Every year it blows my mind the amount of brilliant music that goes undiscovered. When I'm talking underrated, I'm talking artists who deserve to be headlining sold out arena's and stadiums by now. The people on this list have been at it for quite some time now, but this year in particular has been extra special for them all in some shape or form - but yet, they still just aren't getting the superstar amount of attention that they deserve. In no particular order, these are the top most underrated pop artists of the entire year of 2024. If you love pop music, I suggest giving them all a chance!
Need some new music to listen to? Check out our playlist below to hear all the most underrated pop songs of the year 2024!
Annie Omalley
Annie Omalley is a singer/songwriter who grew up in the outskirts of Chicago, but is now based in Los Angeles. She released her sophomore album, "all the things that skare me" this year, which not only held a genius and unique concept, but was also one of the best and most underrated albums I've ever heard in pop music. Annie's album is about embracing and healing your inner child, and her whole artistic image is about not being afraid to be yourself. No matter how bold and eccentric your personality may be, never water yourself down for anybody. Annie's music this year was filled with colorful visuals and her signature, self-created genre of "tantrum pop" songs. "all the things that skare me" is a no-skips album, each with emotionally captivating and relatable lyrics, cathartic melodies, and phenomenal production work. Annie spent her year kindly uploading YouTube videos, sharing her journey creating this album, and even has done some touring and performing live. I promise you, if you're a pop music fan, you will love Annie, and you need to listen to her latest album! I did a full track-by-track review, which you can read here.
Chandler Leighton
California native, Chandler Leighton is no stranger to making music, but yet she still hasn't gotten the amount of attention she deserves. Now 29 years old, Chandler has been singing and writing songs since she was a little kid. She studied audio production at San Francisco State, and went on to participate in both season 14 and 15 of American Idol. In 2020, she finally started to officially release her own music, evolving into her own unique dark alt. pop sound with emotionally driven lyricism. Chandler Leighton has always deserved so much more than she has gotten, but this year in particular is very special because she finally released her first ever album, "Proof You Weren't The Only One", which made it into the top 5 in our Top 24 Pop Albums of 2024. Chandler didn't stop there. After her album release, she continued to release more hit singles, and she went on her first ever headlining tour across the entire country.
Madison Taylor
Singer/Songwriter Madison Taylor is from Northern New Jersey, born and raised. She grew up in a beautiful home, in which she named her debut album released this year after, "Lady of Arbor Hill". Madison is more than just any ordinary songwriter; she is a poet at heart. A poetry lover herself, she takes inspiration from the Romantic Era. Her lyrics are inventive, masterful, and so full of brilliance while at the same time giving you that emotional impact and relatability you need as a listener. She also has this beautiful connection with nature, which you can hear within her music. Madison is such a unique and talented person, that she deserves a lot more love and attention. If you love complex lyricism and naturistic soundscapes, you'll love Madison. I wrote a whole track-by-track review on Madison's album this year, which you can read here.
Cassadee Pope
If you think you don't know Cassadee Pope, yes you do. Anyone who was alive in 2013 has heard her song "Wasting All These Tears". Cassadee Pope won Season 3 of NBC's singing competition show, The Voice. She's been releasing music ever since - everything from pop, to punk, to country and nailing all of it with her incredible voice, and yet she still just hasn't gotten as big in the industry as she truly deserves. This year, she released her fifth album, "Hereditary" and a deluxe version, which was more of a 2000's nostalgic pop-punk vibe and it made it onto Pop Passion's 24 Best Pop Albums of 2024. It's a skipless album, each song sending you into a sense of euphoric nostalgia. You can read our full review on the album here, as well as our concert tour review here! Cassadee has also spent her year on a headlining tour, opening for Marianas Trench, playing at music festivals, and rehearsing for her lead role as Rose in the upcoming run of Tintanique the Musical in NYC!
philine
philine is a singer/songwriter from the Netherlands, who has been writing and singing ever since she was a little girl. She began translating her songs from Dutch to English at the young age of 11, and decided when she was teenager that music was her path in life. In 2020, she officially began releasing her music to the world. This year, she released her EP, "the side-effects of living in a fantasy", a 6-track, dreamy indie-pop and folk inspired project with honest, personal and relatable lyrics. philine has such a genuine approach in her music, that you can't help but be drawn to her. philine also had her own headline tour in Europe this year, as well as supported other artists on theirs. She released a duet titled "Babe, I'm All Yours" with Garrett Kato, and to top the year off, she just dropped her final single of 2024, "new year's eve".
Savanna Leigh
Savanna Leigh is a 24-year-old Nashville based indie singer/songwriter, who is natural born live performer and a phenomenal songwriter with a gorgeous voice. This year, she released her fourth EP within her 3-year music career, titled "reminders of you" and two other singles, "unfamiliar" and 'like i used to". What makes Savanna a stand out artist is how open she is within her music and her ability to perform them live like no one is watching. She shares live acoustic performance videos on her YouTube channel, and has toured as support for several artists (most recently with Ashley Kutcher). She also shares tour diaries and has a roundtable interview for each track on her "reminders of you" EP. One thing I know is that Savanna is on a roll, and 2025 is going to be even bigger for her with more new music and expanding her touring.
ROSIE
ROSIE is an iconic singer whose whole image is based on being authentic and real, hence why you will never see a drop of makeup on her face - ever. I love her so much for this, because we have an industry that is way too focused on sex-appeal rather than what is most important - THE MUSIC!! She also loves to spread mental health awareness through her songs, and has one of the most gorgeous voices of this generation. Although ROSIE managed to release a viral collaboration song this year with fellow artist Caleb Hearn (also featured on this list), titled "Little Bit Better" which has over 68 million streams on Spotify alone, she still isn't quite getting the amount of attention she deserves. She released her third EP, "What Scares Me The Most" which features 7 tracks that are all worthy of being on the top charts. This year she also released collaboration singles with Knox and Zach Hood, and opened for David Kushner.
Zach Hood
Zach Hood is an artist who grew up in Alabama. He is very expressive, and emotionally unique in his sound and songwriting which is exactly why it didn't take him very long to make a name for himself once he started releasing music back in 2020. This year, Zach finally released his debut album, "Whispering Pines", and it even has a brand new deluxe version. Although Zach has had no trouble getting streams on his singles up to the millions, I believe that now that he has a full-length album, he deserves more attention on these larger projects. It's an incredible work that brings all his songs and stories into one cohesive experience. He ended this year with a bang, having his own little headlining tour throughout the U.S. titled the "I Tend To Lose Things" Tour and dropped one final single on December 20th, "Simple Life". I swear in my past three years as a music blogger I have yet to see Zach Hood slow down, and I love the dedication he has to his dreams and his career, which is exactly why he deserves more.
Caleb Hearn
North Carolina-born and now Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Caleb Hearn released his debut album, "Left On McKinney" this year. Like other artists on this list, Caleb has had no trouble gaining streams on his single releases - especially his collaboration this year with ROSIE on their song "Little Bit Better" which currently has over 68 million streams on Spotify alone; however, when it comes to this album project as a whole, it needs more attention! There are tracks that aren't quite reaching the millions that deserve just as much love, if not more, than the singles. Caleb has a voice that draws you in, but that's not the only thing that makes his music special. The lyricism is meaningful and emotional, which is something we always need more of in music.
Bryce Fox
From Indiana, to Los Angeles, and now Nashville, diverse pop/rock artist Bryce Fox didn't release just one, but TWO EP's this year. "The Bomb" and then "The Butterfly" are two EP's relating to each other, and are part of a bigger project to come in 2025. Both projects feature addictingly catchy soundscapes and meaningful lyrics that are hard to shake once you've heard them. He touches on subjects that are hard to swallow, but are relatable and need to be heard. Everything from the aesthetic down to the details of each story were perfectly crafted with such passion to make these projects come to life, and yet it hasn't gotten the amount of attention that past projects have gotten. In my opinion, I think it's some of Bryce's best work yet - and everyone needs to give it a shot, because his sound is so well-rounded that just about anybody can love it. He spent the year touring in support of a few artists and as a co-headliner, and next year he will be on tour with AWOLNATION which is huge! I can't wait to see what his next move will be.
Lost Stars
Nashville-Based Pop Duo Lost Stars consists of Kansas City natives, Damien and Charley. They've had break-through singles in the past, hitting streams in the millions. Lost Stars spent their entire year touring, opening for bands like Neon Trees and The All-American Rejects. They also released an EP "i think i love you lately" which blew my mind. There are no skips, and each song is just flawless from the vocals, to the production, to the melodies, to the lyrics. It's absolute pop perfection, but yet there wasn't a song that quite made the success that they had in the past. This project deserved so much more attention than it got, and yet Lost Stars didn't stop there. They went on to release 3 more singles this year, all equally as incredible. I'm hoping that they'll hit the algorithm in just the right spot, and finally get the attention they deserve, because once you hear their music you will never go back.
Jade LeMac
20-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter Jade LeMac made waves with her debut album in 2023, "Constellations" which featured her hit song of the same name, having over 47 million streams on Spotify alone. This year, that same song was featured in the Tubi original movie starring Noah Beck, "Sidelined: The QB and Me". What makes Jade LeMac so underrated in 2024, is that she released both a deluxe version, and a stripped version of her EP, "Confessions", as well as two unbelievably incredible singles, "Narcissistic" and "Pink Balloon", all of which didn't get nearly as much attention as her first album did. The way that Jade can write all these songs, and they're able to be either banger pop songs or beautiful, gentle acoustic performances is such a unique and masterful talent to have, and it shouldn't go unnoticed. Jade is also a spectacular live performer, having done several shows this year including opening for Danish singer Christopher, playing at The Calgary Stampede on the Coca Cola Stage, and Festival d’été de Québec.
LØLØ
LØLØ is a Canadian pop-rock princess with killer songwriting skills. She is always on the move, and is a natural born performer. Although she's been releasing music since 2018, it was this year that she finally released her debut album, "falling for robots and wishing i was one", which was ranked at No. 3 on our 24 Best Pop Albums of 2024 due to her brutally honest and relatable lyricism. There are a few songs on this album that have gained traction, but overall the album as a whole deserves a lot more attention, most songs falling under 1 million streams. LØLØ is seriously a force to be reckoned with, as she's been on the road non-stop, performing at festivals, opening for other artists, and beginning her own headlining international tour. Just this year, she has performed at the SoWhat?! and All Your Friends Music Festivals, and opened for JADN and Marinas Trench. This year, she released a reimagined, stripped version of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" in collaboration with The Recording Academy, and she also released a reimagined punk version of "Let It Go" from Frozen, in collaboration with Disney. To have accomplished all these things, and still not be a household name is beyond me.
Brooke Alexx
Brooke Alexx is one of the most unique pop artists we have today. She is self-made, and completely owns who she is. She is quirky, and uses humor and wit to draw us into her super catchy pop bops; but she also has deep, emotional and personal lyricism that listeners can connect to. Last year in 2023, she blew through the stratosphere with her songs, "All My Exes Moms", which amassed over 28 million streams on Spotify alone and won first place in the Pop Category of the American Songwriter Contest. This led to Brooke's incredible 2024, which consisted of the release of her debut album, "Big Mouth", and her first ever headlining tour. Though, the non-single songs on her album didn't quite get the traction they deserved, and they're some of her best, most beautifully written pieces. I suggest giving Brooke Alexx's full album a chance! You can read our album review on it here.
JESSIA
JESSIA is a Juno award-winning singer/songwriter from Vancouver, Canada. She is best known for her 2021 multi-platinum single, "I'm Not Pretty", but what you might not know is JESSIA has a large discography of incredible music that deserves a lot more attention than it gets - especially what she has released this year. In 2023, JESSIA was dropped by her label, but she didn't let that stop her from making the best music she could possibly make. She released her first independent project this year, an EP titled "Okay With Every Part", which features 6 tracks that are all passionately written and crafted to cater to no one but JESSIA's creativity and emotion. JESSIA also went on tour this year with Alexa Cappelli, another pop artist who shares a similar story, and is beautifully embracing her newfound freedom in the music industry.
Griff
Half Jamaican and half Chinese, but born and raised in England, singer/songwriter and producer Griff has so much diversity within her style and sound. She brings a new, fresh feeling to pop music; not only that, but she has a phenomenal voice, and is a masterful lyricist. This year, she released her debut album, "Vertigo", which, don't get me wrong, has a decent amount of streams. It's also No. 4 on our 24 Best Albums of 2024. However, considering the journey this girl has been on and how good her music is, she should be a household name. This year, she opened for Taylor Swift's Era's Tour in London at Wembley Stadium, AND for Sabrina Carpenter's U.S. leg of the Short n' Sweet Tour. That's two of the world's biggest pop stars right now, and you're telling me no one is taking their time of day to listen to Griff more?! She only has 547k followers on Instagram, when she should be in the millions. Not to mention, amongst opening for the biggest names in the industry, she also went on her own headlining world tour, released a live version of her album, and recently dropped another hit single, "last night's mascara". You can read our full "Vertigo" album review here.
Sasha Alex Sloan
Sasha Alex Sloan, another genius singer/songwriter who should be a household name by now. The amount of accomplishments she's had this year are only some could dream of, yet so many still don't recognize her, for who knows why. For anybody who loves emotional music and detailed lyricism, you'll love Sasha - just give her a chance. Sasha released her album "Me Again" this year, which is featured on our 24 Best Pop Albums of 2024. She was featured and performed live on Jimmy Fallon, at Vevo Studio, and at the Grammy Museum. She also went on her own headlining world tour. Just like other artists, this is stuff only some could dream of, and she's done it! But yet, someone who should have followers in the millions and should be recognized everywhere she goes, still only has 691K followers on Instagram. Read our full "Me Again" album review here!
MOTHICA
Dark alt. pop artist, MOTHICA released her third studio album this year, "Kissing Death", a visual album which tells a personal and intriguing story (watch it here). MOTHICA is known for touching on difficult subjects in her music, but it's something many can relate to - and she mixes it with banger soundscapes and production. This album was featured on our 24 Best Pop Albums of 2024. MOTHICA is so creative, honest and does so much for her fanbase even though she's a smaller artist. Her visual album is so impressively high quality, and you'd never know it wasn't produced by a major label. MOTHICA has dealt with a lot of her own personal struggles, and she still pushed through to do as much as she could for her fans - putting her health second, even though we would never want anything bad to happen to her! She was able to put on most of headlining international tour this year before canceling to take care of herself, and I'm happy to report that she's doing a lot better now. We love you MOTHICA and we can't wait to hear your gorgeous voice again soon. Read our full "Kissing Death" album review here.
Holly Humberstone
British singer/songwriter Holly Humberstone is another artist who has been taking over the world without enough people watching to notice. She's been on a headlining international tour all year with Medium Build after releasing her debut album "Paint My Bedroom Black" in 2023, as well as opened for artists like Kings of Leon, and Taylor Swift on her world-renowned Era's Tour. She's been on the road non-stop, playing at music festivals such as Victorious, Boardmasters, Truck Festival, Tramlines, Shaky Knees, Lovin' Life, and All Things Go. Not to mention, she was featured in British Vogue magazine this year as well. We can't forget the new music that came along, too. Holly released a brand new EP this year, titled "work in progress", which features 4 brilliant tracks. Not only that, but she released new duet versions of her songs "Cocoon" and "Antichrist", one featuring Medium Build and the other featuring Tiny Habits. She was also featured on a track by Del Water Gap, titled "Cigarettes & Wine".
Boy In Space
Boy In Space has a unique voice, and frankly some of the best written and most catchy songs I've heard this entire year. He's found quite the success in the past, and has a total of half a billion streams on Spotify alone. This year, he released his EP, "Copium", as well as two more singles to come after, "Dancing On Dynamite" and "Too Much To Lose", all of which have yet to reach his past multi-million success, but yet to me personally I feel is some of his best work to date. The fact that he has been able to get this amount of traction as an independent artists is already beyond impressive.
What do you think of our list? Were there any pop artists this year that you think deserve more attention? Follow us on our socials and let us know your thoughts!
Written By Kaitlyn Nicole
*copyright not intended. Fair use act, section 107.