French electronic duo The Blaze have been named by Deezer as a Next 2018 priority act.
The Blaze join existing Next 2018 artists Jorja Smith and Zak Abel as part of the streaming platform’s global emerging talent programme.
Deezer’s Next 2018 acts benefit from international profile development, playlisting and they take part in creative artist marketing campaigns for 12 months. The final artist for Next will be unveiled later this year.
Jorja Smith, the first Deezer global priority act of 2018, saw streams increase by 1,187% and fans by 665% on the platform. Zak Abel has experienced a 1,307% jump in streams and 2,263% increase in fans.
Sulinna Ong, global VP of artist marketing, said: “Supporting developing talent is vital. Our users' tastes are diverse and there's a real appetite for discovering new music which is why we've included a definite mix of genres in our 2018 programme; from electronic and dance through to indie-pop and rap. With our 2017 alumni growing their global audience, we're looking forward to working with our latest line-up to build similar success.”
The Blaze said: “We’re very happy to be part of the Deezer Next program. Receiving global support will give us the opportunity to share our music with more people around the world. We are looking forward to also sharing new music in the coming months!”
The duo have so far released a series of singles and are set to drop a debut album later this year.
Deezer has also unveiled the latest Next 2018 acts for regional support, including Brent Cowles (US), Angele (France), Haevn (Netherlands), Muzi (South Africa), Bianca Blanc (South Africa), Greeicy (Latin America) and Aman Ra (Singapore/Malaysia).
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