The Most Interesting Artists of 2024: Beyoncé, Boulevard Depot, and More

2024 was marked by a number of musical discoveries. We've highlighted six artists who truly impressed us. For some, the past year was the pinnacle of their careers, others made a successful return to the music scene, and still others began a new chapter in their creative work. Importantly, all of these artists presented unexpected, yet conceptually well-thought-out and successful releases.

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Charli XCX

Charli is a unique pop star, representing a kind of glitch in the music production system. In 2014, she wrote the soundtrack "Boom Clap" for the melodrama "The Fault in Our Stars", which instantly gained popularity and took high positions in the charts. After that, Charli continued to experiment with musical styles, and over time, she began to be perceived as an underground performer, and her hits - as accidental successes. Charli is not afraid to break genre boundaries, which makes her music fresh and original.

In 2024, Charli became the most talked about artist, starting a summer trend with her album Brat, which gained popularity. The success of this album is largely due to effective marketing. Atlantic gave Charli significant creative freedom in the design and promotion, allowing her to create a unique, acid-green cover. The design and the album's catchy title quickly went viral, spreading through internet memes. Brat's popularity was so great that the album was even mentioned on the campaign page of US presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Screenshot: @kamala HQ / X

Success requires not only high-quality marketing, but also the content of the album. Charli's new album is the culmination of years of experimentation in fusing mainstream pop with the grimy underworld of rave. Unlike her previous works, such as Vroom Vroom and How I'm Feeling Now, which were more raw, Brat achieves a harmonious sound. Each composition demonstrates the perfect balance between experimentation and accessibility, making the album appealing to a wide audience and critics. Brat is a unique example of unconventional pop music. Unlike typical pop, it lacks the polished gloss, positive images of Disney princesses, and romantic ballads about flawless love. While standard pop music is created based on idealized concepts developed by producers, Brat brings back its real, dirty, physicality. This is evident not only in the visual elements, like the moment when Charlie spits at the camera in the Von Dutch video, but also in the album's sound itself, which is dense, dynamic, and uninhibited. Brat demonstrates that pop music can be deep and multifaceted, reflecting real emotions and experiences.

Beyonce

In 2024, Billboard magazine presented a list of the 25 best pop stars of the 21st century. Beyoncé confidently took first place, and this decision became obvious after the release of her album Cowboy Carter last year. Beyoncé once again confirmed her status as the most self-sufficient and independent artist in modern pop music. Her contribution to the genre and influence on the music industry cannot be overestimated.

The artist began her career in the late nineties, when the pop scene was distinguished by stricter templates. Stars developed within a limited range of genres and did not change the direction of their creativity. In the modern world, pop artists have become more open to experimentation. An example of this is Taylor Swift, who boldly moved from country to electronic pop, and then returned to guitar music again. This flexibility and diversity have become characteristic features of modern pop music, allowing artists to find new forms of self-expression and attract a wide audience.

Beyoncé's career path is a shining example of the changes in the music industry. In the early 2000s, she performed classic R&B, but over time, she moved toward more conceptual and diverse work. The album "Lemonade" demonstrated her ability to integrate various genres, including R&B, blues-rock, funk, and country. In her trilogy "Renaissance", Beyoncé again turned to her African roots, inspired by disco and house - two significant genres in African-American culture. This transition reflects not only her personal development as an artist, but also a broader transformation of musical genres that actively influence modern society.

In the second part of the trilogy "Cowboy Carter", the artist radically explores African-American history, presenting a country album. In the early days of country music, artists often interpreted the songs of African slaves or borrowed compositions from Black musicians. Today, country is perceived as one of the most "white" genres of American music, symbolizing pride in cultural roots despite their deep connection to tragic events. This album emphasizes the importance of understanding historical context and encourages listeners to rethink the legacy behind the popular genre.

Country music history has seen the significant influence of Black artists such as Tina Turner and Ray Charles. For Beyoncé, who grew up in Texas, the agricultural heartland of the United States, country music also played a significant role in shaping her cultural identity. On her new album, she demonstrates her mastery of the genre, combining classic country elements with modern styles such as R&B and hip-hop. This highlights the diversity and evolution of country music, as well as its ability to unite different musical traditions.

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Boulevard Depo

In recent years, Russian hip-hop has been developing in various directions. New artists like Alblak 52 and Friendly Thug 52 Ngg are reviving boyish romance and creating rap about their city and neighborhood. Their musical style features simple beats reminiscent of Russian rap from the early 2010s. On the other hand, there is a trend toward a trendy sound, where artists borrow subgenres from Western artists. In 2024, Brazilian phonk has attracted particular attention, which can be heard in the works of artists like Bushido Zho. Hip-hop in Russia continues to evolve, blending tradition and modern trends, making it unique and multifaceted. Of those who rose to popularity in the 2010s, only a few have managed to maintain their previous level of fame. Among them are Oxxxymiron, who was designated a foreign agent in Russia, and Scriptonite. Interest in Boulevard Depo's work has waned somewhat, but this hasn't affected his status in Russian rap—he remains considered a founder of a new school. However, in recent years, it has seemed as if Depo has become stuck in a single musical format, offering a dull sound and pretentious promises like "I'll teach kids to rap now." However, in 2024, Boulevard Depo released a new album, "Futuroarchaika," which was a true revelation and surprised listeners with its freshness and originality. This release could become a turning point in the artist's career and return him to the top of Russian rap's popularity.

Russian rap has never seen anything like it before. This is the artist's debut album, in which he took full responsibility for production. As a result, Boulevard Depo has immersed himself in experimental electronics. The beats on "Futuroarhaika" are difficult to perceive unambiguously, as they lack a clear structure. They combine noise, glitches, and ambient textures with minimal drums. As ten years ago, Boulevard Depo's vocals are veiled, making them difficult to perceive against the background of the music, but this time with a different purpose—to create a mystical atmosphere. The culmination of this approach is the track "Dyrbulshchishch," where Boulevard Depo reinterprets a poem by futurist Alexey Kruchenykh, presenting a meaningless set of letters. The album "Futuroarhaika" demonstrates a unique musical concept, bringing new depth to the genre.

The Cure

The Cure has been around since 1978 and has continued to delight its fans for almost half a century. Typically, bands with such a long history face burnout and begin to operate on autopilot, relying on past achievements. However, The Cure is not one of those bands. They continue to create new material without losing their ambition and desire for self-expression. The band's music remains sincere and filled with emotion, which allows it to remain relevant and attract new generations of listeners.

Over the past 12 years, Deep Purple has released five albums, but they have not achieved widespread popularity. At such an age, it is difficult to create something truly new, especially in a genre that is already well-studied. At the same time, The Cure managed to surprise their fans. After a 16-year break from releasing albums, they presented a new release, Songs of a Lost World, which seems to reflect all the accumulated emotions and experiences.

This is The Cure's most ambitious work since the release of Disintegration in 1989. On this album, the band successfully combines two directions of their creativity: the deeply depressing gothic rock of the early eighties and the melodic pop rock of the middle of the decade. The result of this experiment is an epic and large-scale sound, creating the atmosphere of a gothic musical performed in a hall of several thousand people. The album clearly demonstrates the evolution of The Cure and their ability to create memorable music that continues to inspire new generations of listeners.

Previously, the band rarely attempted to reproduce this effect, with the possible exception of the 11-minute composition "Watching Me Fall." However, Songs of a Lost World retains the same scale: distant synthesizers and lonely guitar lines create an unimaginable expanse. Robert Smith strives to fill it with his tragic voice and dark lyrics, which evokes nostalgia for the band's golden years. The album creates a unique atmosphere, immersing the listener in a world of emotions and deep experiences, which makes it a significant addition to the band's discography.

Future

In the 2010s, Future became one of the leading hitmakers and most successful representatives of trap culture. His work contributed to hip-hop becoming the most popular music genre on the planet. Despite his achievements and influence, Future remained part of a vast circle of artists, among whom stood out such names as Migos and Lil Uzi Vert.

In the 2020s, trap gradually lost popularity, but Future continued to adhere to his unique style. Paradoxically, this only strengthened his position in the music industry. The new decade saw him release his most memorable hits, and 2024 was truly his coronation year. Future proved his ability to adapt and remain relevant despite shifting musical trends. Future has established himself as a hip-hop icon with his new albums. Within a month of each other, he released the duology "We Don't Trust You" and "We Still Don't Trust You," created in collaboration with renowned beatmaker Metro Boomin. Metro Boomin imbued the tracks with lush, rich beats, including epic synths and mesmerizing samples, as well as masterful transitions between sections. This duology represents trap at the highest level and is a shining example of musical art in modern hip-hop.

Following the release of Future's new release, five of its tracks entered the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, allowing the rapper to occupy half of the spots on this prestigious ranking. His compositions "Like That" and "Type Shit" took the first and second places. In a climate where new rappers rarely achieve chart success, this achievement is especially impressive. Future continues to confirm his status as one of the leading artists in the music industry.

Idles

In the late 2010s, the British rock band Idles attracted attention thanks to their bright and aggressive music. Their style can be classified as post-punk, but unlike many other artists in this genre, Idles does not limit itself to gothic and decadent aesthetics. The band combines a powerful guitar sound with elements of noise rock in their compositions, creating a unique atmosphere. Idles have become a noticeable phenomenon on the music scene, bringing fresh ideas and energy to rock music.

Critics are constantly looking for new musical genres, and that is why the Idles band has found itself on top. Their work, along with the works of such bands as Shame and Viagra Boys, was called Brexitcore. Idles represent modern post-punk with a powerful guitar sound and diverse genre influences. As befits true punks, they devote significant attention to social themes in their lyrics, reflecting current societal problems and creating works that resonate with audiences.

The new term quickly lost its relevance after just a couple of years. What are the next steps? The path of the Idles band resembles that of many punks of the seventies. An example is Johnny Rotten, who, after the breakup of the Sex Pistols, founded the group Public Image Ltd. This group was so experimental that, in fact, Rotten both created punk and destroyed it at the same time. Thus arose a post-punk that transcends any genre definitions.

Idles released the album Tangk, which is the ideological successor to Flowers of Romance, an album by Public Image Ltd. On this project, the band takes a unique approach to rock music, emphasizing drums. Tangk is largely composed of drums and electronic bass, while guitars are used only as a background instrument rather than as a lead instrument. In this way, Idles emphasizes their versatility, transcending punk and rock genres, as well as current trends. It's a powerful statement that the band is aiming for the status of future legends in the music world.