Joji at Mortgage Matchup Center

Japanese-Australian musician Joji laces R&B and hip-hop with textured electronics on his atmospheric meditations for the digital age. As part of the 88Rising crew, he experienced a creative rebirth that rebranded him as a serious artist after years as a popular Internet personality. Following his first EP, 2017’s lo-fi In Tongues, he hit a chart peak, reaching the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 with his gold-certified full-length Ballads 1, home to the hit single “Slow Dancing in the Dark.” Riding the high of that record’s international success, he again made the Top Ten with his big-budget 2020 sophomore effort, Nectar. In 2022, he dialed it back for his brisk third set, Smithereens. After a short hiatus, he returned with his fourth album, 2026’s Piss in the Wind.

Born George Kusunoki Miller in Osaka, he built a massive online following in the early 2010s with his comedy skits (including the viral phenomenon for “Harlem Shake”) before changing lanes to fully focus on music, crafting downtempo, moody reflections under the Joji moniker. Joining the 88Rising collective, he released 2017’s In Tongues, a six-song EP of introspective musings and piano-based electronic explorations. Following the collaborative single “18” with Kris Wu and Rich Brian, Joji issued a deluxe version of In Tongues in early 2018 that expanded the original EP with ten more tracks, including remixes by Lapalux, Ryan Hemsworth, and Actress. That same year, he kicked off a fresh cycle with the single “Yeah Right,” from his official full-length debut, Ballads 1. Released that October, the LP rose to number three on the Billboard 200 and topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Second single “Slow Dancing in the Dark” was also a chart hit, earning platinum status in Australia and the U.S.

Joji swiftly began work on his next album, releasing the gold-certified single “Sanctuary” in June 2019. Subsequent international chart hits “Run” and “Gimme Love” continued the promotion for his sophomore full-length, Nectar, in 2020. In addition to appearances by Omar Apollo, Lil Yachty, Yves Tumor, and Benee, the record also featured production by Diplo on “Daylight.” It reached number three on the Billboard 200.

In 2022, Joji returned with the single “Glimpse of Us,” a piano-backed heartbreaker that soared to number one in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. That track landed on his third album, Smithereens, which arrived in November. Following a three year hiatus, Joji returned in 2025 with “Pixelated Kisses” from his fourth studio set, 2026’s Piss in the Wind.

Los Angeles’ Nate Sib uses his powerful vocals to propel his slick hyperpop-driven sound. After finding success with early singles like “Why can’t you see” and “famous,” Sib’s career grew alongside friend and collaborator 2hollis’ in 2024 and 2025, culminating in the EPs for you (2024) and for us (2025).

The son of WAX frontman Joe Sib, Los Angeles-born Nathan Subbiondo began writing original music during his high school years, working alongside close friend and future collaborator 2hollis. Taking the alias of Nate Sib, he began issuing since-deleted tracks like “I can sound like rex” online through the early 2020s before finding his first major success when 2023’s “Why can’t you see” (produced by 2hollis) landed on the soundtrack for videogame NHL 24. With a varied, powerful vocal tone often compared to Justin Bieber, his career grew in tandem with 2hollis’ throughout 2024: his February debut EP, for you, paired his vocals with hyperpop instrumentals from kimj before the nocturnal “famous” and hyperpop-led “hold on” and “don’t fall” carried him through the rest of the year. He continued in this direction through 2025 with tracks like “tonight” and “back & forth” (feat. 2hollis), both of which landed on the glitchy sophomore EP for us in May. In September, he collaborated with producer NOTION for the electronic single “Unconditional.”

Mysterious vocalist and producer Corbin’s bleak, funereal blend of lo-fi R&B, hip-hop, and darkwave attracts a dedicated cult following. The reclusive artist has routinely refused interviews, letting his recordings and music videos do the talking. He became an online sensation when his 2014 video “Without You” went viral, and additionally received exposure as a member of the group the Stand4rd. His cathartic full-length debut Mourn appeared in 2017, and he’s sporadically surfaced since then, issuing Ghost with Skin in 2021 and Crisis Kid in 2025.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland but based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Corbin Smidzik made his debut as Spooky Black in 2013, when he was only 15 years old, with an EP titled Forest. Unlike his later material, the release featured Smidzik‘s rapping on every track, and was an exercise in horror-tinged hip-hop. This was followed in early 2014 by Black Silk, which marked his switch to R&B, debuting his smooth crooning voice. The endearingly amateur video for the track “Without You” became a viral sensation, and several websites named it one of the best songs of the year. Another release, Leaving, appeared that year, garnering comparisons to Yung Lean and King Krule. In addition, Smidzik formed a hip-hop/R&B group called the Stand4rd along with Allan Kingdom, Psymun, and Bobby Raps. Their self-titled album appeared in November, and the group embarked on a sold-out headlining tour of the United States.

By the end of the year, Smidzik had dropped his original moniker and simply went by the name Corbin. He and Bobby Raps released an EP titled Couch Potato in 2015, but Corbin largely stayed quiet for the next two years. After unexpectedly releasing a song titled “Destrooy” in early 2017, his debut album Mourn appeared later in the year. Significantly more cathartic than much of his earlier work, with Corbin nearly shouting on several tracks, the album was produced by D33J and Shlohmo and was released by their collective, WeDidIt. The three artists then toured North America together. Smidzik sporadically issued solo tracks, and appeared on releases by Future, the Kid LAROI, Dua Saleh, and others.

The second Corbin album, Ghost with Skin, appeared in 2021, leaning back somewhat from the aggressively bleak mood of Mourn. The artist was featured on releases by Boys Noize, Skrillex, Lyrical Lemonade, Trippie Redd, and others. Crisis Kid, his third full-length, was issued in 2025, and the album found the artist leaning into alternative and post-punk influences.