These Are Our Artists to Watch in 2026

Being eccentric and irreverent can cut both ways: the same unconventionality that draws people can also, on a dime, isolate you. It’s a risky gamble, but for rising Puerto Rican indie trap star Vei Habache, his devil-may-care attitude is not a performance but his truth. Vei has been around since 2020 and has grown to become an irrefutable fan favorite, appealing to both intellectual listeners and goons. His style is raw and unbridled, straddling earnest introspection about his mental health (as in “SADBOILOKO” and his EPs Kodiasko and SUSHI CON PELCO) and also vulgar horndog musings (take your pick). You might typically find him accompanied by Art Label cohorts Fanta Rosario and Tommy Blanco—the three of them a match made in heaven—but this year, he’s readying a debut solo album that’s bound to cement him as one of the most exciting prospects of 2026. He’s already caught the attention of Rimas and big studio artists, and now it’s time for the rest of the world to take notice. — Juan J. Arroyo

Duquesa is reshaping Brazilian rap from Feira de Santana, Bahia, blending trap, R&B, and sharp lyricism that cuts through without raising its voice. Her album Taurus established her as a new force in Brazilian hip-hop, with tracks like “99 Problemas” (“99 Problems”) and “Atlanta” centering desire, autonomy, and Black womanhood on her own terms. On “Turma da Duq” (“Duq’s Crew”), which became a TikTok hit, she raps about having “hot girl energy, hot girl attitude,” reclaiming language around pleasure and confidence that’s often weaponized against Black women, flipping it into a statement of power. She moves between sex and self-determination with the same directness she brings to structural critique, never code-switching or softening her Bahian accent for palatability. She’s as comfortable in fashion editorials as she is on stage, treating rap as one dimension of a broader artistic vision. As Brazilian rap gains global traction, Duquesa represents artists who refuse to dilute their specificity for wider audiences. She’s banking on the fact that her full self is exactly what makes her interesting beyond Brazil. – Paola Churchill

Ever since dropping their mixtape LA OBSESIÓN VOL. 1 last year, La Obsesión Factory has been making waves in underground reggaeton circles as one of the most refreshing projects in Mexico. Rather than a group, La Obesión Factory is a collective of solo artists, including Yeyo, Doony Graff, Nasty Vato, Ñero Cotizado, Vic Gunn, Novato El Flow, EZYA, Viglezz, Fuentes Prod, Onemillionkisses, among others. Taking on the project as a group of friends with similar tastes that love making music, La Obsesión Factory has churned out bangers that stand out for their rawness within the overglossed reggaeton landscape. Leaning into the internet core reminiscent of neoperreo and drawing from reggaeton and dembow from the mid-2000s, the songs released by members of La Obsesión Factory aren’t regurgitating known sounds; they’re presenting something new that feels familiar. So far, the members have played big festivals in Mexico City like Coca Cola Flow Fest and AXE Ceremonia (hours before the tragedy) in 2025, bringing the La Obsesión Factory cohort on stage with them. And they already kicked off 2026 with a bang, ringing in the new year with a new mixtape, La Hermandad, with La Vendición (Young Beef, previously Ms Nina and La Zowi). They also just wrapped up five shows (four of them sold out) at Foro Puebla in Mexico City. As Mexican reggaeton finds its footing within el movimiento, La Obsesión Factory is excelling in carefully crafted work over TikTok and streaming-friendly tunes, but above all, in not boring the shit out of us with the same old, same old. – Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum

The Andes are the new vanguard of Latin American electronic music: from the irreverent bleeds of techno, guaracha, and merengue in Bogota’s Latincore scene, to the time-traveling, anti-colonial huayños and caporales of Bolivia’s Los Thuthanaka. In Ecuador, a fleet of dazzling electronic projects has also emerged, including Killa, Cruzloma, and Mala Fama, bridging the global club with indigenous teachings and Afro-Pacific percussion. But few achieve the balance of experimentalism and quotidian beauty like Jatun Mama, a duo composed of the Kichwa musicians Jesús Bonilla and Félix Maldonado, known for their cinematic work with the grassroots ensemble Humazapas. Their debut album Ura Uku was released back in September, weaving cumbia, chicha, and traditional san juanitos with pummeling kicks that bring countryside patronales into the industrial bedlam of Berghain. This writer caught two Jatun Mama shows during a recent visit to Ecuador’s MICPI (Mercado de Industrias Culturales de Pichincha), where they first commandeered the National Theater and brought up half the audience to stomp on stage, later blowing the roof off a local nightclub with a Kichwa rave. The duo’s cocktail of rumbling beats, pre-Hispanic instruments, and uproarious MC antics enchanted a market crowded with international talent buyers, so expect to see Jatun Mama touring through Europe and North America in the very near future. – Richard Villegas

What’s next in música mexicana? It appears Mexico is betting on alternative musicians like Alanis Yuki. If you haven’t heard of her music, she seamlessly blends R&B, pop, alternative rock, experimental, and música mexicana with her bedroom pop-esque touch. After opening tours for artists like NSQK and collaborating with rising reggaetoneras like Cachirula, she undoubtedly sparked the curiosity of spectators, giving them a glimpse of the emerging artist’s range. But why are we keeping an eye on this particular Chihuahua

">florist-turned-singer? After the música mexicana boom, it’s no surprise that music makers are toying with new sonic ideas, pinpointing how to create engaging yet evolving movement to continue putting Mexico on the map. With her soothing voice and innovative alternative productions (by the hand of her music producer brothers) that indulge diverse genres, Alanis Yuki—born Alanis Yuqui Sánchez—could be the key to Mexico’s next go-to sound. –

With all the experience of someone who fronted major brega pop and tecnomelody bands, Brazilian singer and songwriter Carol Lyne presents an interesting potential as a solo artist. Her debut album, Viciei (2025), marks her signature style: an electronic sound rooted in tecnomelody, with influences from

?si=ts9rciVTIj5i6kWu”>reggaeton and

?si=e95vmH3Kfw4wvrpD”>house music too, with bubblegum melodies sung by her powerful vibrato. On the stage, Carol Lyne does not disappoint either: she has the perfect presence and confidence to deliver powerful performances, adorned by choreography and her futuristic fashion style. While she has yet to conquer a bigger space in her own country, it’s not a stretch to say she occupies an intermediate space between a locally appealing diva and an aspiring pop figure capable of becoming sort of a Latina Zara Larsson. – Ana Clara Ribeiro

Four years after leaving CNCO, Joel Deleōn is finally hitting his stride as a solo artist. The Mexican-American star shockingly left the Latine boy band in 2021, but he later faced several setbacks. After becoming an independent artist in 2023, Deleōn has taken full creative control of his music and explored genres like reggaeton in his AHORA ME ESCUCHAN??? EP and bachata in last year’s sensual “Piel a Piel.” Like Becky G and Omar Apollo, he is also embracing his roots in the U.S. and Mexico, now singing in Spanglish. Deleōn has started teasing his debut album, which is due out later this year, with the pop-rock banger “Me Alegro Por Ti.” His next single “Tan Fácil” (not related to the CNCO song of the same name) will be released on Jan. 23. “[My album] is basically a story of a relationship from beginning to end,” Deleōn tells Remezcla. “It’s the rawest, most realest music that I’ve done to date.” –– Lucas Villa

Front and center of Ecuador’s new indie scene, Estamos Perdidos has become an explosive act that channels irony and ennui through a brief but effective catalogue. The relatively young project has made a quantum leap since its early experiences as an opening act for contemporary bands such as Flix Pussy Cola in small venues across Quito. In 2025, Estamos Perdidos released an

that helped them tour extensively across Ecuador’s festival circuit, as well as visit Colombia and Peru as part of a joint adventure with the Mexican bands La Texana and Te vi en un planetario. Rooted in the punk and shoegaze sounds of the 1990s and early 2000s, and with a long-awaited first record in the making, Estamos Perdidos is the Ecuadorian band to look forward to. Their onstage energy and dynamic band synergy clearly indicate that the band has only one direction to go: forward. – Ignacio Mayorga Alzate

In a short time frame, Josue Ramirez, better known as La Texana, has quietly built serious momentum. Since debuting with the Morro EP in 2023, the project has sharpened a sound where classic Spanish rock instincts meet the taut propulsion of post-punk, coming fully into focus on the 2025 debut album la casa que cae. The record thrives on coiled restraint and tension. Elastic bass lines drive the pulse, guitars lock into hypnotic patterns, and subtle synth textures compress the sound into something dynamically focused and exacting. Drawing from familiar lineages without leaning on generic nostalgia, La Texana lands at a moment when post-punk’s physical pull feels newly urgent. The music carries a lived-in restlessness that feels tuned to the present, equally suited for solitary listening as it is for communal dancing in a darkened venue. On a limited but impactful catalog, Ramirez has already toured across Mexico, South America, and Europe. With a rapidly growing demand, early 2026 will see the project head stateside supporting Mareux before showcasing as one of the first 100 artists announced for SXSW Music Festival. As Latin America’s rock resurgence unfolds, La Texana feels less like a newcomer and more like a project already steering its momentum and reaching global expansion. – Jeanette Diaz

In May 2025, Minas Gerais, Brazil, artist Clara Bicho dropped her debut EP Cores da TV, a deliciously warm six-track project that introduces us to her smooth twist on indie pop that’s informed by disco, MBP, R&B, and dream pop, and her penchant for lush arrangements and nostalgic atmospheres. A few months later, and after sharing Cores da TV’s singles featuring the likes of Sophia Chablau and Exclusive Os Cabides, Bicho surprised us with “Telejornal Animal,” a brand new song that opens the next chapter of her “bichoverso,” and it stood out not only with its sound, but also with her ridiculously charming Mariana Barbosa-directed music video. The expansive “Telejornal Animal” already shows Bicho in a more exploratory light, playing with dynamics and whimsy to really create worlds in songs that are  not afraid of self-reflection and humor. On an Instagram post, she shared that she’s not only readying one, but two albums set to drop this year, and with the promise set by “Telejornal Animal,” we’re about to be blown away. – Cheky