#Freshfind: Miesa, Zach Hood, Sydney Agudong, and Elliot Lee
2022, is all about new. New music, new artist, and of course a new playlist that is going to be our theme for this year. Let’s start the year right with a few of these fresh artist.
Miesa “Blind”
A poised and heartfelt vocalist, Miesa's knack for updating the classic R&B and pop sounds of the past comes to the fore on singles such as 2016's "Too Bad for You," 2020's "Unsaid," and the following year's "4U." Miesa has been involved in the entertainment industry on some level since childhood, going back to performances at pageants and talent shows. Her father, a musician, encouraged her interest in a wide variety of music. After Miesa signed to the Sony-affiliated Siri Music Group, she released a handful of singles from 2013 through 2016, including "Antidote," "Nope (Can't Let Go)," "Too Bad for You," and "Sway (I Miss You)."
In 2016, she also appeared on the Skyville Live webcast alongside Patti Austin and Andra Day. In early 2017, she issued another single, "Overdrive," which was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart;it also received remixes and appeared in an acoustic version. As the 2010s came to a close, Miesa delivered more singles, including 2018's "Broken" and 2019's "Unsaid." Also in 2019, Miesa was featured as the Grammys' NEXT artist and kicked off their Drop Series. Following the 2020 acoustic collection "Stripped," which featured the Emeli Sandé cover "Breaking the Law," she issued the single "Worried." In anticipation of her debut album, Miesa offered the single "4U." A duet with Justin Garner produced by Mansur, it appeared in April 2021.
Her highly anticipated upcoming single "Blind" is set for release on December 10th. The song was produced by Viirgos (Arianna Grande, Nicki Minaj) and is as bold in production as the lyrics, while infusing the soulful warmth of her vocals. Miesa confides, “Blind" is one of those songs that feels like everyone’s story and no one’s story all at the same time,” she adds, “sometimes in relationships the picture could be blurry.” Mixed by Paul Boutin (Toni Braxton, Babyface, Ariana Grande) and mastered by the legendary Herb Powers Jr. (Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston), “Blind" is off of her upcoming set.
Zach Hood “I Miss My Friends”
Want something bad enough and there’s no reason you can’t have it – if you work hard, face your fears, and refuse to stop growing. That’s the story of Zach Hood, now on the other side of a whirlwind year that skyrocketed him from Tik Tok heartthrob to legitimate recording artist. In 2021, Hood released six singles that racked up over 70 million streams and placements on the Global Viral 50 Chart, Radar US, and Pop Rising.
Now, Hood is releasing his first single of 2022, a characteristically catchy track called “I Miss My Friends.” The song’s teaser videos have already amassed over 280,000 views.
“There’s not much to the story behind the song,” shares Hood. “I wanted to pursue this music thing, so I had to move across the country from my lifelong friends. I wanted to make this song for them. Naturally, it’s called ‘I Miss My Friends.’”
Born and raised in Daphne, Alabama, Hood can remember belting out Bruno Mars from his car seat as a toddler. He taught himself how to play piano by watching – and re-watching – countless videos on YouTube. In middle school, he engaged his classmates by taking requests for acapella covers and then posting them on Instagram, tagging the requester back. By his junior year of high school, Hood was hyperactively posting content on TikTok after his ex-girlfriend encouraged him to download the platform.
In January 2021, Hood unveiled his debut single “Flashbacks,” which unapologetically opened the wounds of his fractured family. Resonating with listeners, it quickly gained millions of streams across all DSP platforms and landed on Spotify’s coveted New Music Friday playlist. "Isabelle," Hood's second single catapulted the artist to a larger conversation in music and racked up 25+ million streams in just the first few months. Not bad for someone who just a few months prior had never set foot into a recording studio.
Now based in Los Angeles, Hood has signed a deal with Arista Records and landed representation from William Morris Endeavor. Hood will make his debut festival performance at Hangout Fest in his hometown of Alabama in May 2022.
“I’m just a kid from Alabama who stayed true to himself, never let anyone get in his way, persevered, and stayed on the path I was set for,” he observes. “I knew I didn’t want to go to college or work in a restaurant—I just absolutely had to make music.”
Sydney Agudong “Welcome To Hollywood”
"It describes my own adversity and experience with pursuing my dreams and it is more of a metaphor for everyone and what it means to put your health and heart out on the line without knowing what the future holds at any point in time “Hollywood’ is glamorized as a place where people can be whoever they want to be and live out their wildest dreams, but no one ever talks about the thousands and thousands of rejections and thoughts of giving up and giving in to one of those critics or “no’s” that tell you it’ll never happen, whether you or someone else is the critic themselves. No one talks about the mental strength and sacrifice it takes to make a dream come true." Sydney Agudong
Born and raised in Hawai’i, 21-year-old, Sydney Agudong, made her first on-stage debut at 18 months old, and knew that’s where she belonged.
The multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, ukulele) spent her childhood years singing in local talent shows and competitions, receiving awards and recognition at every stop. At 10, Sydney wrote and recorded her first original song called “I’m So Sorry” which was later played and requested on local Hawaiian radio stations.
Sydney moved to Los Angeles to continue her life as a musician and as an actress. Sydney Agudong is now ready to introduce her new musical persona to the world - Jayne Doe, with the release of her first single, “Welcome to Hollywood,” a metaphor for what it means to live in the glamorous “city of stars and angels,” the process of rejections, and the mental strength and sacrifice it takes to make a dream come true.
Sydney Agudong, AKA Jayne Doe, is working on reshaping her musical persona with the name Jayne Doe, taking a twist on the known phrase “Jane Doe”, and reinventing it as a girl shamelessly trying to find out who she is and where she belongs in an effort to normalize the fear we all have of the unknown. Sydney is collaborating with Al Machera, a music industry veteran that engineered the famous “Salt N Pepa” and co-founded Westlake Recording Studios, a highly utilized and respected recording company known best for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” Album. Al is helping Sydney bring her musical world to life, as she joined him under his new Westlake branch publishing company called Fr8 Train Media Group (a publishing company that creates and licenses songs for film, television, promotional material, and song placement). She also collaborates with other successful artists, writers, and producers on their projects as well as sync licensing, some that are currently in development. When she’s not in the studio and outperforming, Sydney is quickly developing her on-screen credits in TV and film. She shot a lead role in her first feature film titled, "West Michigan,” and booked a recurring guest star role on Netflix’s “On My Block”.
Sydney, aka Jayne Doe, is in the process of developing an album and writing songs as she continues to build far beyond her “Welcome to Hollywood.”
Elliot Lee featuring GIRLI “Pink (Freak)”
The explosive electronic-infused pop-rock single is all about defying stereotypes and not having to fit into a label. Elliot Lee is a Brooklyn-based artist and creator who fuses unpredictable sounds whose music often touches upon themes of loneliness, materialism, destroying gender norms, and mental health struggles. GIRLI is a cybergoth and grunge-influenced artist who is making waves with her raw and unfiltered releases.
Elliot Lee has a fervent fanbase "the bubblegum army" and has amassed millions of streams and their music has been added to such high-profile playlists as Bedroom Pop among many others. While GIRLI has a dedicated social media following and over a million listeners a month on Spotify alone.
The explosive electronic-infused pop-rock single is all about defying stereotypes and not having to fit into a label. Elliot Lee is a Brooklyn-based artist and creator who fuses unpredictable sounds whose music often touches upon themes of loneliness, materialism, destroying gender norms, and mental health struggles. GIRLI is a cybergoth and grunge-influenced artist who is making waves with her raw and unfiltered releases.
Elliot Lee has a fervent fanbase "the bubblegum army" and has amassed millions of streams and their music has been added to such high-profile playlists as Bedroom Pop among many others. While GIRLI has a dedicated social media following and over a million listeners a month on Spotify alone.
