3 Contemporary Musicians Who Defy Industry Expectations and Excel Because of It

When musicians in any genre become widely popular, it becomes more lucrative not to defy expectations and start creating art that borders on redundant, safe, and overly predictable. After all, why would musicians and the people making money off them change up the style and run the risk of losing fans and monetary reward? Well, some incredible musicians answer that question, and they don’t answer it in an expected way.

In country, rap, pop, and rock, there are a handful of musicians who completely subvert the expectations that the world and the music business have of them. They take that question we posed and turn their nose up at it. Here are three contemporary musicians who defy the expectations of the industry and the masses.

Hozier

As a musician, Hozier is a mixed bag. The Irish singer/songwriter infuses blues, soul, folk, and rock all together and creates songs that range from topping the Billboard charts to ones that never make it big. To us, he makes music because it’s the music he likes, nothing more and nothing less.

Hozier’s music satisfies multiple urges. He has some deep cut tracks not necessarily conducive to mass listening, and he also has several pop songs that have gone viral and consequently become global hits. At the moment, the 35-year-old musician is ambidextrous as he makes music for the intellectual listener and the easy listener.

Sierra Ferrell

Sierra Ferrell, in her simplest form, is an Americana country musician. However, it’s unfair to tag Ferrell as such, given that her catalog and collaborations include commercial country and mainstream pop artists. As an artist, Sierra Ferrell is not limiting herself to one movement, and the musician is certainly not picking a side as she continues to defy industry expectations.

While the majority of Ferrell’s work resides under the Americana umbrella, she has collaborated with Post Malone, Joe Jonas, Shaboozey, Zach Bryan, and several others. It seems fans of the Americana genre viewed Ferrell as a loyal confidant to the genre, and while she is, she is also a cross-genre traveller.

Coldplay

Coldplay has been consistently playing in the ears of the masses for the majority of the 21st century, and, incredibly, they didn’t achieve this by giving the masses what they wanted. The musicians did it by creating something unique to them, defying standard expectations, in hopes that the masses would like it. Needless to say, they have.

Between how they run their tours and concerts, and how they actually all still play their instruments, Coldplay is a diamond in the rough when it comes to contemporary musicians. Furthermore, they don’t fall into one genre, as they have pop tunes, folky singles, and alternative rock pieces. Coldplay is Coldplay, and they are doing it for the folks that realize just that.

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