By:Ashante Gibson
On November 21, 2013 VH1 held their first ever “You Oughta Know” concert. This concert was a televised event that gave viewers a chance to see and hear upcoming artists that are going to be the next big thing. The “You Oughta Know” campaign is beneficial to the new and upcoming musicians; it is a chance for the world to hear their new and old music, if they have not already heard it before.
Performing at this year’s “You Oughta know” concert was a mixture of artists with different backgrounds and influences. The performers included Lorde who is a singer-songwriter that comes from New Zealand. Her musical influences include Etta James, Otis Redding, Neil Young, and The Weekend. Lorde just released an album back in September entitled “Pure Heroine,” and has already won an MTV European Music Award for Best New Zealand Act, for her song “Royals.” JohnnySwim is a band that combines a mixture of styles together including blues, soul, and folk for their sound. The band hails from Tennessee, and is most recognized for their song “Don't Let It Get You Down.” Matt Nathanson a singer-songwriter from Massachusetts that plays the acoustic and electric guitar. He is a platinum selling artist for the song “Come on Get Higher.” He has also had songs appear on popular television shows that America loves to watch such as, The Vampire Diaries and Scrubs. Emeli Sande “Next to Me” is also a singer-songwriter. She comes from Scotland and has musical influences that range from Joni Mitchell to Lauryn Hill. She has written songs for the artists of today ranging from Cher to Alicia Keys. Ed Sheeran is a singer-songwriter from England that has won several awards and been nominated for his songs “The A Team" and "Lego House.” He has helped write and collaborated with different artists including
Taylor Swift, who he also joined for her Red tour. Folk-rock band and Grammy award nominees, The
Lumineers, come from Colorado. The band’s musical influences come from different backgrounds from
classical to rock. They were nominated for two Grammys and two Billboard Music Awards this year.
Although they did not win any of those awards, it is still an accomplishment to be nominated, especially since they haven’t been on the scene that long. HAIM is an indie sister band that comes from California. Their most recognizable songs at the moment are “Falling,” “The Wire,” and “Send Me Down.” HAIM combines an upbeat old school sound with a new hip hop to create their unique sound. They have won the BBC Sound of 2013 Award. Previous artists that have won this award include 50 Cent and Adele; these artists made it big with the help of this award, and I’m sure that HAIM will too.
All of these artists have something in common besides the “You Oughta Know” concert. They are all on the rise to having even more successful careers then they already have. They will continue to grow with the help of the “You Oughta Know” campaign, and with the concert they should be getting even more recognition. All of these artists have something great and bring different styles to the scene. Pretty soon they are all going to be on top with some of the top artists today like Adele and Bruno Mars. It may take a while but with “You Oughta Know” backing them up it shouldn’t take long.