The name Phoebe Ryan has been popping up on my web searches all week. She caught my eye, because I think she looks a bit like Selena Gomez on the cover of her new single “Chronic”. Once I get a reference like that in my head, and you keep popping up, it’s just a matter of time before I can’t resist the curiosity and press play.
Her voice has got the same hazy, airy sound like you hear in Ellie Goulding ‘s voice, but there’s something about it that makes me think that Phoebe could be slightly more versatile with hers. It just wouldn’t surprise me if she could sound very powerful in another song.
Unlike Ellie Goulding, Phoebe’s own songs are not dance music. They take elements from pop music, a little bit of R&B and then mix it with, what I can only describe as, indie pop. It’s got a bit of edge, at times, from mainstream music, but because she’s got such airy light vocals, it gets balanced out perfectly.
With “Chronic” she has delivered a radio friendly pop song, that completely fits the format of popular songs today. It’s no surprise that Phoebe has been writing songs for others. This must have given her the experience to know what works.
As a songwriter, apparently, she’s written in many genres and I think that’s why she’s able to get a hint of many styles in her music, without it sounding like something crazy. Her inspiration is just as diverse; she states Bjork, Bob Dylan and Black Eyed Peas as some of the artists that inspire her.
In recent years, Phoebe has been stepping out into the limelight as a solo artists and is doing pretty well.
Her mash up/cover of R Kelly’s “Ignition” vs Miguel “Do You” was the first track to get her noticed. She cleverly mixed the two R&B tracks and turned them into one pop track, introducing her dreamy vocals.
Together with her original song, “Mine”, the songs have received over one million YouTube views each. Other videos of hers are also doing well. It’s no surprise that Billboard officially labeled her to be “one of tomorrow’s charting stars”, at the end of 2015. It’s looking good for “Chronic”. It could very well be the track to do it for it, but at minimum, I think, it’ll get her noticed even more and pave the way for bigger things to follow.
