It has been released today (16th July 2020) that poet and vocalist Arlo Parks and rapper Jay1 are amongst the first artists to have been selected for the prestigious Breakthrough programme. Created by Amazon Music, Breakthrough is a music development programme centred upon cultivating emerging artist’s growing careers.
Spanning a diverse sonic palette of artists scattered across the globe, Breakthrough will focus on a varied array of country, indie, rap and R&B artists. Through forming a close-knit relationship with each performer, Breakthrough will create a long-term global plan customised specifically to the musicians’ tone, style and brand. Breakthrough will also offer artists support in their audio and visual content and global marketing.
For emerging artists like Jay1 and Arlo Parks, a collaboration with corporational giants Amazon is a massive help to their already thriving careers. Other notable artists handpicked for the exciting new programme include folk group Provinz, German singer Malik Harris, American country singer Gabby Barrett and R&B singer Kiana Ledé.
Kirdis Postelle, the Global Head of artist marketing for Amazon Music, released the following statement surrounding the Breakthrough campaign. Postelle maintains that “Amazon Music is uniquely positioned to support developing artists…By using all of Amazon’s marketing resources, Breakthrough campaigns will be true collaborations between the artist and Amazon Music.
Amazon Music UK’s Head of Content Programming Chris Helsen concurred with “music culture is advanced by new artists innovating and pushing music forward with their unique creative visions. With Breakthrough, we’re making a long-term commitment to help the artist amplify their vision.” With Breakthrough artists receiving an enhanced presence on Amazon playlists and programmes, Breakthrough will honour their pledge of widening the exposure of emerging artists like Arlo Parks and Jay1.
Rising star Parks celebrated the good news on her official Instagram page today. Posting to her 48,000 followers a promotional clip explaining her music-making journey, Parks relayed her excitement at being a part of the Breakthrough team with the following caption: “I’ve been picked by @AmazonMusic as one of a handful of Breakthrough artists…Feeling excited and grateful to all you angels putting your faith in me.” Obtaining over 5,000 likes and views, Park’s post was met with excitement from fans.
Jay 1 also confirmed his upcoming collaboration with Amazon Music on social media. Writing on Twitter on the 15th of July, Jay1 stated “Happy to announce my partnership with @AmazonMusicUK and be their breakthrough artist of the year. New music coming soon!”
Hailing from Coventry, rapper and songwriter Jason André Juami burst onto the scene in 2017 with the widely popular song Your Mrs. Jay1’s confident, bold vocals and honest lyrics ensure the rapper as a double threat. Penning singles such as Black Dog and Eugene, London born poet Arlo Parks has a distinct tenderness to both her vocals and lyrics. Parks also recently covered Phoebe Bridgers’ Moon Song beautifully for her web series ‘lo-fi lounge’, that she began whilst quarantined.
