The year has already started and a lot of artists have made noticeable moves, but as always, surprises in the musical industry never end as they can come even on the last day of the year. The R&B genre more than ever before now has more R&B artists choosing to incorporate other styles like electronica, pop and dance to add that extra sound and feel to it. This makes the artists unique and let fans of the genre have something to look forward to at each time. Here are 7 R&B artists with great sounds that we expect to blow up this 2017.
K. Michelle
She was first seen on the popular VH1 reality series, Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta, however K. Michelle proved to have more to her than drama on reality TV when she dropped her debut album Rebellious Soul in 2013. She has gone on to release two more albums after that debut. Her music is true to R&B style where she pours out all that she has to express with powerful vocals.
Her latest single “Got Me Crazy” featuring DJ Feezy, Rick Ross and Fabolous was released in February 2017 and with the great airplay it got and more singles lined up, she has definitely nailed her spot as an act to watch out for this year.
Janelle Monae
Janelle had a 2016 that included a big screen acting debut in Moonlight, and then starring in Hidden Figures, which she made soundtracks for and song collaborations with other artists. However in an interview with People, she revealed that she was already working on her third studio album when she received scripts for her acting roles and, will be releasing new music sometime in 2017.
Brandy
Almost four years after her last album dropped, “The boy is mine” singer took to twitter In January to drop hints of a new album that will drop this 2017. This will be her seventh album, and with the hints and hits we have got from her in the past few years, we know we will be getting a lot from Brandy this 2017.
Ciara
Although it’s been years Ciara topped the charts with her singles, Ciara still has that ability to make an R&B hit any day. Her last album, Jackie was released in 2014 and was not as commercially successful as her previous albums. However in preparations for a big comeback, she reportedly sealed a deal with a new management company, “Friends at Work” in 2016 and is already hard at work on what will be her seventh album, which according to her will see her trying out different styles and sounds.
Jhené Aiko
Jhené’s upcoming sophomore album has got a lot of people excited. The album has already spun off the single “Maniac,” that was released late in 2016. Although Aiko has remained mum about the definiteness of the album dropping in 2017, fans are expectant.
And that’s not all about Jhené, Jhené Aiko and Big Sean paired up in mid-2015 to launch Twenty88, a new band and followed it up with a self-titled debut album which peaked within the top 10 in the Billboard charts and have reportedly hinted solo projects and a collaborative second album this 2017.