Billboard’s 21 Under 21: See Who Made the 2025 List

Billboard’s annual 21 Under 21 list snapshots the next generation of rising artists — but in 2025, the inescapable teen superstar has become increasingly rare. Ten years ago, this list was stocked full of acts who were already household names: Lorde, Shawn Mendes, Fifth Harmony and 5 Seconds of Summer. In 2021, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish were both on the list. This year, however, such future stars are still ascending to ubiquity.

“There’s not a centralization of key platforms where people are finding artists,” says Mike Weiss, vp of music/head of A&R at UnitedMasters. “Everything is more niche. To become a superstar, it takes time to build from community to community and expand that base.”

That process is typically “a lot longer now,” says Tyler Brown, co-founder of indie label Heatwave Records, relative to the peak years when he worked at Syco Entertainment on The X Factor. In previous decades, stars were minted by the TV shows and radio stations that served as the central source of music discovery. Major labels had the marketing resources and relationships to inundate these formats, sending listeners scrambling to cough up cash for records or CDs or downloads.

Today’s fans are spread across a range of streaming services and social media platforms, each with its own priorities and approach to music. In this fractured environment, “there’s no button to push” to blitz everyone simultaneously, says Jonathan Daniel, co-founder of Crush Music, which manages Miley Cyrus and Lorde, among others. “It’s so much less of a monoculture.” As a result, this year’s 21 Under 21 leans lighter on pop than in previous years, with a handful of talent rooted in country music — plus, the first dancehall act to make it onto the list. — Elias Leight