If you're like me, sometimes you let your music taste fall in the hands of local radio stations and whatever is currently playing in the Top 40. Sometimes, finding unique and good quality music can actually take a lot of work and you end up spending a lot of time browsing through Youtube or Spotify etc. You're in luck that you stumbled along this article because I'm here to help! From Belgium, all the way to South Korea, here is a list of 5 foreign artists that will inspire you to make a new playlist right away!
1. Stromae
Born to a Belgian mother and a Rwandan father (who was later murdered during the Rwandan Genocide), Stromae grew up in the Laeken district of Brussels, Belgium, where he found inspiration in Belgian singer-songwriters, such as Jacques Brel. By the age of 18, he founded a rap group with friends called "Suspicion." Now, Stromae is a successful artist worldwide, despite the fact that his songs are primarily in French, and his second album "Racine Carrée" ended up selling 8.5 million records across the globe.
Genres: Hip hop, House, Electronic music
2. Kenny B
Though he resides in the Netherlands and sings in Dutch, Kenny B is originally from Paramaribo, Suriname, where, at one point, he even served in the Surinamese army. As a reggae artist, his main inspiration has been Bob Marley, which you can definitely hear in his music. In 2015, his 2nd single "Parijs" ended up becoming a huge success and made it to the top of the Dutch Top 40 chart for seven weeks in a row.
Genres: Reggae
3. First Aid Kit
Consisting of the two sisters, Klara and Johanna Söderberg from Stockholm, Sweden, First Aid Kit is a folk-influenced band that came to fame when their Youtube cover of "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" by the Fleet Foxes became popular. Since then, they have released four albums, as well as some EPs and singles, and were awarded the Nordic Music Prize in 2012, as well as four Swedish Grammis.
Genres: Indie-folk, Americana
4. Indila
She likes to consider herself a "child of the world", for even though she was born in Paris, France, she comes from an Egyptian, Algerian, Cambodian, and Indian descent. In fact, the idea behind her stage name Indila came from her love for India. Initially, Indila was introduced into the music scene when she married record producer DJ Skalp, who introduced her to the French Rap community. By 2010 she had her own music career, and in 2013 she released her first single "Dernière danse" which ended up making it to the SNEP Top 2 in France.
Genres: Dance-Pop, Euro-Pop
5. Hyukoh
Often referred to as the Korean version of Maroon 5, Hyukoh is an indie-pop/rock band that consists of four members, Im Dong-geon, Lim Hyun-jae, Lee In-woo, and frontman Oh Hyuk, who was actually raised in various different cities across northern China and at 18 years old, he moved to South Korea to pursue his music career, despite his parents disapproval. The band released their first full-length album "23" in April of 2017, and by May of 2017, it had already placed 6th on Billboard's world's album chart.
Genres: Indie-Pop/Rock
