on Spotify. All of her songs are her nasally voice over and over again. She makes very basic, white girl, poppy type of music. While McRae’s song “you broke me first” had me in a chokehold when I first listened to it, I quickly got sick of it. There’s frankly nothing about McRae’s music that really warrants the popularity that she receives. 

Underrated artists possess a unique brilliance often overlooked by the mainstream “hits” that reach the top charts. With their distinct voices and neglected albums, these musicians stand as hidden gems waiting to be discovered. In a world often dominated by trendy artists, bringing lesser-known artists into the spotlight is crucial. Here are three of my current favorite underrated artists.

Spotify’s “daylist” playlist has been a game-changer in terms of discovering new music. Kate Bollinger is one of my current indie favorites, and I’m so glad that Spotify brought her into the spotlight. Her music is a perfect blend of indie-pop, jazz and soul — a unique sound that’s hard to come by in mainstream music circles. If you’re a fan of artists like Men I Trust, Faye Webster and/or Arlo Parks, you’re going to love Bollinger’s music. Her EP (Extended Playlist) “A word becomes a song” released in 2020 is a musical masterpiece that’s perfect for summer evenings or just chilling around the house. “A Couple Things” is one of my favorites from the EP, it’s short, sweet and never fails to brighten up my day. It’s a song that you can vibe to and not necessarily pay attention to, perfect for when you’re in the mood for some easy listening. Kate Bollinger’s ability to create music that resonates with listeners is remarkable. She is definitely a name I would watch out for in the future. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend who introduced me to Amaria. With having 645 thousand monthly listeners, Amaria’s music is not mainstream, but it impressed me more than many A-listers. As a fan of R&B, I was immediately captivated by her modern sound, which builds on the mellow yet mesmerizing aspects of neo-soul. The more I explore her discography, the more impressed I become. Amaria is the perfect addition to anyone’s music library. Unfortunately, women R&B artists like her are often overlooked in mainstream, popular music. Amaria’s music style is similar to Orion Sun, another talented female artist who is also not getting the recognition she deserves. Both Amaria and Orion Sun are deserving of wider recognition and should be on everyone’s radar.

One frequent misbelief about underrated artists is that they’re all unknown. The second I heard my first Brent Faiyaz song I instantly fell in love. While Faiyaz is fairly known, that doesn’t exclude him from the underrated category. Faiyaz’s music, while being popular, is underappreciated. He was the first artist that truly got me into R&B and that opened up a whole new world for me. His music is so therapeutic and addicting with beats that make me smile and instantly relax while also being able to hype up when a song comes on. His newest album “Larger Than Life” was one of the highlights, musically, for my 2023 year. The release went fairly unnoticed by many, even though some of my favorite songs of Faiyaz’s stem from said album. I will never be upset if I hear Faiyaz playing through the aux of someone’s car, and even less upset if it’s Sonder, Faiyaz’s band, playing. Many are very familiar with Faiyaz, but don’t know that he belongs to the band Sonder that he is the lead vocalist on. Sonder is the same genre of music as Faiyaz’s discography, so it just feels like secretive songs of his for only some to find. Sonder often goes unnoticed or unrecognized, which is completely mind-boggling being that “Nobody But You” is one of my all-time favorite songs along with “One Night Only.”