19-year-old Yaz is a singer-songwriter from West London who writes over beats she finds on YouTube, fusing R&B melodies with new-wave electronic tracks. She’s been a YouTuber since the age of 13 and has built a sizeable online following, racking up 740k+ subscribers to date.

Yaz, who is signed to At-lantic, originally wrote her breakout Valentine’s Day anthem, “Mr Valentine,” for friend PinkPantheress. Instead of giving it away, she decided to upload a snippet of the song to her own TikTok account. Within a few weeks, the track had more than 3k creations and had been used by the likes of Romeo Beckham, Kenza and Tennessee Thresher. “The track’s virality within youth culture kickstarted Yaz’s musical journey,” says Emily Kent, senior A&R manager at Asylum Records.

So what makes Yaz special? “Her unique and truthful perspective showcases her duality; she’s fresh and familiar, street but sweet and her music is also laced with feelings of pop nostalgia,” answers Kent. In addition to her music, Yaz uses her YouTube channel to document her teenage experiences, lifestyle and musical interests, as well as for day-to-day vlogging, all of which has heightened her relatability and connection with fans, adds Kent.

This year, Yaz will continue releasing a consistent stream of music before branching out with collaborations in 2023. “The aim is to continue developing her talent, elevate her music and really solidify her status within wider youth culture,” Kent concludes.

STATS

6.3m global streams (2.4m U.K.)

397k+ Spotify monthly listeners

289k Instagram followers, 433k TikTok followers and 22.4m likes and 740k YouTube subscribers

TEAM

Management: Zues Sherlock and V-1 Music

Label: Atlantic, Damian Christian

Live: UTA

Publishing: V-1 Music and Warner Chappell Music