Doechii, Olivia Dean Headline Artists Poised for 2026 Takeover

There's always a moment late in the year when the music industry starts looking ahead instead of back. Charts settle. Tours wind down. The question quietly shifts from what worked to who's next. As 2026 comes into view, two names keep surfacing in those conversations: Doechii and Olivia Dean.

They arrive there from very different places. One is a sharp-edged rapper with an elastic sense of style, the other a soul-forward songwriter whose music moves patiently. What they share is timing.

Both spent 2025 laying groundwork that now looks less like a warm-up and more like a launch.

Data tracked by Ticket Source and cited by Showbiz Cheat Sheet points to the same conclusion. Streaming growth, search interest and social engagement all suggest these are artists listeners are not just sampling, but sticking with.

Touring Did The Heavy Lifting

For Doechii, 2025 was largely about exposure. She spent the year opening for Kendrick Lamar and SZA on the Grand National Tour, playing to crowds much bigger than she had previously reached. Night after night, she had minutes to win people over. She did.

That run coincided with continued attention around her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, which earned multiple Grammy nominations and kept her name circulating beyond hip-hop media. Ticket Source told Showbiz Cheat Sheet they expect that momentum to carry well into next year, pointing to her expanding audience across platforms.

By year's end, Doechii's footprint had expanded to about 5.9 million followers, nearly 15 million Google searches and more than 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify. It's not a forecast, but it does indicate she's operating at a level beyond breakout curiosity.

Olivia's progress looked different. She spent much of the year on the road opening for Sabrina Carpenter on the Short n' Sweet tour, using those dates to introduce her music to much larger rooms. Her rise didn't hinge on a single breakout moment. It came through consistent touring and listener carryover from night to night.

People heard her songs, then went looking for more.

The numbers reflect that kind of growth. With approximately 44 million monthly Spotify listeners, Dean finished the year reaching far more listeners than her 2.8 million social followers might suggest. She also saw more than 5 million Google searches, reflecting increased visibility.

Her trajectory picked up further with a Best New Artist nomination at the 2026 Grammys.

After the announcement, Olivia shared her reaction on Instagram, writing, "Had to take a sec to process this but i've been nominated for a Grammy," followed by, "Thank u world and the @recordingacademy ! no words."

A Wider Field, Fewer Lanes

Doechii and Olivia lead the list, but they are part of a broader class poised to break wider in 2026.

Ticket Source also highlighted Young Miko, Tems, Amaarae, Ayra Starr and Griff, artists who spent 2025 opening for bigger names and building audiences across borders and genres.

That mix says a lot about how people listen now.

Rap sits next to soul-pop, Afro-pop blends into indie and alternative. Ticket Source summed it up this way: "The top 10 spans a wide range of styles from rap (Doechii) and soul-pop (Olivia Dean) to Afro-pop (Tems, Ayra Starr and Amaarae), indie/alt-pop (Beabadoobee and Griff), plus electronic and alt-R&B (Magdalena Bay and Syd)."

They added that discovery today is less about genre loyalty and more about exposure, especially through playlists and tour lineups that favor contrast over cohesion.

Recognition Already In Hand

Doechii's profile has also been shaped by awards attention. She has received eight Grammy nominations over her career and won Best Rap Album, a category only two other women had won before her.

Her acceptance speech resonated well beyond the room.

"I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there, that are watching me right now," she said. "You are exactly who you need to be to be right where you are, and I am a testimony right now."