These artists are known worldwide … except in the USA
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These artists are known worldwide … except in the USA
It’s easy to think that if a band or solo artist hasn’t hit it big in America, they haven’t truly made it. However, some of the world’s most beloved and successful musicians are revered in their home countries, and internationally, even without ever charting a U.S. hit. Stretch your ears beyond American borders and meet these 20 superstars you’ve probably never heard of.
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Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Caetano Veloso
He’s a Brazilian legend who established himself in the ’60s as one of the originators of Brazil’s Tropicália movement. In 2021, at the age of 79, he released Meu Coco, and while it was his first new music in more than a decade, he has remained a fixture of the Latin music scene. Relatively unknown in America, Veloso has won multiple Latin Grammy Awards and was named the Latin Recording Academy’s person of the year for 2012.
Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.
Mando Diao
They’ve been called “the biggest Swedish rock band of all time,” but unless you live in Europe, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard a single song by Mando Diao. They’ve been around since 1995, when the five members were still in their teens, and landed in superstar territory with their second album, 2004’s Hurricane Bar. Known for experimenting with their style and sound, the band has gone quadruple-platinum in their native Sweden. They released their self-produced ninth album, Bang, to acclaim in 2019.
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Rodriguez
Mexican-American folk musician Sixto Diaz Rodriguez tried to make a career as a musician in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan in the ’60s and early ’70s, releasing a few albums and even making an unsuccessful run at mayor of the city. When it seemed his career was going nowhere, Rodriguez gave up music, but a fanbase developed in Australia and then South Africa in the late 1970s and 1980s, catapulting the musician to a level of fame he never experienced in his home country. A 2012 film called Searching for Sugar Man about two South African men who set out to discover what happened to Rodriguez, their musical hero, won the Oscar for best documentary.
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Hjálmar
Small as the country is, Iceland has generated some recognizable music stars, including Of Monsters and Men, Björk and Sigur Rós. Lesser known in North America, but equally beloved in their home country and others, is the band Hjálmar, who uniquely and wonderfully blend hot reggae beats with their Icelandic language. Formed in 2004, with members from Sweden, the band put out two successful albums before the Swedish members left. The new band released a comeback album in 2007, and seven more since then, including Yfir hafið in 2020.
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Buju Banton
By the time he was 19, reggae star Buju Banton had broken the legendary Bob Marley’s Jamaican record for the most No. 1 singles in a year. Known as one of the country’s biggest dancehall reggae performers in the 1990s, Banton stayed productive for the next two decades branching into R & B and hip hop. Annoyed with traditional record labels, he started his own, and won a 2010 Grammy for the album Before the Dawn. He was convicted on drug trafficking charges in the U.S., and spent many years in prison before being released in 2018. His most recent release was the 2020 album Steppaz Riddim.
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Soda Stereo
Though they officially broke up in 1997, there was a time when Soda Stereo—made up of guitarist and vocalist Gustavo Cerati, drummer Charly Alberti and bassist Zeta Bosio—was the biggest band from Argentina, even if they never made their mark in the U.S. The band’s sound, which combined elements of new wave, reggae, soul, electronica and ska, was popular with fans and critics all over South America. Their final album, 1995’s Sueño Stereo, was named the fourth-best Latin Rock album of all time by Rolling Stone. The band reunited briefly for a 26-stop tour in 2007.
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Youssou N’Dour
His collaborations with Peter Gabriel on his 1986 hit “In Your Eyes” and with Neneh Cherry on her 1994 song “7 Seconds” gained him some international attention, but nothing compared to the fan following he’d had in his native Senegal for decades before. He’s revered for his vocal range and for his innovation with the mbalax music style, which combines Wolof traditional instrumentals with vocal forms popular in Latin America. He’s also a politician, and served as Senegal’s minister for culture and tourism from 2012 to 2013.
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DDT
Formed in 1980, the Russian rock band rose to fame through a music competition called Zolotoy Kamerton (‘Golden Tuning Fork’) and immediately became beloved by the country’s fans. Though they’ve had several line-up changes throughout the years, original member and singer Yuri Shevchuk continues to lead the band, and they still tour Europe and Russia.
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Cliff Richard
Of course the Beatles are the biggest British band, but one of England’s other most popular acts, who started around the time of the Fab Four, is completely unheard of to many across the pond. Breaking out in the 1950s, Cliff Richard had 14 No. 1 hits spanning five different decades and sold more than 260 million records. His 1976 song “Devil Woman” was the first top-10 hit he had in the U.S., but he never reached the stratospheric level of success he had at home.
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Hinds
During the 2010s, when the Spanish garage rock scene was primarily dominated by male artists, four women from Madrid—Carlotta Cosials, Ana García Perrote, Ade Martin and Amber Grimbergen—formed Hinds. Touring across Europe and the UK, the band quickly earned a loyal following, releasing their first full album in 2016 and winning a 2017 European Border Breakers Award. Their latest album is 2020’s The Prettiest Curse.
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Charles Aznavour
When someone made music for nearly 75 years, it’s hard to believe they’re not a household name everywhere, but French cabaret singer and performing legend Charles Aznavour isn’t well known in America. Born in 1924 to Armenian immigrants who expected to settle in France only temporarily, the singer began performing in the ’50s with the world-famous Édith Piaf. He also appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies, and continued to record music up until his death in 2018.
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Eppu Normaali
Called the most popular Finnish rock band, Eppu Normaali was formed in 1976 by brothers Martti Syrjä and Mikko Syrjä along with their cousin, drummer Aku Syrjä, guitarist Juha Torvinen and bass player Mikko Saarela, who later left the group. The band recorded 13 albums, which have all gone gold or platinum, and sold out stadium concerts. Their most recent album was 2007’s Syvään Päähän.
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X Japan
They’re one of the most influential rock bands in Japan’s musical history, whose accomplishments are even more admirable when you consider that they first achieved success as an independent band without major label backing. Formed in the ’80s, with an adventurous fashion style that mixed elements of metal and glam rock, the band adopted a more mainstream sound and became even more popular in the 1990s. In 1997, after the band broke up, lead guitarist Hide was found dead in his apartment. In 2007, the two remaining original members, Yoshiki and Toshi, reformed the band, adding new members in later years. In 2018, the band had a chance to reach new audiences with their first-ever Coachella appearance.
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