Kearns – With so many international artists getting praise and recognition worldwide, have you ever thought about what is music like in their home countries? What makes it special and different from the artists that we are a so familiar with? There are so many artists and groups that are gaining popularity in their home countries and worldwide that you may not even have heard of.

With all these artists and groups trending worldwide that we haven’t even heard of, I took this information to the halls of Kearns High to share these unique finds with students. The most notable student I talked to was Ariana Isais. I first went on to ask what her favorite music artists are, she was quick to say “One Direction, Shawn Mendes, and Little Mix”. But when I asked if she has any favorite artists that don’t usually sing in English she lit up with excitement and went on to say “ I love the Spanish singers Romeo Santos and Prince Royce! I also really like the K-Pop group BTS.” If a fellow student can enjoy different types of music, everyone should be able to. There is always something new out there! Go expand your playlists with all these popular artists!

North America – In the USA we are very familiar with the artists trending here. Maroon 5 and Cardi B’s song Girls like you is at #1 and has been for 4 weeks now. Juice WRLD is close to taking the spot with the song Lucid Dreams and Post Malone is trailing behind at #3 with Better now. Mexico is a whole different story. With a completely different language and different influences, many different artists are top on the charts. Banda Sinaloense Ms de Sergio Lizarraga at #1 with Mejor Me Alejo. Calibre 50 is at #2 with Mi Sorpresa Fuiste Tu.

South America – Starting with Brazil, they have a variety of artists on the charts. With different influences than North America, the music is very different, but that doesn’t make it not as good as our music. With Gusttavo Lima trending at #1 with the song Ze Da Recaida and the duo Ze Neto & Cristiano at #2 with Mulher Maravilha. In Chile, there are more songs trending with Artists we’re familiar with. Selena Gomez, Becky G, and Cardi B are all within the top 10 of the charts, but not quite #1 like Thalia & Natti Natasha are with their song No Me Acuerdo. Manuel Turizo & Ozuna is trailing behind at #2 with Vaina Loca

Africa – South Africa has a large variety of music trending. Everything from Electro pop to old school rap is making an appearance. South African artist Vusi Nova is at #1 with As’phelelanga with artist Jessica Mbangeni. #2 is one of the most popular songs in the world right now, Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Zimbabwe is a different story. Adele’s most recent release, Hello, is still at #1 with Justin Bieber at #2 with his song Sorry. Their charts are full of artists we know with John Legend, Katy Perry, and Charlie Puth in the top 10.

Europe – Moving onto the United Kingdom, even though they have the same influences as us, their charts look very different than ours. Funky Friday by Dave & Fredo is at #1 and is continuing to gain popularity across Europe. Promises by well-known DJ Calvin Harris and the famous Sam Smith is at #2. Up next with Germany. The country has a whole different taste than what we are all familiar with. Bonez Mc & Raf Camora is the first on the charts with their song 500 Ps that has been on the charts for 6 weeks. Bonez Mc and Raf Camora are also at #2 along with Gzuz with the song Kokain. Raf Camora and Bonez Mc are dominating the top 10 with 8 out of 10 of the songs being theirs.

Asia – With K-Pop on the rise worldwide, it’s not anything new that it’s trending in its home country, South Korea. With Got7’s Lullaby trending at #1 on Korea’s Billboard Hot 100 charts follow by Sunmi’s Siren, Roy Kim’s The Hardest Part at #3. With International K-Pop stars BTS’ Idol still at #7 months after its release. In Japan, with K-Pop artists releasing Japanese albums as well, it’s no wonder that two of Korea’s biggest groups, Twice and BTS, are trending in Japan as well. Yeah Yeah Yeah by Hello! Project All S is trending at #1 followed by U.S.A by Da Pump and BDZ by Twice is trailing behind.

Australia- With the English being the main language in Australia, a lot of artists we know are trending. George Ezra is leading the charts with his song Shotgun and Double Platinum song Eastside by Benny Blanco featuring American Artists Halsey and Khalid is close behind at #2. Dean Lewis’ extremely popular new song Be Alright is at #3 with a Triple Platinum certification. 5 Seconds of Summer’s newest single YoungBlood is also still trending in the country despite it being months old.