• US Electronic duo Sofi Tukker  joins The Blaze, Jorja Smith and Zak Abel as Deezer NEXT 2018 global priority acts

• Latin artists Leslie Grace and Johann Vera join Gashi, r.lum.r, Brent Cowles and Brytiago as Deezer NEXT USA acts

New York, NY, [October 16th, 2018]: Deezer, the world’s most personal music streaming service, has announced Sofi Tukker as the fourth and final global priority artist of the 2018 Deezer NEXT lineup. Sofi Tukker are an American house and EDM duo based in New York that intrigued fans with their track ‘Best Friend’.

The Deezer NEXT program is designed to champion emerging talent from around the world and will see Sofi Tukker join electronic duo The Blaze, soulful vocalist Jorja Smith and pop singer Zak Abel as global priority artists. All selected NEXT artists are supported with profile development, playlisting and take part in creative Artist Marketing campaigns for 12 months.

Sofi Tukker commented: “We are so honored to be part of Deezer NEXT. We love Deezer and everyone listening! Can’t wait to share all our new music with you all!”

Sulinna Ong, Global Vice President of Artist Marketing comments: “In our second year of the NEXT programme we’re continuing to support a brilliant and diverse range of emerging talent. Already, the artists involved have all seen a demonstrable growth of their global audiences, and we are looking forward to working with our latest lineup. Sofi Tukker are a duo we’ve seen blossom on Deezer over the last few years and we are delighted to support them as our final Global pick for 2018 and help push their remarkable music to new levels.”

The global priority acts are joined by a diverse range of local acts from seven countries, including new regions to the program and two new Latin artists for the USA.

Leslie Grace is a Dominican-American Latin pop singer and songwriter with a mesmerizing voice and a lot of soul. Her multi-platinum single “Duro y Suave” featuring Noriel expanded her to a new audience and helped Leslie achieve the highest performing single of her career thus far. Recently, she was the first Latin artist to collaborate with a K-Pop band on the single, “Lo Siento,” with Super Junior.

Leslie Grace commented: “Hey Deezer family, it’s your girl Leslie Grace and I’m so excited to be a part of Deezer’s 2018 Deezer Next campaign. Thank you Deezer family so, so, so much for all the support and I’m so excited to share all the new music with you guys.”

Johann Vera, of Ecuadorian descent, is a bi-lingual artist and actor based in Miami. Last August, Johann had the honor to be the first Ecuadorian solo performer on Univision’s Premios Juventud. Johann’s next single “Astronauta” is a blend Miami based pop sounds with the combination of Spanish and English that is instinctual to him.

Johann Vera commented:“No puedo esperar a ser parte de Deezer Next!!”  “I can’t wait to be part of Deezer Next!!”

The full list of the local artists can be found below.

Since its first launch in January 2017, Deezer NEXT global and local artists have seen a huge increase in both fans and streams. In just three months, global priority acts The Blaze have seen a boost of over 366% in streams and more than 100% growth, while Zak Abel has seen an impressive jump of 2,074% in fan growth since February 2018 and Jorja Smith streams grew 632% with 3,593% fan growth since January 2018.

Local acts have also experienced similar success since joining the program, with Cynthia Luz (Brazil) streams growing 650% since January, Gashi (US) and Moha La Squale (France) increasing fans by 1,530% and 921% respectively since December 2017 and February 2018. EUT (Netherlands) also experienced an impressive stream boost of 5,030% since December 2018.

The latest local artists that are joining the Deezer NEXT 2018 lineup include:

• France:
  • Minuit is a four-member rock band and released their first album ‘Vertigo’ this year, followed by singles Blondie and Paris Tropical
  • Claire Laffut is a pop singer that incorporates soul, jazz and reggae to her music, with her EP due in November.
• Brazil:
  • UM44K are a duo blending pop music with rap and R&B, the two created a YouTube channel that already gained 20 million views
  • Yasmin Santos has already developed a powerful voice inside the Brazilian Sertanejo scene. Praised by huge artists, Yasmin is conquering national recognition with hit ‘Saudade Nível Hard’
•  LATAM:
  • Leebrian Canales is a 17-year-old performer from Puerto Rico. Via social media, Leebrian began to display his rapping agility, posting numerous freestyles, leading him to attract a growing fan base
• Germany:
  • Sorgenkind is a rapper that honed his rap skills under different monikers and has recently been infusing pop music into his tracks
• Austria:
  • Culk an indie rock band that delivers melancholy vocals over punchy bass. The band are currently on tour across Austria
• UK:
  • YONAKA are a 4-piece band from Brighton, blending rock with pop hip-hop beats, and are on course to be the next break out band in the UK
• USA:
  • Leslie Grace is a Latin pop singer and songwriter and recently featured on Super Junior’s ‘Lo Siento’   
  • Johann Vera is an Ecuadorian singer blending Miami-based pop sounds with the combination of Spanish and English for his next single ‘Astronauta’
• Indonesia:
  • Ramengvrl is a Jakarta based rapper who released her breakthrough single, ‘CA$HMERE’ followed by “WHACHU MEAN” this year
• Slovakia:
  • Papyllon is a four piece band combining rock, pop, electronica and jazz with a dedicated DIY approach