The Future Class Of 2017 is 15 acts that we believe are poised for greatness this year. Last year we tipped Sampa The Great, Kiiara, Dua Lipa and more to do big things and over the next week we’ll be rolling out individual features on each both here and on the interns. Today, we’re showcasing US singer/songwriter Maggie Rogers.
Usually when music goes viral it's because there's a dance to it or a music videos that makes the visual far more important than the song itself. Maggie Rogers' Alaska is a viral song but there's no wacky dance or even a challenge attached to it. For perhaps the first time ever, the song went viral because it's really, bloody good. Megastar producer Pharrell dropped into Rogers' university NYU and during a masterclass she played the song. Pharrell was pretty moved by it and the video went viral, as people around the world fell in love with it too.
Rogers was making straight-out folk music before she went to Europe and fell in love with dance music. It's that fusing of styles that has made her music so alluring with Alaska one of the most melodically rich songs of last year.
It's a whole other step to go from a viral song to making a career for yourself but Rogers is doing a really great job. Her follow-up release Dog Years was just as whimsical as its predecessor and just this week she released yet another newie On & Off, encapsulating those dance vibes more than ever before.
She's got a natural charm to her that makes every release so immediately likeable and we find ourselves with Pharrell's reaction everytime she drops a newie.
Her debut EP Now That The Light Is Fading is out 17th February and it's probably going to be phenomenal.
Read about yesterday's addition Mallrat.
