The Best New Artists & Breakthroughs of 2021

By Raina Douris,

Lars Gotrich, Anamaria Artemisa Sayre, Tarik Moody, Ann Powers, Stephen Thompson

Published December 7, 2021 at 1:36 PM EST

PinkPantheress, Wet Leg and María Becerra are among NPR Music's best new artists and breakthroughs of 2021.

We have many things to be grateful for: vaccines, a steady return to live events and a plethora of great tunes. We've already listed the best albums and songs of the year, so let's talk about the best new artists and breakthroughs of 2021.

Join an online listening party featuring our staff in a conversation about the artists who shaped the year. NPR Music's Ann Powers, Alt.Latino's Anamaria Sayre, World Cafe's Raina Douris, Radio Milwaukee's Tarik Moody and Pop Culture Happy Hour's Stephen Thompson will join host Lars Gotrich in celebrating the best from 2021. This video won't be archived, but we will feature the panel's picks here afterward.

The event will take place on Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. ET – you can RSVP via NPR Presents and watch via NPR Music's YouTube channel. Tune in to hear their picks and drop your best new artists and breakthroughs in the chat. Let's listen together!

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Raina Douris

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She was also involved with Canada's highest music honors: hosting the Polaris Music Prize Gala from 2017 to 2019, as well as serving on the jury for both that award and the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.

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Lars Gotrich

Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist, subscribe to the newsletter.

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Anamaria Artemisa Sayre

Anamaria Sayre is a multimedia producer for NPR Music with a focus on elevating Latinx stories and music. She's the producer for Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture, and the curator of Latin artists at the Tiny Desk.

Tarik Moody

Tarik Moody is the director of digital strategy at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and the host of Rhythm Lab Radio and 88Nine After 9. Listen here.

Ann Powers

Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR's music news blog, The Record, and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music programs.

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Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

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